Justus A Akinsaya
Justus Akinsanya was the first Black member of the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting. As Acting Registrar of the Nurses Council of Nigeria, and later with the Nigerian Ministry of Health, he processed nurse-training programmes to meet the needs of the varied communities in Nigeria and West Africa.
1936
2005
Okun-Owa,Ijebu, Nigeria
Nigerian
1960 – became a registered nurse
1975 – graduated from University of London with a BSc in Human Biology
1988 – made history as the first Black member of the National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting
1989-1996 – became Academic Dean and Pro-Vice Chancellor, Anglia Polytechnic University
Akinsanya was born on 31 December 1936 in Okun-Owa, Ijebu (near Lagos) Nigeria. He came to Britain in the late 1950s, intending to study economics. Instead, he qualified as a nurse in 1960,first as a Registered Fever Nurse (gaining a Tuberculosis Association Certificate) at Abergele Chest Hospital in North Wales and then in general nurse training at Crumpsall Hospital, Manchester. In 1967 Akinsanya did courses in orthopaedic, dermatological, and psychiatric nursing and qualified as a sister tutor at the University of London, but turned down the offer of a post at Hammersmith Hospital School of Nursing, because he had the chance to read for a degree.
After Justus graduated from the University of London with a BSc in Human Biology in 1975, he returned to Nigeria. He Served for many years as a member of the Nigerian Nursing Council and developed tailored training programmes for local communities. In 1977 he became its Acting Registrar for the Nigerian Nursing Council and was subsequently seconded to the Nigerian Ministry of Health. However, not wanting a career as an administrator, he returned to nurse education in the UK. Akinsanya developed the Akinsanya Model of bio nursing in 1985, which he defined as clinical nursing that uses in practice the principles of natural sciences such as biology, at the Dorset Institute of Higher Education (now Bournemouth University). In 1989-96 he was Dean of Anglia Polytechnic University. He was the first Black nurse to be elected to the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, serving from 1988 to 1993.
Married in 1967 to Cynthia Marcelle and had three sons and one daughter. Akinsanya, a born communicator, enthusiastically attended conferences all over the world. He never let illness stop him. When kidney failure led to his retirement from Anglia Polytechnic University in 1996, he carried out his own dialysis and eventually had a transplant.
https://www.sneeics.org.uk/black-history-month/professor-justus-akinsanya/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/justus-akinsanya-518170.html
https://archives.rcn.org.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Persons&id=DS%2FUK%2F25783
