Nigeria’s former health minister Emmanuel Nsan passes at 77
The remains of a former Minister of Works and Health during the Major-General Muhammadu Buhari regime, High Chief Emmanuel Nyong Nsan will be interred in Calabar, the Cross River State capital on Saturday, March 8, 2025.
According to family sources, their 77-year-old patriarch, who passed away on 12th December 2024 in Calabar, would be given a befitting burial deserving of a great statesman.
The Family Head, Chief Asuquo Nyong Nsan, who is also the Village Head of Ifondo in Atimbo Clan, Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State announced the final burial obsequies in Calabar
Chief Asuquo said the late Nsan, born on 14th July 1947, served his community, state, and the country meritoriously as a cabinet Minister between 1984 and 1985 during the Buhari Military era.
The Family Head said in a statement; “Since the demise of our father and brother, this is the first time we are telling the world about the passing away of Dr Emmanuel Nsan officially and this marks the commencement of his obsequies.”
Describing the late Nsan as a traditional man, the Village Head stressed that his departure to eternity has created a vacuum in the family and the community.
He was a man many admired in glowing terms as a distinguished medical professional, public servant, and statesman of the Efik royal lineage from the Obong Nsan Ruling Family of Ifondo in Akpabuyo and the King Duke IX Royal Family of Duke House.
Embodying the proud heritage of Efik nobility, his remarkable career spans medicine, politics, and community work, marked by deep-rooted commitment to service and excellence. Until his death, High Chief Nsan was a revered Medical Practitioner, who presented a weekly medical program tagged ‘Television Doctor’ on NTA Channel 9, Calabar; a weekly Health programme aired on Cross River Radio and a Medical Tips page published by the Nigerian Chronicle Newspapers.
Aside from lecturing at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) Medical School, Nsan was an avowed lover of culture and tradition. As an Adviser at the Obong of Calabar Palace, he held the enviable titles of Ekpe Lord and the Crown Prince of Efik Kingdom.
A media-friendly personality, he was also an avid Sports Lover and as a patron of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Cross River State Chapter, Dr Nsan sponsored the maiden edition of the SWAN Football Cup competition for media organisations in Cross River State in 1989.
Meanwhile, in a chat with newsmen in Calabar, the deceased’s immediate younger brother, His Highness Chief Asuquo Nyong Nsan, lamented that the former Minister’s exit to the great beyond has created a big vacuum both in the family and in the entire Efik land that would be very difficult to fill.
“As a man of valour, he rose to national lime light due to dint of hard work and a rare determination to succeed in life”, he said.
In her condolence message addressed to Lolo Gladys Nsan, widow of the deceased, former lawmaker, Dame Senator Florence Ita-Giwa described the late former Minister as her political soulmate who did not approach politics with a do-or-die attitude.
Ita-Giwa expressed sorrow over the loss of a vital cultural and traditional encyclopedia of the Efik Kingdom, stressing that he represented the essence of Efik culture and tradition.
By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)