Dr John Yahaya Osammor
Food & Health
After primary and secondary education in Nigeria, he studied medicine in the former USSR in Russian language and graduated with distinction. On returning to Nigeria, he began his medical career at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital - training as a Surgeon.
In 1982, he became a recipient of the University’s scholarship to train as an Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon in the UK. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1988 and has since lived and worked in the UK, presently as a Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat; Head and Neck; Facial Plastics and Microvascular Surgeon.
Although a Surgeon, he did not feel fulfilled. In 1988, the lot of the ‘Black man’ in Britain was such that he and his wife decided to do something that will make a difference to the way Black People were perceived. They both became committed to raising the profile of Africa’s Cuisine.
In 1993, they came up with the concept of ready spiced meat, now found in all supermarkets, but did not get recognition or benefit from it. That same year, they set up the first truly African Restaurant in the Lake District, which they ran for three years. This served as a spring board that led to the establishment of Odeiga House Limited in 1998, with three subsidiaries - making drinks, Cooking Sauces and Spices blends and African Foods, including fermented foods.
In 1999, Odeiga House created the first original Smoothie in the UK - Tansi®. This is a product made with pure fruit and dairy that lives in a stable harmony, enabling water and oil to keep as a stable emulsion - a technological breakthrough in the World’s food industry yet to be replicated! Tansi® was supplied to the Airlines – Cathey Pacific, Quantus and Airtours in the early 2000s.
Dr John Osammor
Dr John Osammor
Odeiga House spent about five years, from 2002 to 2007 developing and perfecting traditional African kitchen concepts to commercial concepts. Many cooking sauces, marinades, condiments, dry spice blends, ready meals and finger food and food accompaniments have been developed, though not yet all in the market.
In 2008, the first African Cooking Sauces – Alafia Tomato Stew and Potent Peanut Cooking sauce, as well as instant marinades/paste – Spicy Odeiga Paste and Balangwu Suya Paste landed on the shelves of ASDA, in Manchester, under the brand Naija Cooking Sauces®. In the same year, BEN TV showed the first quality TV programme of Africa’s food - ‘Palmwine and Plantains - flavours of Africa’s cuisines’, presented by Mrs Stella Osammor.
Dr Osammor was an adviser to the Nigeria High Commission at the Court of St. James, during the tenure of Dr Christopher Kolade as High Commissioner on matters of the standard of foods imported from Nigeria to the UK.
You can ask for Odeiga Chicken in any Marriot Hotel in the UK. Those that flew Arik Air International, from London to Lagos or New York to Lagos or Johannesburg to Lagos, would have enjoyed Nigerian foods and if in the business class, even Pepper Soup and Banga Soup, made from products supplied by Odeiga House Limited.
He is still in love with his calling as a Surgeon, notwithstanding his passion for Africa’s food. In fact, he does not see any conflict between the two. He believes that after being operated on, one needs good and qualitative African food to guarantee good and speedy recovery.
In 2009, he described a new operation - Excision of Pharyngeal Pouch, a new surgical approach. (Osammor, J.Y., COA-2008-0328.R1: Excision of Zenker’s Diverticulum – a New Surgical approach. Clinical Otolaryngology Vol. 34, Issue 1, page 85 - 86; 19/02/2009)
He is an active member of the Medical Association of Nigerian Specialists Across Great Britain (MANSAG) in the UK and Ireland. He led the E.N.T team to Abuja and Abeokuta, Nigeria, in 2010, 2015 and 2016, respectively, to offer pro-bono medical care to needy Nigerians. He is also passionate about training Consultants Surgeons on Ear Surgery. He is a Teacher, a Mentor and Motivator. He speaks seven languages, including the three major Nigerian languages.
In 2010, Dr and Mrs Osammor in their individual rights, were featured in the TV Series ‘Echoes of the Valley. Dr John Yahaya Osammor, in 2014, bagged an Aspire Award, from BEN TV, as African Food Ambassador of the year.
Dr Osammor is a devout, born-again Christian and believes that Nigeria is a country of destiny. Dr Osammor is convinced that if we turn our backs to idolatry and truly embrace Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we, as a people, will reap the enormous benefits from the land called Nigeria; a land teeming with wealth and flowing with Milk and Honey.
He is happily married to Stella Ifeyinwa, a Sociologist and Anthropologist, an Author, a Chartered Secretary, a Lawyer and a cookery writer and TV presenter of Palmwine and Plantains. They are blessed with a charming daughter – Laraba Nkechinyei Mari-Terez Osammor – a Multilingual Voiceover Artist.