Resumé
This issue of the journal is dedicated to the evergreen memory of two Editors-in-Chief of the journal who recently passed on to the great beyond: Professors Olufemi Williams and Babatunde
Osotimehin, the first and sixth Editors-in-Chief respectively. Prof. Williams, internationally renowned Professor of Pathology, served as the Editor between April 1971 and December 1980.
During the period, he “shephered and nurtured” the journal through the formative years and worked tirelessly to ensure that the journal attained international recognition. He left Ibadan to
serve as the Foundation Dean and Chief Medical Director of University of Calabar College of Medicine and was visiting Professor of Pathology to many universities in the United States. He
was also Scholar in Residence at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA for many years. He died on 16th July 2017.
Prof. Osotimehin served as Assistant Editor of the journal from March 1989 to June 1996 (while he was the Provost, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, 1990-94) and later became the
substantive Editor-in-Chief from September 1996 till December 2003. He revamped the Journal and upheld high standards. He effectively applied information technology in the business of the
journal and expanded the content. During his tenure, the Journal published its first supplement on HIV/AIDS. He left the position of Editor-in-Chief on being appointed as the Director General of
the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and subsequently, Minister of Health, Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was appointed Under-Secretary General of the United Nations
and the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund Agency (UNFPA) in New York in November 2010. He was a strong advocate of reproductive rights of women and safe
births. He died on 4th June, 2017 at the age of 68 years.
Henry Wadsorth Longfellow (1807-1882), the American poet, wrote in A Psalm of Life that “Lives of great men all remind us, we can live our lives sublime, and departing leave behind us
footprints on the sands of time” The two Editors were great scholars, mentors who epitomized integrity. They made their marks and were internationally recognized for their excellence. Their
names will certainly be written in gold for their invaluable contributions to the growth of the Journal. We mourn their losses and may their souls rest in perfect peace.
A. Ogunniyi
Editor-in-Chief