[2] His father was Nathaniel Okafor Edozien a direct descendant of Nnebisi, the founder of Asaba, and one of the most senior indigenous officials of the Nigerian Coal Corporation in Enugu.
His mother, Nwakuso Edozien née Odogwu, was the daughter of a prominent Asaba chief, and a notable trader.
Edozien's academic career began with an appointment as a lecturer in Clinical Biochemistry in Middlesex Hospital Medical School, University of London in 1951.
The euphoric mood permeated the University of Ibadan, and Edozien's groundbreaking research in nutrition helped win it a reputation as a rising academic centre.
He was also implicated in the plots that resulted in the Biafran invasion of the Midwestern Region at the beginning of the civil war and was forced to flee the country.
After a period as a refugee in France, he was appointed a professor of Nutrition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
After an over 20 year stint as Chairman of the Department of Nutrition, he holds an endowed chair at this leading US institution of public health.
Edozien's tenure as the Asagba of Asaba coincided with dramatic changes in the character of the town which is now a significant capital city.
Several on-going initiatives such as the Asaba permanent palace and civic centre and the documentation of the town's traditional laws and customs have sought to balance these concerns.
He remained vocal throughout his life on the need for our governance systems to recognise the role traditions could and should play in ensuring the development of the country.
[3] He was also one of the most respected traditional rulers who encouraged and promoted mutual coexistence, especially between the people in the south and Northern Nigeria.