With a big sigh, we accept the reality that the Odelowos, yes, the same beloved Professor Ezekiel Odelowo and Mrs. Olufolawe Odelowo, have passed. But their story does not end; it will never end, in our hearts, in our written, and oral, records. The passing of Professor and Mrs. Odelowo can be likened to shining stars dropping visibly from the firmament, but even in that descent they once again illuminate our social and academic environment, not least in the manner they have activated so many riveting testimonies affirming the brilliance of their passage through this orbit. One thing is clear: these bright attestations on their sojourn on earth, reflecting how they have shone, through their teaching, mentorship, service, and faith, will continue to illuminate paths long after their passing. While they may seem to have dropped from our visible orbit, they have not vanished, and cannot vanish, into obscurity. Their kind of light does not fade with absence; rather, it endures through memory, reminding us what institutional culture was and should be. They have impacted many lives and formed many enduring associations that will continually keep their memory alive. One such association is the UNILORIN 49+, the identity that they proudly bore in the last quarter of a century. This tribute is rendered on behalf of this group.
The UNILORIN 49, also called ASUU 49, is the group of lecturers who stood staunchly against tyranny, decadence, corruption, and bigotry in the University of Ilorin in the late 90s and were victimized for their stance, generating crisis of a nationwide, even international, dimension. The members of the group participated without compromise in the ASUU national strike of 2001, leading to the mass termination of their appointments. The termination further escalated what was to become known as the UNILORIN crisis, until the Supreme Court vindicated the stance of the lecturers nine years later, and returned them to the University. Professor Odelowo was one of the lecturers. The association of the Odelowos with, or membership of, the UNILORIN 49+, since 2001, was actually something of a fairy tale. Contrary to the propaganda that surrounded the formation of the group of 49, many of them did not even know each other before the crisis briefly described above peaked. When the smoke cleared, and the dust settled and the union was trying to reckon who and who were caught up in survived the carnage.
The number tallied 49. Among them were venerable academics and professionals who were not necessarily unionists, who were not even attending the congresses of the academic union, but who simply could not, in good conscience, support the then University Administration and the damage it was causing to the university system. One of these venerable professors was Professor E.O.O. Odelowo.The union leadership looked at the names of some of those members in disbelief. Odelowo was a professor of cardiothoracic surgery – at that time the only such professional not only in the University of Ilorin, but indeed the only one for up to a thousand miles northwards. Although he was not that much known to the leadership prior to this reckoning, the question on everyone’s lips was: how could any thinking University Administration even think of terminating the appointment of such a highly prized, highly sought after academic and professional. The sheer idea appeared so wanton, so unthinking. The presence of persons like Professor Odelowo in the group transformed struggle, at least in the eyes of right-thinking members of the public, from the propagandized level of the rascally action of “ASUU boys” to the level of a serious issue deserving of a much closer attention.The particulars of Professor Odelowo’s academic acumen and professional competence have been told in a thousand and one testimonies by students and mentees. Many of them have since become professors and distinguished medical professionals in their own right. The image that we had of him from the outset was that of a sound academic, a clinically efficient medical professional, indeed a miracle surgeon by all accounts, strict about rules and procedures, a conservative dresser, not loud but rather neat and simple, a good husband and father, a man of faith, a complete gentleman. This image did not suffer any dent in his lifetime.Within ASUU, when Professor Odelowo started attending the congresses, much weight was attached to his contributions during debates. It was not long before ASUU at the national level recognized his value to the cause that the union was pursuing, and made him an ambassador (along with the likes of Professor Albert Anjorin) whenever there was a need to engage the national press or national political operatives during the protracted crisis. Another side to Professor Odelowo’s nature which commentators had not dwelt upon is his non-materialistic approach to life. Professor Odelowo was frugal, non-ostentatious and non-materialistic.
He also established a generous side in his dealings with the union and the group of 49+. When the union at the national level decided to start giving a small but steady stipend to the victimized members, Professor Odelowo promptly turned his own allotment to the branch to shore up the meagre provision given to run the branch. Every now and again he would bring marked envelopes under anonymous cover for some of the materially vulnerable members of the group. When the Chairman of the Branch and his family came under persistent attack, with threats pasted on their gate and gunshots ringing in their residence, the Odelowos offered the mini flat in their premises free of charge, and it became the sanctuary to the beleaguered family for several years. Mama Odelowo was Prof’s loving wife and an ardent supporter of the struggle all the time that it lasted. She was also an academic at the Kwara State Polytechnic. She was a woman of intellect and grace, well-educated and devoted to teaching at the polytechnic. Clearly, her influence went far beyond classrooms and certificates. Her husband, as noted earlier, was a scholar and professor, a man whose life was spent in pursuit of truth, clarity, and the formation of minds. Together, they believed deeply in the power of education. To them, education was not a badge of status, but a tool for service, integrity, and character. They were intelligent, humble, and principled. Their lives therefore stand as an example of scholarly seriousness joined with moral conviction, and humane engagement. Mama and Baba Odelowo were a perfect match.
It is usually intriguing when a couple lives and dies together. Baba and Mama Odelowo had their walk through life with a unison of mind and purpose that captured the admiration and respect of members of their institutions, their church, and the society at large. Their death within a few days of each other signalled the depth and imperviousness of their bond. Both were also God-fearing and courageous, guided by faith that guided every step that they took, even as they struck a delicate balance between the secular and the divine. Companions in life and death, their joint sojourn is a testament to love and devotion. The lessons of death are for the living, as I have said before in similar circumstances. Death confronts humanity with its most enduring question, regarding the meaning of life itself. Above all, the phenomenon of death urges on us a sense of responsibility and nobility of purpose. The relevance of a life lies in its orientation towards truth and justice, towards others, towards purposes larger than the self and worthier than selfish pursuits. Those like the Odelowos who lived with discipline, courage, faith, and selfless generosity, provide an admirable model of a meaningful life, one whose significance outlasts death itself.We condole with the Odelowo family. We thank “the boys” for taking very good care of Baba and Mama till the very end. We wish them the fortitude to bear the weight of this departure of the patriarch and matriarch of their family. We wish them the strength to continue to maintain and extend their legacy of love, community spirit, selflessness, sense of conviction in truth and justice, and the courage to stand both privately and publicly by their conviction no matter what.
Prof. Taiwo Oloruntoba-Oju(For and on behalf of Unilorin49+)