LEADERSHIP Public Service Person of the Year 2026: Professor Martins Emeje

For his innovations in traditional medicine and his pioneering role in nanomedicine in Nigeria, Professor Martins Emeje is Public Service Person of the Year.

Professor Martins Ochubiojo Emeje is a trained orthodox pharmacist who developed a keen interest in traditional medicine and heads a government agency dedicated to research and development in this area. His accomplishments are recognised internationally, particularly by the World Health Organisation (WHO). He attracted international attention in 2025 when he was appointed a member and the first African co-chair of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional Medicine. The group advises WHO on the strategic direction for traditional, complementary and integrated medicine (TCIM) at the global level. It provides scientific advice to shape global research priorities, offers technical support to develop norms and standards, recommends approaches to integrating TCIM into health systems, and assists WHO in articulating policy options for member States.

It was a recognition not only of him as an individual but also of the agency of government, Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA), which he heads as Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, the nation, and Africa as a whole.

Emeje studied pharmacy at the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and later pursued his master’s and doctorate at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. His Ph.D dissertation was nominated as the best for that year.

Emeje was also a Raman Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India.

He was the founder of the nanomedical centre in Nigeria. This facility applies nanotechnology in medicine, using extremely small materials and devices to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases. The professor is an innovator with 10 patents and 100 internationally recognised academic papers.

In record time, he reached the pinnacle of academic pursuit as a professor, earning along the way fellowships of the Nigeria Academy of Sciences (FAS), the African Academy of Science (FAAS), the National Academy of Pharmacists (NAPharm), and the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN).

Emeje is an expert in drug development, translational research and regulatory science. He has also proved his mettle as an accomplished scientist in Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), pharmaceutical products and clinical trials. As an innovator, he is well known for new research laboratory practice and university programme development. The new research centre for nanomedicine he established at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) has remained a facility of reference even by international standards.

The quintessential pharmacist led the medical outreach, including free screening and treatment, for over 20,000 inhabitants of Idu, Gwagwa, Karmo, Pape, Oshafa, and Kuje in FCT, Nigeria; and developed a new stable liquid oral dosage form of paediatric Frusemide for use by National Hospital, Abuja, 2006 – 2008. This was a pro bono compounding of an extemporaneous preparation not available in Nigeria at the time for children.

At the University of Uyo, he played a key role in the procurement of equipment to enhance researchers’ capacity and engage stakeholders (policymakers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies) as collaborators and student mentors.

He is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed research articles, 25 book chapters, and books

Emeje served as a Principal Investigator on the Large-scale Use of Antibiotics in Livestock in Nigeria and its Effect on Antimicrobial Resistance and Human Health, an assignment by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The National Council on Health (NCH) unanimously commended and adopted the report for national replication.

Emeje is active in efforts by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to restore sanity in a sector so essential to Nigerians. He was chairman of the NAFDAC subcommittee on developing guidelines for the regulation of herbal medicines in Nigeria and a member of the NAFDAC Expert Committee on Herbal Medicines. The committee developed, for NAFDAC consideration, a robust guideline for the regulation of herbal medicines and a memo to the Federal Executive Council on the need for a policy on bromate in bread in Nigeria. He is also a member of the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Steering Committee for the Development of Nanotechnology Policy.

Presently, he is also a member of the World Health Organisation Expert Advisory Committee on Target Product Profile for Snake Envenoming; a role that involves identifying and developing necessary public-interest WHO TPPs for snake antivenom products targeting priority snakebite-endemic regions of the world.

Professor Emeje’s strides in the nation’s pharmaceutical sector are as enduring as his forays into academia, with tentacles reaching universities where he was and still is a teacher, researcher, mentor, innovator and policy initiator.