Udjo, Eric O. 1954- (Eric Ogheneriobororue Udjo)

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Udjo, Eric O. 1954- (Eric Ogheneriobororue Udjo)

PERSONAL:

Born March 20, 1954, in Abraka, Nigeria; immigrated to South Africa, 1996; son of Alexson Majemite and Mary Igun Udjo; married Eugenia Nasibagha Jumbo, March 20, 1987; children: Okeroghene, Oghenevwogaga. Education: University of Ibadan, B.Sc., 1978; University of London, M.Sc., 1981, Ph.D., 1985.

ADDRESSES:

Home—South Africa. Office—Bureau of Market Research, University of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, UNISA 003, Pretoria, South Africa. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Administrator and academic. Ogbavweni Grammar School, Usiefrun, Nigeria, teacher, 1973-75; University of Maiduguri, graduate assistant, then senior lecturer, 1979-90; postdoctoral fellow, Population Council of America, 1990-92; University of Botswana, Gaborone, 1992-96; Botswana Sukokai Karate School, Gaborone, Botswana, assistant instructor, 1994-96; Statistics South Africa, Pretoria, senior lecturer and director of Analysis and Statistical Consulting, 1997—; Center for Population Studies at the University of Pretoria, 1998; Human Sciences Research Council, research director in the HIV/AIDS and Health Programme; University of South Africa, Bureau of Market Research, currently research professor.

MEMBER:

Population Association of Southern Africa (formerly the Demographic Association of South Africa).

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Tukufu Zuberi and Amson Sibanda) The Demography of South Africa, M.E. Sharpe (Armonk, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Eric O. Udjo is an administrator and academic. Born in Abraka, Nigeria, on March 20, 1954, he immigrated to South Africa in 1996. Udjo graduated with a bachelor of science degree from the University of Ibadan in 1978. He pursued graduate studies at the University of London, earning a master of science degree in 1981 and a Ph.D. in 1985.

Udjo worked as a teacher at the Ogbavweni Grammar School in Nigeria from 1973 to 1975. At the University of Maiduguri Udjo worked first as a graduate assistant, then as a senior lecturer, from 1979 to 1990. He then served for two years as a postdoctoral fellow with the Population Council of America. From 1992 to 1996 he worked at the University of Botswana and as an assistant instructor at the Botswana Sukokai Karate School. Since 1997, Udjo has worked in several capacities, including as director of Analysis and Statistical Consulting at Statistics South Africa, as the research director in the HIV/AIDS and Health Programme at the Human Sciences Research Council, and currently as a research professor at the Bureau of Market Research at the University of South Africa.

Udjo edited his first book, The Demography of South Africa, in 2005 with Tukufu Zuberi and Amson Sibanda. The book looks at population and demo- graphic issues in South Africa following the 1996 South African Population Census. The book covers a number of topics relevant to the country, including fertility projections, mortality variations and estimations related to HIV/AIDS, population group tables, birth statistics, household structures, school enrollment numbers, parent to child ratios, and migration and employment statistics.

Bruce Fetter, writing on H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online, summarized that "the authors have provided a useful introduction to South African demography in the late apartheid and early majority rule periods. They have promised a second volume based on the 2001 census, which scholars should welcome, because it will be based more on change over time. They might, however, balk at the high price of the volumes in this series." Laurie DeRose, reviewing the book in Social Forces, observed that "while a number of the conclusions presented were necessarily tentative because of data issues, the book nonetheless valuably provides plausible ranges of demographic levels and racial differentials." DeRose appended that "Udjo's mortality trend analysis suggests that factors besides HIV prevalence are necessary to explain the increases in infant mortality in recent years. These are the kinds of findings from a general demography that could spark additional fruitful work, especially because South Africa is a fascinating country for demographic inquiry." Kelly Hallman, writing in the Population and Development Review, commented that "this work should fill knowledge gaps and challenge results from previous studies that were forced to rely on less comprehensive information."

Udjo told CA: "My motivation to write stems from a desire to contribute to scientific knowledge as well as dispel widely held and accepted notions that are not correct given present scientific knowledge. The late Professor W. Brass and Dr J.G.C. Blacker have had tremendous influence on my work.

"My writing process consists of analyzing the issue I want to write on in my mind for as long as it takes; conceptualizing on paper how I am going to tackle the issue by research and review the relevant literature; gathering empirical data relevant to my conceptualization; doing quantitative analysis and interpretation of the data; producing a technical report on my analysis and results; and sending my report for peer review and publication."