Prof Ade Ojeniyi, a Nigerian Chief Physician and professor of human and veterinary medicine, has become the first black man to be knighted in the Nordic and Scandinavia countries. He was conferred with the Knighthood of The Dannebrog Order of the Kingdom of Denmark.
This is one of the highest awards in Denmark established in 1683 by the King of Denmark.
Ojeniyi told newsmen on the telephone from Grindsted, Denmark that the award was given to him on January 5 by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. “I was given the award because of my enormous contribution to health and humanity. The Southern Regional government in Denmark recommended me for it and the Queen granted it,” Ojeniyi said.
Ojeniyi expressed gratitude for the award which he described as a victory for Nigeria and Africa. “ I dedicate the award to the continent of Africa and her people. I am a representative of the continent, which is the origin of mankind”.
Prof Ojeniyi, in 2007, introduced the vaccination against cervical cancer in Greenland, an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
“As the chief Physician and Medical Adviser to the government of Greenland, I introduced the vaccination against cervical cancer in 2007. I made Greenland the first country in the world to start vaccinating girls against cervical cancer,” he said.
Ojeniyi is also a visiting professor at the University of Texas in Houston for 18 years.
