Dr. Bennet Omalu was born in Nigeria (where he learned to speak Igbo and Pigeon English) during the Civil War. He is the sixth of seven siblings. His mother worked as a seamstress while his father occupied roles such as civil mining engineer, community leader in Enugu-Ukwu and deputy director of mines. Thus, the physician comes from a family that values higher education. For instance, his younger sister holds a PhD degree from Scotland in energy law.

Dr. Omalu started primary school at the age of three. He outperformed the older children in his class. He learned how to read at three like Oprah Winfrey, Johnnie Cochran, Shirley Chisholm, Condoleezza Rice and Toni Morrison. Being exposed to education so early definitely helped them to rise up. Later, the pathologist enrolled into the Federal Government College Enugu for secondary school. He began medical school at the age of sixteen at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka. In 1990, he obtained a MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) in Nigeria. He graduated from medical school in 1990. Albeit disappointed by the political situation of his country, he started to look for opportunities in America. He looked for scholarships. Hence, Dr. Omalu arrived first in Seattle, Washington in 1994 to finish an epidemiology fellowship at the University of Washington. In 1995, he enrolled in Columbia University’s Harlem Hospital Center for a residency training program in anatomic and clinical pathology.