Professor Idowu Bamitale Omole, Our Teacher and Mentor, is 70 Years Old

By Prof Hassan A. Saliu

Again, on destiny. As I remarked in an earlier tribute, destiny is a kind of gatekeeper that determines a lot of things, especially from the angle of those who believe in it. Sometimes, we may plan on how to navigate our ways on issues but this thing called destiny sets a limit on how far we can go. Things may happen and develop beyond our capacities; issues not anticipated can crop up that can shatter our plans. Not anticipated, events may take different trajectories that a man with immense wisdom may be turned into something else because of the speed with which they take place. Unknown to many, it is not that a man deliberately wants to be uncaring but the torrents of happenings and their frequency may take him out of his usual self. For me, it simply shows that a man is human with his own destiny. As humans, we may not be able to control events that we are confronted with all the times. One may come up with bright ideas for execution but circumstances may serve as an obstacle. One’s good intentions may be misconstrued or the overtures made by others with a good sense may strike a wrong chord in one’s sensory organs. This, no doubt, underscores the fact that all human beings are fallible.

Prof. Tale Omole, as he is popularly known, is the second Omole to have headed OAU as Vice-Chancellor. The first Omole is known as Prof. Wale Omole, who is from the sciences. He was VC from 1991-1999, while the subject of this tribute is in humanities. Prof. Tale Omole is an alumnus of the Great Ife where he obtained his first and second degrees and Bordeaux in France for his M.Ph and doctoral  degrees. He was one of the lecturers I met at Ife when I went there in 1988 for my M.sc degree in International Relations. Our relationship got deeper subsequently because he was assigned to me as my supervisor. Four things made him distinct from other lecturers when I was there as a student. First, was his mode of dressing. He was always in shirts and trousers with his ties boldly hanged on his shirts. He occasionally wore suits to our class. Prof. Omole also had shoes that were a bit heavy apparently because they were imported probably from France. Second, was his pastoral attachment. He was more likely to be a pastor at the time. Given my Islamic background, I did not relate with him so much on that score and he respected me for that. Third, given his background in the arts, he was fond of throwing big words when having his lectures with us which he did off-hand.

I remember vividly he was co-assigned to teach African Politics with someone we fondly called Baba Ojo. There was another Ojo who was a Doctor in the Department of International Relations, not Prof. Sola Ojo, a great teacher. Fourth, another aspect was the mode of delivering his lectures. He was fond of moving around the classroom when delivering his lectures.

I know he is an expert on integration, African politics and governance and Francophone relations probably because of his training at Bordeaux for his M.ph and PhD. degrees. He has contributed a number of articles on these areas and won some grants and awards across the world, especially in the United States from the Ford Foundation, participated in the International Visitors’ Programme and others. While supervising me, I noticed that he was busy, especially with his church activities as a budding Pastor. Notwithstanding, he still found the time to go through my drafts and offered suggestions on how to improve my work. Not surprisingly, I was among the earliest to finish their projects in our set despite his tight schedules.

He filed his papers for the 2011 round of the selection process and thus became the Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in that year after the tenure of Professor Michael Faborode. His involvement in the contest for the office of OAU VC was tough with the usual Ife campus drama not spared during the period of contest for the position. The tenure began a good note with notable groups on campus pledging and displaying their levels of support to the new VC. Indeed, they did give their support but not for the entire lifespan of the administration. The volatility of the campus manifested itself with an unprecedented level of fury in the fourth year or so in the course of the tenure. It caused a major disruption to the smooth running of the university. So many issues were thrown up by some of the unions on campus, creating an unfriendly environment for a healthy regime of industrial relations to thrive.

As an outsider, I did not know the exact nature and intensity of the interplay of forces that played out in the university. So, I would not pass any judgments on the heightened level of tensions that pushed OAU into having another Acting Vice-Chancellor in the recent past. This followed the rejection of the outcome of 2016 selection process by the Visitor to the university, leading to the appointment of an Acting Vice-Chancellor for OAU, Ile-Ife in the person of Prof. Anthony Elujoba. His one year tenure later became a subject of litigation informed by the texture of the campus politics in Ife. It was only after the end of Prof. Omole’s tenure as VC that another selection process was kick-started that produced the immediate past VC of OAU, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede.

In the history of my Alma mata, only very few of the VCs have left the campus without being bruised one way or the other. For instance, the tenure of the first Omole (1991-1999) was cut short by a riot that involved the students. Although he was later found not culpable, the deed had already been done. Prof. Rogers Makanjuola (1999-2006) who succeeded him had his own raw deal in the hands of the students. Earlier, even when the Babalawo VC, Prof.  Wande Abimbola (1982-1989), was in the saddle, at a time I was a student in the university, he faced his own challenging times from the students and staff unions. It was generally believed that it was his Ifa deity that saved him from the sledge hammer of the students and staff. His Ifa incantations were very effective in calming down the students on each occasion they were on the streets protesting. This was the case on an occasion in the late 1980s when the students were on the main road after the campus gate that leads to Ibadan and Ife township protesting and obstructing the free flow of traffic on the road. Prof. Abimbola suddenly appeared on the scene to engage the students after which he trekked back to the campus with them. His successor in office, Prof. Adeniyi Osuntogun, could only endure the heat for only a year before he resigned from his position as VC of the university in 1991.

One notes that the problems that successive Vice-Chancellors have faced are most times incubated during the periods of selection for the appointments. Each season for the appointment of Vice-Chancellor in OAU and some other Universities in Nigeria is usually characterised by both orthodox and unorthodox resorts to gain advantage that ultimately raise tensions and consequently, polarise the campuses with a negative consequence on smooth running of the administration of the universities.

I return to the era of Prof. Tale Omole as the Vice-Chancellor of OAU, Ile-Ife. The university under him made some progress as attested to by the Late Prof. Ayo Olukotun in one of his articles in The Punch. Critics of the administration have, however, frowned at the assertion due to the crisis that later engulfed the campus in the latter part of the tenure and made everything about the era to be seen from the prism of subjectivity. This is not unusual in an academic environment with much tension and “combative political atmosphere’’.

Ordinarily, I should not be raising the issue I want to raise here but for posterity. It has to do with some issues that cropped up during his tenure as the Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. I would not know how it happened but some colleagues shared the conviction that I had unfettered access and influence over him as VC to the extent that my intervention was solicited on some occasions, if not directly but surely, indirectly. At a point, I had to explain to those concerned that our relationship was not as they thought. It was/still is defined by teacher-student relationship, signifying my limitations as an arbiter or mediator on the conflicts at Ife campus.

Nevertheless, I still intervened on a few of the matters. In responding to the requests/appeals, I had a long telephone conversation with Prof. Omole on some of the issues. He listened to me attentively on each of the cases that I had brought up and gave his own side of the issues involved. As a kind of parting shot, I appealed to his religious sentiments in handling all the issues. More so, as a Pastor. He promised to do so. However, some of the issues lingered on even after the completion of his tenure as VC perhaps due to the internal dynamics of the University that I was not privy to. On balance, I want to observe that all the issues were resolvable but destiny made them not to be.

At a more personal level, he has been taking me as his junior colleague since I left Ife in 1989. For instance, he bailed me out when I lodged a complaint to him about my daughter who was admitted into the University of Abuja to read medicine but somewhere along the lines, the hammer of a regulatory agency fell on the programme; it ran into accreditation problems after her 100 level. She was subsequently advised to pick any of the available science subjects in the university to continue her studies. She was not enthused about the offer. After staying at home for two years, feeling unhappy, I had to run to Prof. Omole as VC of OAU to help me out by admitting her into his University. He promised to do so, if she scored above 200 in JAMB and passed the University post-JAMB. Needless to say that she passed the two examinations and she was admitted into the University to read medicine. She has since graduated as a Doctor.

Again, in 2015 when I lost my beloved mother, Prof. Omole although unable to attend the burial ceremony, I still got his widow’s might towards the ceremony. He has served as my referee on two occasions in my desire to be the VC of my University. He once hosted me in VC’s lodge at Ife and gave me some tips on how I could emerge victorious in my bid to head my University. And ever since, we have been in touch.

I later learnt that he was made the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti in 2019 by Dr. Kayode Fayemi as governor of the state, a recent contributor to an empowerment programme of the NPSA. Earlier, he was made the Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission/Visitation Panel to the Michael Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba by the administration of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko in Ondo State.

In 2021, he was equally appointed as the Chair of the Visitation Panel to the Lagos State University, Ojoo, Lagos by Goveror Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The reports submitted by his committees have in a way restored sanity to the two Universities. Prof. Omole is associated with some other Universities in Nigeria before and after leaving the seat of Vice-Chancellor of OAU in 2016. His services are not only limited to the Nigerian University System. He has consulted for some organisations, including the UNDP and taught in some other Universities outside the country.

While one reckons with the fact that the dynamics of Ife campus made his tenure as VC to be a bit stormy, one can aver that the birthday boy/man is not essentially negative and uncaring as some people might want to portray him to be due to some occurrences that happened during his tenure as the VC of the Great Ife. On this note and on behalf of the exco, I want to wish him well and urge that he allows the biblical teachings to prevail by taking steps to reconcile with those he may have offended in the course of his seventy years of earthly living. I want to equally call on those who he may have stepped on their toes, especially in the course of performing his official duties to let go as it is human to err.

Let me at this point discharge the responsibility I have been given by the exco of our Association. I have been directed to tell him that it wants to be hearing more from him since he proudly associated himself with Political Science when he served as the Returning Officer for the Osun State gubernatorial election held in 2014.

Congratulations to you, Sir. Happy many returns!

The author is the incumbent President, NPSA.