There is now a firm guarantee that what most occupied the late former Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria academic, Prof Okello Oculi would be preserved. The guarantee is the highlight of a condolence visit by Nigerian civil society leaders to the family Monday July 28th, 2025.
To a great extent, the Ahmadu Bello University of yesteryear came alive this Monday, July 28th, 2025 evening at the late Prof Okello Oculi’s Gudu, Abuja residence when former students, old colleagues, activists, publishers paid group condolence visit to the family of the late pan-Africanist.
One set of the faces
Moderated by Prof Jibrin Ibrahim, the visit turned into a valedictory session on Prof Oculi by those who experienced him in Zaria of those years.
It used to be said that upon admission into the now defunct Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) of the university, the new students first encounter Prof Oculi who processed and transformed them from carefree or excitable young students mainly from peasant moorings into reflexivists by taking them through Fanon, Walter Rodney, Ngugi Wa Thiongo and the likes before passing them to the hard-headed Marxists teaching third and fourth year courses. This notion of FASS was demonstrated at the condolence visit.
Hajiya Hauwa Mustapha of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) who experienced Oculi of those days as an Economics undergraduate spoke of a teacher who never forgot anything, always reminding a student of something in the past at every new meeting.
Ahmed Aminu Yusuf, a retired Director of the Federal Civil Service recalled Oculi teaching them Fanon, Ngugi, the Song of Lawino by Bitek, tasking them with reading Capital Vol 1 and the thrills in the difficulty of grasping Marx at that stage.
My note doesn’t appear to be sure whether it is still Ahmed Aminu or a different speaker who contrasted Oculi to another East African academic in Zaria then, Prof Bonaventure Swai. The speaker said the two of Oculi and Swai were basically the same except that Oculi smiled but not Swai.
Madam Ann Haruna who joined the visitors recalled Oculi as a calmly disposed and an unassuming teacher. She holds the opinion that that there would be no missing Oculi who taught her as an undergraduate. Her reason is that there is so much to think and remember about him.
Another set of the faces at the condolence
Mr Hassan Tahir Jibuno testified to Oculi “opening our eyes to pan-Africanism”, an experiencing of Oculi he was sure no ex-FASS student could forget. Jibuno told the story of how he, Oculi and others were attacked in the neighbourhood they shared in Abuja in 1998 and wondered why Oculi was smiling at the incident: a show of Oculi’s uncommon understanding of the psyche of robbers.
Ephraim Akanye (not sure if the surname is correctly spelt) was never a formal student of Oculi but he referenced his works and has since come to the conclusion that “he played a great role in building up a great number of Nigerians”
At a point, the condolence session took a prayer turn, a task which fell on Princess Hamman-Obels and who discharged it beautifully. She wasn’t of the fire and brimstone type but she delivered on the mandate of faith, a capability she never manifested any signs of previously.
Ene Obi, the many sided activist spoke of Oculi as the inspired who made others feel they had a backbone in him, calling him a beautiful soul who had dedicated so much to Nigeria and Africa.
Others on the condolence visit include Mallam Kabir Yusuf, retired publisher of the Media Trust Group where Oculi was a member of the Editorial Board for years after their meeting in ABU, Zaria; Dr. Dauda Garba and Chibuike Mgbeduahuruike of the CDD, the activist-politician Mallam Salihu Lukman; Madam Ene Ede, a leading gender activist; the writer, Dr Emma Shehu.
Speaking, Mrs Debra Ogazuma, Oculi’s widow who was flanked by her long term friend, Mrs Jennifer Ejembi, expressed happiness with the condolence visit. She expressed worry about the future of Oculi’s life – long commitment to grooming young people into knowledge structured enactment of leadership away from vulgar and streetwise calculations about the society.
The project which has passed through many phases, especially the Mock-OAU Summit simulation exercise by undergraduates of ABU, Zaria in the 1980s has, of late, settled at the Anglican Girls Grammar School, Abuja, some of whom have been able to travel and stage the Mock-AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with help from some notable African leaders.
In both its ABU, Zaria and Anglican Girls Grammar School, Abuja versions, the project has enjoyed the support of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) which had the foresight to make it into a soap opera first on NTA, Kaduna and later the national network. On television, the Mock-OAU Summit attracted a cross-cutting audience on a global scale long before media globalisation.
Mrs Ogazuma, Jennifer Ejembi and Anna Haruna during the session
Mrs Oculi was more concerned with an annual ritual within the project which normally coincided with Nigeria’s independence anniversary. She is not sure of the fate of this year’s in the aftermath of prof’s death.
But, responding specifically to this, Prof Jibrin Ibrahim gave a firm assurance that the project wouldn’t suffer death on account of Oculi’s death. “That’s what inspired a generation of Nigerians”, said Prof Jibo who assured there would be further interaction with Mrs Oculi on that.
The late Prof Oculi, continued Mrs Ogazuma, was anticipating Africa, specifically African values in a world ruled by artificial intelligence, developing in the pupil participants the sort of leadership which would guarantee the cultural structuring of the AI regime in Africa. He was thinking of “how do we ensure we are not compromised in being in the digital age”, said Mrs Ogazuma.
Sitting and listening to the statements being made struck at two ironic features about Oculi. One of these was mentioned but not the other. First is the irony hearing so much about someone who never liked being the subject matter when he was alive. It would have been interesting if Oculi were sitting down hearing the verdict on him. Thankfully, Mrs Ogazuma said Oculi is listening from wherever he may be right now. That cannot be dismissed because she knew him more than any other persons, followed perhaps only by Sembene and Bashir, their two children.
Second, Oculi left Zaria in circumstances connected to “lecturers who were teaching what they were not paid to teach”, the Nigerian version of McCarthyism sponsored by the Babangida regime as its grip on society began to scatter under the weight of SAP. This is the ultimate irony. For, how could a lecturer teaching Fanon, Rodney or Marx in an African university be associated with teaching what he or she was not paid to teach? Is this not the sort of thought process that most likely explains why Africa is where it is right now – the lowest ladder in global power relations. But it happened and in Nigeria, of all places.
