Jamiu Oyawoye: His Death Has Left Vacuum That’ll Be Difficult To Fill-Saraki.. We’ve Lost A Great Sage-Nurudeen Adeyemi..  It’s A Great Loss-Unilorin VC

Prominent Kwarans and other Nigerians have continued to pay tribute to late Professor Jamiu Oyawoye.

The tributes and remembrances of the life of the renowned academic had begun on Monday , May 22 , 2023 following  his passing.

Oyawoye, who was  born on August 12, 1927 in  Offa, Kwara state , attended  Offa Grammar School,  Ibadan Grammar School, Washington State University, Pullman, University of Durham, England,  and he became a Professor of Geology   at the University of Ibadan in 1966.

The nonagenarian, who was until his death on Monday , the Aremo of Offa, had at different times served as Chairman, West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Guaranty Trust Bank   among others.

He has also gotten recognized by many as  the first  person to teach Geology at the university level in Africa, the first Professor of Geology in Africa, and the first indigene of Offa to become a professor.

A devout Muslim, Professor Jamiu Oyawoye was turbaned as  Baba Adini of Kwara state by Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman, Kwara state Council of Chiefs in April 2017. 

Oyawoye died at 95.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara state had led tributes to him describing  his  death as a huge national loss while calling him one of the greatest Nigerians of all time and a pride of the  State of Harmony. 

 Vice- Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, in a statement  issued in Ilorin and made available to Team@orientactualmags.com  by the institution’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Kunle Akogun has also described  Prof. Jamiu Mosobalaje Oyawoye’s death  as a great loss not only to the ancient Offa Kingdom but also to the rest of the nation and humanity.

The Vice- Chancellor  also noted that he received the news of the death of the renowned scholar and community leader with rude shock, noting that Prof. Oyawoye  has died at a time when his counsels were still cherished.

He also described the deceased geologist as an outstanding statesman, a deeply religious personality, an exciting businessman and a priceless asset to the people of his community. 

He added that Prof. Oyawoye was not only a leading intellectual but also one of the eggheads that took over leading academic positions at the premier University of Ibadan shortly after the nation’s independence.

Prof. Egbewole also noted that  Oyawoye was a great friend and patron of the University of Ilorin, recalling that he was one of the eminent Kwarans who responded to the call of the University for support citing the late elder statesman ‘s sponsorship of the Mosobalaje Oyawoye Annual Lecture at the University’s Faculty of Physical Sciences for 15 years now.

The annual lecture, he added, has been of tremendous positive impact on the staff and students at the Faculty as well as members of the public over the years.

Prof. Egbewole condoled with the government and people of Kwara state on the death of  Oyawoye calling him a truly distinguished citizen. 

He also sympathized with the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II, and the good people of Offa and especially the Muslim community on the demise of the outstanding community leader.

The Vice- Chancellor urged the bereaved Oyawoye family to take solace in the fact that their patriarch led a fulfilled life full of pioneering achievements in  service to Almighty Allah and humanity. 

Prof. Egbewole prayed Allah to forgive the shortcomings of Prof. Oyawoye and grant him peaceful repose in Aljannah Fridaous.

Alhaji Nurudeen Adeyemi Balogun, an aerospace engineer, who is based in the United States of America, has also offered his condolences.

 In a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com , Engineer Adeyemi described  Oyawoye’s  death as an exit of a great sage.

‘The death of our father, the first Professor of Geology in Africa, the Crown Prince of Offa Kingdom is a close of a humanity in the lives of many across the globe.

Baba was ebullient, sagacious and prolific as a planter and rearer of many intellectuals in scholarship. Baba was until his death, a great philanthropist, a community leader with national and international recognitions, an achiever of many great feats that cannot be hurriedly forgotten. Baba was, indeed, a great man of impeccable character. Truly we have lost a great sage in Offa Kingdom.

I, on behalf of the ENACT Family around the World, wish to be identified with the Kwara state Government under our dear   Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’ s leadership, our dear Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi Esuwoye II, the Olofa-in-Council, the Muslim Community in the state, the Oyawoyes, and the entire disciples of Baba over this colossal loss. It’s a good night to the Crown Prince of Offa Kingdom.

May God Almighty grant Baba Aljanatul Fridaus and bless his grave. May God be with the survivors, and uphold us all. Oyawoye lives on’ the statement said.

Former  Senate President , Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has also mourned the death   of Professor Jamiu Mosobalaje Oyawoye ,submitting that  his death has left a vacuum  in Kwara state and Nigeria at large which would be difficult to fill. 

Saraki in a statement  by his media aide, Mr Abdulganiyu Abdulqadir, also expressed sadness that even though  the renowned geologist had  died at the ripe  old age of  95, the professor still had a lot to contribute to the development of Offa , Kwara state and Nigeria as a whole.

While commiserating with the  Oyawoye family , the people of Offa as well as Kwara state, in general,  Saraki noted that the giant strides of the first Professor of Geology in Africa and his numerous contribution to the growth of his community, state, and the nation will always be remembered. 

‘Baba Oyawoye made Kwara state proud with his academic accomplishments and he has put the state on the map. The people of Offa and Kwara state will particularly miss him for his professional expertise, fatherly counsel, and his community service. 

In the same vein, his achievements as a pioneer scholar in the field of Geology in Africa and as a leading academic will also  be a source of pride to his colleagues’ he stated.

Saraki, a one-time governor of Kwara state, condoled with the bereaved family and prayed Almighty Allah to grant the late nonagenarian a place among the righteous ones in Aljannah Firdaus-Team@orientactualmags.com
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