Meet Nigerian Academic David Etor Who Rose From ‘Abject Poverty’ to UK Lecturer

David Etor, a Nigerian man who grew up in “abject poverty” and only learned to read and write at the age of 12, has risen to become a lecturer in electrical and mechanical engineering at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

According to a report by BBC, Etor, 43, was told as a child that “nothing good will come out of you”, but overcame his difficult upbringing to build a career as one of the leading UK academics in his field.

Here are five things to know about his remarkable journey:

1. He grew up in extreme poverty

Etor said his family was so poor that his mother would pretend to cook food in a kitchen they shared with other families, “to protect our integrity” in front of their neighbours.

“I didn’t see a way out,” he said.

2. He only learned to read and write at 12

Despite growing up in difficult circumstances, Etor eventually learned to read and write at the age of 12 and continued his education.

3. His mother pretended to cook food

Speaking to John Darvall on BBC Radio Bristol about the publication of his first book, Etor recalled how his mother would boil water and repeatedly stir it to make neighbours believe she was preparing a meal.

“I do remember that there was a time where my mum would boil water.

“[She would] go back in and out, lift the lid, stir the water, go back into the room [and] come back as though she was preparing food…

“She would come back in with that pot of water after a couple of hours and it will be as though she’s just finished cooking a meal, but it was just water.

“She was trying to protect our integrity.”

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4. He invented a ‘solar oven’

Etor’s first major breakthrough came while doing a form of national service in Nigeria, when he noticed that many locals were being hospitalised with food poisoning because they were trying to preserve food by drying it in fields.

To solve the problem, he designed and built a “solar oven”.

“It worked incredibly well,” he said.

The invention earned him an award from the state government and a job.

5. He earned degrees in the UK

Etor later completed an undergraduate degree at Newcastle University and a PhD at the University of Durham before securing his current position as a lecturer in electrical and mechanical engineering at the University of Bristol.