REMINISCENCES OF 45 YEARS
ATTHE .
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN:
A BLEAK FUTURE FOR
'UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
IN NIGERIA, IF...
BY
PROF. E. KAYODE ADESOGAN
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
REMINISCENCES OF 45 YEARS
AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN:
A BLEAK FUTURE FOR
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
IN NIGERIA, IF ...
PROF. E. KAYODE ADESOGAN
The Valedictory Lecture delivered on
2(}" August, 2005 at the Lecture Theatre,
Department of Chemistry,
Faculty of Science,
University of Ibadan.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
© E. Kayode Adesogan 2005
All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval sys-
tem or transmitted in any form or means, electronic, mechanical, pho-
tocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
copyright holder, i.e: the author.
First published 2005
ISBN: 978 1961058
Printed at Dabfol Print & Pack Ltd., Ibadan.
0803449 5517
APPRECIATION
The publication of this Inaugural Lecture was made possible thr~ugh the
kind support of Professor Idowu OJayinka as Dean, Postgraduate School,
University of Ibadan.
I am also grateful to Canon Professor Obaro Ikime and Professor Wilson
Olabode Aiyepeku for reading and correcting the draft: manuscript.
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CONTENTS
Page
My early days as a Student of UCI 2
The Department - General Overview 12
Being a Postgraduate Student 15
My joining the Staff 18'
My Research 22
The Privileges of being a Staff ofUl 26
The Department of Chemistry: A Closer Look 35
My Assessment of my Shortcomings, Failings and Regrets 43
A Bleak Future for University Education, if... 44
Concluding Remarks 52
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I count it a great privilege indeed to give a valedictory lecture at the
end of my eventful forty-five years plus in this university. As far as I know,
this is the first time the Department of Chemistry will have this type of
ceremony. Many lecturers have left before me who were more famous, had
done far more than myself to advance the cause of the department, but none
had the privilege to work in the department till retiring age. I was officially
65 last October, and I bowed out of the system on 1 February 2005 which
coincidedwith the end of last session.
Let me therefore without wasting time thank all staff of my department under
the current headship of Professor Olusegun Ekundayo, and Vety specially a
colleague, former student, and friend, Professor Akin Adesomoju and the Organizing
team led by Dr. Louis Nwakocha for the great honour done to me in organizing this
send-off. I also appreciate my students for the exhibition of Wednesday and, of
course, the special lecture given in my honour by Professor Jide Alo, who gives me
much joy and pride for bearing the good torch,of this department.
I came to the then University College, Ibadan as a young man in
September 1959 to read Chemistry. In 1965, I was invited to come back to
the University to begin a Ph.D. programme in the department. On January 1,
1968, I was appointed a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, promoted Lecturer I
in 1971, Senior Lecturer in 1974 and Professor in 1980.
I am particularly grateful to God for the privilege of giving this
lecture because, I am giving it as a full Professor of this University, and by
God's grace, I can can myself a Professor, anywhere in this world without
shame. Yet, it pleased God that although He gave me the brains to come
tops, I did not come out with a First Class degree. The second class (lower
degree) I made was just by the grace of God, thanks to a blackout I had in the
middle of my best paper in my Part I B.Sc. Special degree of the University
of London. The blackout led to a serious illness, which kept me off reading
for about 300 days. During the dark period, I was a regular visitor to Jaja. I
took so much of Librium tablets that one day the doctor I was seeing refused
to give me more. That I sat for the fmal exams at all was a miraculous
intervention of God. When I was invited for postgraduate work in 1965, I
accepted only because I knew I had an inner ability to complete the
programme successfully. It took me some years before I recovered the losses
in theoretical Chemistry that I had suffered during my last year as an
undergraduate student.
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My Early Days as a Student in the University College Ibadan
I entered the University College; Ibadan, in September 1959, after a
miraculous success in the Concessional Entrance Examination for that year
which, in my view, I did not deserve to pass! But, unlike present-day
Nigeria, there was no question of buying marks or influencing admission
then. In any case my parents who were ·illiteratewould not have been able to
coughout any extra money if it was demanded.
My secondary school education was at the once famous Government
College Keffi, in the northern part of Nigeria. There, I was used to good
dormitories, having meals cooked for students, and being given other
luxuries, but never had I experienced the freedom I found in Ibadan, nor
enjoyed the type of services and quality of food provided. It was, indeed, a
totally different experience and exposure.
University College Ibadan, a college of the University of London,
had two campuses in 1959 when I came in. One, a temporary set of buildings
previously used by the Army during the Second World War as a barrack, was
called the Old Site and the second, with its new buildings, was called the
Permanent Site. Most of the new students, who came in with me, did not
experiencethe life at the old site, though many of the stale students were still
living there then. I was allocated to Kuti Hall and we were two in a room. It
was the only year I shared a room with any other student.
The campus was a beautiful place to behold then. The lawns were
well mowed, the entire campus was clean, with lush vegetation and beautiful
landscape. It was evident that the authorities had taken great pains to ensure
that there was a decent environment, which they intended would last and
comparewith the best university campus anywhere.
The halls were clean then; there was order and the facilities and
utilities all worked. One could almost eat in the toilets, as they were
invariably sparklingly maintained. The corridors were swept regularly, walls
were painted at regular intervals, and you could not fmd piles of disused
utensils cloggingnarrow pathways and disfiguring the surrounding.
Students were made as comfortable as was realistic. Each student
was entitled to submit·ten clothes for washing and ironing per week. You
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merely put the clothes by the entrance to your door on a Monday. and on
Saturday the clothes were brought to your room neatly ironed. The quality of
food served in the dining halls was very good. Furthermore, the variety of
those meals was enticing. We had three-course meals, in the afternoons and
evenings - the first course being soup, which was followed by the main meal
and rounded off with a dessert. Stewards who waited on us as if we were
eating in hotels served all the meals. A student sat down and stewards came
in with trolleys of different dishes and one was to make one's choice out of
three or four alternatives. For example, at lunch or supper we might be
served salad, eba, rice, eko or agidi with the choice of egusi or okra soup.
Occasionally, the king of all foods, iyan, was among the foods served.
Incidentally, -the 'black stuff', which invariably became the favourite of
many brethren from the eastern part of Nigeria was served frequently; I am
referring of course to amala and ewedu. The third course could be any or a
combination of the following: fruit, fruit salad, ice cream, cream caramel,
pudding, pancake, etc. For supper, tea or coffee was always provided. When
one finished eating, 'one merely walked away, leaving the stewards to pack
up the dishes, clean and wash up. For me, I found the kingly treatment most
fascinating and flattering.
We were given special treats at weekends. On Sunday afternoons, a
quarter of a chicken was given to each student who wanted chicken, with
stew or soup for his main meal. Later that same day, at 4 pm, cake and tea
would be served. It was at such times that one could meet some senior
friends. Many invariably looked forward to Wednesday evenings for the food
was usually more sumptuous, as it was the day for High Table Dinner. The
Hall Master, the Warden and Senior Friends of the hall would come to dine
with students. Unlike all other meals, this was a formal affair. Students were
to be properly dressed. After the meals, there was usually a short talk or
remarks by the Hall Master. As students were expected to stay in the hall
throughout the duration of the meal, delays invariably caused some form of
mild protests, such as beating of plates with spoons and forks by disgruntled
individuals - the tough ones.
Life in the hall was exciting. There were indoor games, and the
Junior Common Rooms were usually busy with those who wanted to play
games like ludo, chess, monopoly, scrabble, draft, ayo, etc. Television had
just been introduced to Nigeria and it attracted many students, especially
during the 9 pm news hour. There were those who patronized the tv more
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than others. In particular, there was this gentleman who was always there,
almost invariably the first to be there -and the last to leave. People were
surprised at the amount of time they thought he spent watching programmes.
But, when his final result came, he was the best in his class. His secret? He
was said to be asleep most of the time in the tv room, but as soon as the
station shut down, he went to lock himself up in his room to do serious study.
He became a famous Professor in this University.
Each Junior Common Room also had a big refrigerator for students'
use. As no one, to my knowledge, did any private cooking, the only use to
which the fridge was made was keeping cold water. It was an unwritten law
that you could go to the fridge, drink cold water and refill the container
immediately.One day, a student who went to drink from his container found
it empty. Presumably in anger, he took the coloured container away but
returned it shortly. The next person that came to drink from the container did
not enjoy himself at all. After one or two sips, he ran out to spit what was in
his mouth, which he had not gulped: it was urine!
The halls encouraged outdoor activities. For me my main activities
were the discus and shot put. In both I represented my hall, but it was only in
the discus I represented and won medals for the University, both within the
country and when we went to Accra, Ghana, to have the inter-University
sports with a sister University, Legon University. In my days, the most
conspicuous athletics stars were A. K. Amu and Godwin Ogan.
University life was most exciting during my student days. There
were all sorts of societies and clubs. I had never been a particularly sociable
type, and never knew, for example, what went inside what was then possibly
one of West Africa's most famous social events, the HAVANA, which was
an annual dance festival organized, I believe, by the Sigma Club. I was very
active in Christian circles, but will not discuss that here.
I recollect a sad event in my hall - a suicide by one I knew quite well
from my secondary school days. He had the best School Certificate result in
his class -_As all round in 8 subjects. He came here to read Medicine. But
before his second M.B., BS examination, he hung himself in his room. It was
the stench of his body that alerted neighbours to the grim situation days after
he had committed suicide!
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Those were days of honesty. Vendors entertained no fears about their
sales. Papers wouldl be spread on the floor with no one attending to them.
You bought your papers, put money down and if there was no change, you
would go to the vendor the following morning, (if you did not see him before
the end of the day), and collect your change, usually with no questions asked.
Although there were tough students around, certainly students were
at a more advanced age than they are now, there was generally a cloud of
good behaviour in most parts of the campus. There were no cultic groups
then, even though there were rascally individuals. Groups such as the Sigma
Club were never, as far as one knew, a threat to anyone and would certainly
not be regarded as harmful.
There were campus newspapers and tabloids, some of which
provided a welcome check on unbecoming behaviour. The most popular of
these was The BUG. To be bugged was to be subjected to some costly jokes
or ridicule in the paper, usually but not exclusively restricted to improper
behaviour between the opposite sexes.
Most students took their academic work seriously. This was
inevitable because the Institution was a college of London. The degrees
awarded were initially in the Faculties of Arts and Science as Honours or
General degrees. They were three-year courses after the A level. Most people
in the Arts Faculty had only one main examination, and it came at the end of
the third year. The Faculty of Science had two examinations, which came up
at the end of the second and third years. The accumulation and pile up of
notes of many months or years, plus the fact that one was not allowed to
repeat any examination more than twice, made studying a major challenge
for students. Those were the days of chewing kola and drinking intensely
dark coffee. In our hall, we had a student called Makanjuola who was fund of
drinking very black coffee, the thickness of black coffee was subsequently
measured visually in maks, three maks would put anyone out of reach of
sleep for a long time. It was no surprise, therefore, that many students had
nervous breakdowns around examination periods. Serious cases were usually
taken to Aro mental hospital in Abeokuta, Thus, it became a vogue for
students to shout ARO when any of their colleagues behaved strangely, or
showed some signs of mental imbalance in and outside the classroom.
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Of course, there were students who appeared to take their studies
with levity. There were those who would boast that they would not go to the
examination hall until they were invited to do so. Such students could spend
sevenyears doing a three-year course.
The main library, an imposing and elegant building, held a lot of
attraction for students. In 1959, it did not have the current postgraduate
extension. It had well trained staff who worked from morning till 10 pm. It
served both as a major source of information and references for books and
journals, as well as a reading room. Many students who wanted to read far
into the night in the library dreaded the booming sound of the drum at about
9:45 p.m., which was a warning that the library was about to close. At the
sound of the second and fmal drum, all had to leave the library. The main
library was kept very clean and books were properly arranged on shelves.
The lift worked then and, as to be expected, discipline in the library was such
that one could almost literally hear a pin drop. Even in those early days, it
appeared that the library authorities had a problem containing the antics of
some students who either smuggled prized books out of the library or tore
some sheets out of books or journals. .
By and large, every student had one form of fmancial assistance or the other.
Most were on Federal or Regional scholarships; others were on bursaries or
had some form of loan or were bonded to teach in a school, which had agreed
to sponsor them All students had to pay stipulated charges to the Bursary.
Without such payments, one was not allowed to write the examination. Even
if the fees were not paid at the beginning of the session, it was assumed that
they would have to be paid sooner or later.. It was therefore unnecessary to
exclude anyone from the meals or any general provisions for students.
Let me at this point thank Oro Grammar School, Oro, Kwara State for
sponsoring me in my first year in the University. Although I went back to serve my
bond, they graciously released me before I completed my term with them. .
UCI (University CoUege Ibadan)
It was obvious that being a student of VCI was a great privilege. It
was the only university in the country in 1959 and the environment and the
privileges were adequate indications that the institution was unique. The
graduates of the college had no difficulty in securing jobs, the society had
great respect for them and the city was a friendly host to the students.
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Examinations were taken seriously by most students and also by the press;
they were usually conducted in the month of May. The examination scripts
were then sent for marking and! or moderation in London. The results, which
were usually released in August, would be published in the major dailies,
especially theDaily Times.
UI (University ofIbadan)
UCI's link with London and the finding that UCI students had a
comparable level of performance to those who were in the UK, accorded the
College a reputable, international status. Before the College was transformed
into a full-IedgedUniversity in 1962, it had established itself as a place with
highly rated lecturers with good teaching and research materials adequate for
a university. The change in status was, therefore, well-received
internationally.
The change to a full university had a side benefit for some students
who would have had to withdraw from their programmes under the
University College. Such students might never have had the opportunity of
having a university degree but for the change over. I know one such student
who spent about seven years to complete a three-year course. I visited him
once and he told me he was so old in the College and so ashamed of himself
that he deliberately moved from the lecture room to the dining room and
back to his class, allowing himself the barest minimum exposure to fellow
students!
Ibadan as a Centre of Excellence
University of Ibadan, the premier university in Nigeria, has a slogan
- the first and the best. There can be no doubt that it is the first. But whether
it is the best, is another matter. Yet the nation has a duty to make Ibadan a
showpiece at all times, for which all Nigerians can be proud. I think it is
wrong for the nation to. lump Ibadan with some other Nigerian universities as
"first generation universities". It is, iinmy view, a sign of political immaturity
to class Ibadan with Nsukka, Ife, Zaria and Lagos. Ibadan must be a class on
her own, and seen as a unique national treasure, treated in a special way that
transcends ethnic sentiment. Every effort should be made to ensure that it is
not starved of funds, but encouraged to retain the high values and standards
for which it had been known, while newer universities were still struggling
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for recognition.Needless to say that since reputation is easier lost than won,
Ibadan now has to make extra efforts to ensure that she defends her
reputation by diligent and persistent activities.
Ibadan has many things to commend it to the impartial observer. It is
easily the most detribalised university in the country. While one cannot say
that there is no element of tribalism here, it is true that anyone, whatever
his/her ethnic affinity may be, can still aspire to any elective office with a
good possibility of winning. Ibadan also has a strong tradition, which it
strives to defend. It is pertinent to mention here a few of its institutions, such
as the Senate. In spite of the large number of its members, Ibadan Senate still
comes up with sane and mature decisions. Some of us will remember when a
Vice-Chancellor had committed the University to awarding an honorary
degree to a serving Secretary to the Federal Government. The idea was
rejected in the Senate. Senators objectively evaluated the candidate, based on
the criteria set up for the award of such a degree and found the individual
unworthy. In spite of the plea made by the VC, Senate turned down the
request. Incidentally, I went to ABU a few weeks after the incident as an
External Examiner, and an alumnus of Ibadan lauded Ul asserting proudly
that it was only in VI that such a courageous defence of the best in academic
traditions could be made. He was, of course, referring to our not giving our
honorary degrees away cheaply.
One only needs to go to other Nigerian universities and see that in many
areas, lbadan is still a beacon to admire, While not denying that there are
many areas where our performance has been unacceptable, it is true that
many things, which go unpunished in some other Nigerian universities, will
earn very stiff penalties in Ibadan.
There is still some sanctity about examinations in many units in
Ibadan. Buying results with cash or in kind is unthinkable in many
departments. I have been privileged to move quite closely with many of our
Vice-Chancellors, most of whom are wonderful people in their own right. I
am particularly thankful for my happy memories of the late Professor
Oritsejolomi Thomas, under whom I had the privilege of working as Warden
of Kuti Hall. He was, in my view, one of the most successful VCs Ibadan
ever had. He appeared to know that the buck stopped on his table and
behaved as such. He was in charge, knew that he was and had to continue to
be in charge. I remember one day at a Student Welfare Board meeting, the
President of the Students Union, when he was recognised to speak, began by
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protesting his not being asked to speak much earlier. Professor Thomas
interrupted him, saying something like: "Stop my friend, I am chairman of
this meeting and I call people as I see fit. If you are not satisfied with that,
get up and walk out". The Students Union President did not doubt any longer
that he could not intimidate the VC and was sober throughout the remainder
of the meeting. Professor John Beetlestone recalled one day when he and the
same VC were at a meeting. He, as Dean of Science, tried to defend a cause
vigorously and cited what he thought transpired at a particular meeting to
buttress his argument. He said further that he was allowed to make his point
after which the VC simply said, 'Thank you Mr. Dean; that is not my
recollection. Can we move on to another matter?' Professor Beetlestone
reflected that he simply accepted in his mind that he was under a superior
authority.
Ibadan has, however, had its fair share of bad management. The
worst areas are in fmance and the use of University property. Financial
mismanagement appears to be rampant not only in the Bursary, but also in
virtually all segments of the University community. Some major contracts
were not awarded with the best interest of the University at heart. In
executing some grants, local or foreign, in some departments and units,
substantial sums of money have gone to the wrong places and people. Many
people have been careless with University property. Those of us who lived
on campus can testify to many useful materials that were often left
indefmitely in our yards until they rotted away. Worse still, many have
enriched themselves by defrauding the institution of useful materials by
diverting them from the campus to their own houses. Items stolen included
vehicles, vehicle engines, assorted electrical appliances and all sorts of
building materials, laboratory wares and the like.
All through my days as a student, and in the first fifteen or so years
of being on the staff of the University of Ibadan, I had known or assumed
there existed a very cordial relationship between the teaching and non-
teaching staff. I know as a fact that in my department the relationsliip
between the teaching staff and the non-teaching staff was consistently
cordial. In the block of six flats that I first lived in with my family in the late
1960s, Flat 6 housed a lecturer who came from Akwa Ibom; Flat 5 was
occupied by a lecturer who was German; Flat 4 belonged to an administrator
from Calabar; a technologist from the then Bendel State stayed in Flat 3,
while another technologist from the same Bendel State occupied Flat 2 and I
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from Ekiti resided in Flat 1. We were all quite close as were our children. In
those days the contribution of technologists to research work was generously
acknowledged, and in some cases, technologists were made co-authors of
research papers. I know of two technologists who are full Professors today as
a result of being cited in important journals. It is good to see that many mote
who, crossed over from the technical to the academic line, are also aspiring
to becomeProfessors.
Unfortunately, things changed for the worse in the 1990s. It came to
a point when members of staff were attacking one another physically on the
basis of whether you were a teaching or non-teaching staff. An objective
analysis will show that the fault was on both sides. It was alleged.that some
teaching staff looked down on their non-teaching colleagues, while some
non-teaching staff were said to have refused to accept the reality of being
support staff. Some lecturers were said to be anxious to use their
technologists for intensive work.,but if there was some monetary gains, only
a pittance was given to the technologists. Some technologists were alleged to
disrespect to their academic colleagues, saying they knew when they came in
as freshers to the University.
Clearly teaching and non-teaching members of staff need to build
bridges and respect one another. We obviously need one another. Our
callings are different, and we must accept that; Lrepeat: we need one another.
Even staffs need students and vice ..v.ersa. I used to use this true story to bring
out the reality of our interdependence. The incident was before the advent of
electricity. A famous organist and his bellow-man were performing at a
concert. The first number was played and the crowd applauded rapturously.
He acknowledged the cheer, curtsied and said, now I AM going to play
...... He repeated this routine about three times. About the fourth time, the
unexpected happened. The bellow-man who was hidden from the public
refused to blow the air, and so there was no audible music. The organist got
the lesson quickly, corrected himself - WE shall now play..... The role of the
bellow-man must be appropriately acknowledged! As the new vision of the
University enjoins, we need to organize social interactions and seminars that
seek to promote mutual respect and better interactions across all divides.
Even among the trade unions, how wonderful it would be for all the unions -
ASUU, SANU, NASU, ASUTON, etc, to work together to improve the lot of
all staff, with ASUU selflessly leading them all and the rest accepting their
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leadership, always with the overall interests of the University and its staff at
heart.
I thank all staff in this University, especially the various trade union leaders,
for accepting me as a fellow compatriot committed to making UI a better place to
work in.
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The Department - General Overview
If the halls were pleasant and delightful places to be in, the
departments were no less exciting. I met the same level of dedication by staff
to their work as I was used to in Keffi where more than 90% of the staff was
expatriate. When I entered UCI, there were only two or a maximum of three
Nigerians on the teaching staff of Chemistry Department. Staff took their
duties seriously, were friendly but business-like. You did not need to be told
to be punctual to classes and to attend regular Practical classes; it happened
naturally as one saw the commitment of the teachers and the assignment
scheduledfor each day.
The laboratories were well stocked; there were sophisticated instruments for
serious research. The department had several workshops from where things
were fabricated and or repaired: carpentry, metal works, glassblowing,
electrical and electronics with well-trained technicians and technologists.
Our staff in the department were highly qualified and committed to
their work. A number of them had their unique characteristics, and it may not
be inappropriate to comment on a few of them.
Professor C. W. L. Bevan, formerly an officer of the British Army,
was truly the father of our department. He was an architect and a builder per
excellence. He mobilised his staff for maximum output, but was greatest in
his meticulous plan for a thriving department. He had great a love for his
Nigerian students. The department rose to great heights, largely due to the
effort of this great and selfless man. He was a very eloquent and courageous
man and was highly respected on campus. The story is told that once when
he was both Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of our department, he acted
as Vice-Chancellor. He needed to have the VC's approval for a particular
thing for the department. He wrote the request and signed it in the
department, got it despatched immediately and went to the VC's office a
little later to approve it as the acting VC.
It is pertinent to say that this great man was very Nigerian at heart. I
hope a conspicuous place can be named after him in the University. Even
after leaving, he continued to think Nigeria, so much so that he almost got
into trouble trying to help Nigerians to qualify from his University where he
was Principal/Vice-Chancellor. I went to do some work and had a short
training in Cardiff through his support. He came to meet me at the train
station, and I spent the first night with him.
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Father Arthur Foley was a Roman Catholic priest who majored in
taking first year students in Practical Chemistry. He was very competent, and
had that rare gift of cracking jaw-breaking jokes without him smiling.
Sometimes you asked Father Foley how you were doing with your practicals,
he might advise that you were wasting your time in the university, and would
fare better by taking to another trade such as fishing, or joining the PWD -
Public Works Department, the forebear of Ministry of Works! Or, you might
show Father Foley the result of your titration and ask whether you were
correct, and he might say that you were accurate to the nearest ten gallons or
50 litres, in an exercise that required an accuracy of a fraction of a millilitre!
He was always alert, agile and most conscientious.
Professor David Taylor was very intelligent and unusually
hardworking. Although he was big in stature, he wa.s a shy man. He would
not look into the eyes of his students in class and would speak in a tone that
was barely audible from the back of the classroom, he seemed to be speaking
mostly to the blackboard as it were. Sitting in front to take in most of what he
said was a treasure as he packed so much Chemistry into his lectures. He was
a great experimentalist. On some days, he would still be in the laboratory by
10 pm and, sometimes, he would go to the Sunday morning service from the
laboratory still in his shortslknickers and would go back to his laboratory
straight from church. I had the honour of being supervised by him after Dr.
John Powell, my first supervisor, fmally left Nigeria for his country, the UK.
Professor Jack Hirst, a very brilliant scholar was a most pleasant
gentleman. When I first knew him, he was a chain smoker and he smoked in
class. When he married he quitted smoking altogether. Hirst a.nd Foley were
the longest serving expatriates.
The people behind the transformation of University College lbadan
into a full University obviously put a Jot into ensuring that the new institution
would continue to enjoy international recognition. They did not rest on their
oars. They made sure that highly rated academics of international standing
visited various departments from time to time to give lectures and interact
with staff and students. In some cases, collaborative projects emerged. I
know that we in Chemistry and Physics at various times had the honour to
host distinguished Professors and experts from the UK and the USA. They
were always an inspiration to us, especially if we happened to have known
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them through the textbooks they had published or other works they had done.
Whenever they gave seminars, we were always encouraged to ask questions.
I salute the Founding Fathers of this institution; I appreciate all my lecturers,
and by extension, aI/ my previous teachers at the primary and secondary schools; I
thank all my successive heads of the Departments of Chemistry.
/'
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Being a Postgraduate Student
As one grew older in the department, especially at the postgraduate
level, one discovered that the department was becoming famous for its
contributions to world knowledge. For example, one became aware of the
healthy rivalry between the Natural Products group at Ibadan and another
active group in the same field in Scotland.
The Department of Chemistry had what was, arguably, the best
.. departmental library in the University. Most literature work was done in the
department. Chemical Abstracts, chemical dictionaries, periodicals,
monographs, etc, were available. There was a time you could consult these
sources any time of the day and night as the department had its own library
staff.
It was not all academics or bookwork in the department, however.
Our students were often in the forefront during the famous rag days. We
always had a float in which fascinating experiments, with flashes of dazzling
light and assorted colours, smoke and attractive displays were presented to
the watching public.
When I came back for my Ph.D. degree programme in March 1965,
the department was waxing stronger in academic distinction, and gradually
carving a name for itself in the world of science. There were particularly two
emerging and budding disciplines, the woody group or Natural Products
group under the leadership of the Head of Department, Professor Bill Bevan,
the indefatigable and unsurpassable father of the department. Then there was
the bloody group, otherwise known as the Haemoglobin group, under the
leadership of Professor Denis Irvin assisted by Professor John Beetlestone.
Research was beautiful to conduct in UI in those days. Since
electricity and water supplies were reliable, one could leave experiments that
required light or electrical power for many hours unattended to without
fearing any mishap. The streets were safe, and it was not uncommon for
laboratories to still be alive with many researchers at 12 midnight. There was
hardly any hour between midnight and dawn. when you would not fmd
someone working somewhere in the department; there were more than
enough materials for researchers to work with. Research and teaching
.materials were replenished as soon as they were used up; indeed, owing to
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the foresight of the authorities, one could hardly get to the store and not find
what one needed. In the rare cases where this was not the case, orders were
promptly placed and delivery was sure to come shortly afterwards. With the
calibre of staff on ground as researchers and supervisors, highly sophisticated
instruments, adequate solvents, chemicals, laboratory glass and metal wares,
it is not surprising that research output was high. For example, after eighteen
months of research, my supervisor who was retiring from Ibadan said I
already had enough materials for my Ph.D. degree. The first paper in an
international journal was published within a year of my starting research.
And in 1968 I had the opportunity and privilege to go to Dakar to present my
first academic paper at an international conference. All these indicate that the
department was conducive for good research. Such feats are no longer
feasible today!
My student days were eventful, and I was privileged to know myself
better as I drew closer to my God through many trials and tests which I do
not intend to share here. I also had an enormous opportunity to know more
about human beings. God used some of my experiences in this area to
prepare me for a better understanding of the afflictions and trials that men
face in life. I know now as a result of my frequent interaction with fellow
students:
• That one can be lonely in a crowd. I once paid a visit a student in his
hall and he said that he had been looking for somebody to say 'hello'
to him for some days;
• That one can hear strange voices; hear what has not been said; be
sure of some people planning against one when in fact this is mere
fantasy and a symptom of a sick mind. A friend once told me of ten
people in his hall who were plotting his downfall. He mentioned the
ringleader and gave the names of other members. To my dismay, I
found out that none of them even knew my friend, and did not know
one another. Certainly they never met! And fmally;
• That students (males and females) can pretend and bite the very
fmgers feeding them and do so quite ferociously.
I have one regret from my student days though, the postgraduate days in
particular. I did not know enough about practical economics and the wisdom
in planning ahead for tomorrow. I am referring to the vast land that was
available and uninhabited from which I could have bought plots of land,
since my pocket money could very well have enabled me to do so. I am
talking about what is present day Agbowo. I was also totally ignorant of
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making practical use of that part of Arithmetic that I was quite good at in
primary school. I mean Shares and Stocks. I had enough money at the
postgraduate level to buy shares that could have made me fmancially much
better off than I am today. But I did not know the value of buying shares
then. This is one reason why I heartily endorse the wider exposure of
students to areas beyond their disciplines.
Fond as I am of Chemistry, lam scared of chemicals. This is one reason
why chemists rightly lead the fight against government's decision, of
allowing pharmacists alone to authorise and advise on drugs and chemicals.
The truth is that chemists know far more about the properties of chemicals in
general than the narrow study of curative drugs would allow. Furthermore,
more and more facts emerge daily about chemicals we use or produce. I
shared a small room with a friend, Dr. Ayo Kola Fasina as we both worked
for our Ph. D. degrees and one of our companions was benzene vapour,
which came from the commonest solvent used in plant extraction. A few
years later, I learnt that the researcher working on the bench that was
assigned to me in Liverpool had to leave Chemistry altogether because of
benzene poison! I was sure he inhaled far less of the substance than me!
I dare not forget: it was about midway through iny Ph.D. programme that I
wedded my beautiful and beloved wife. Before I finished my Ph.D. work, God gave us
a son. f use this occasion to thank the wife of my youth, Doyinsola Abeke, for al/ she
did to make my progress in life in general possible. She sacrificed much and J shall
.forever thank God for her.
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My Joining the Staff
My appointment as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow took effect on l"
of January 1968, although I had helped with some teaching since the third
quarter of 1967. My family and I (wife and an eight-month child) moved to
the campus later that month. Obviously, it was quite easy for staff to have
accommodation on campus then. You may partly understand why as
Chairman of the University Housing Allocating Committee, J felt very bad
towards colleagues who, after retiring from the system and collecting their
entitlements, still held on to University accommodation, thereby depriving
younger colleagues from benefiting from that aspect of University privileges-,
It was, of course, a big honour to be on the staff of one's esteemed
alma mater, for which I was deeply thankfuJ to God. It might not have come
that easily if the civil war were not on. That sad event sent some of our
colleagues from the other side of the Niger home and so created some
openings in the department.
One's take-home pay could certainly take one home in those days.
Indeed, for our small family, we could afford to live on my salary as my wife
most kindly agreed to stay home to look after the growing family. We had
always been a family with visitors. We not only had the privilege of having a
few people stay with us from time to time, especially after the civil war, we
regularly hosted visitors on brief visits to Ibadan. Then we could afford to
employ two house helps, and we would normally ask what drink a visitor
wanted - soft drink of course, and served it with cake or assorted biscuits. In
the mid-1980s; "What drink would you have' gave way to 'We have this or
that drink'. In the late 1980s and early 1990s when our take-home could no
longer take us home, visitors were still given a warm welcome, but were no
longer asked what they would like nor could we afford to givemuch anyway. .
Although by nature, I have never been eloquent, I nevertheless chose
the path of lectureship rather than take some administrative or managerial
jobs. I had taken a cautious decision to make a career in academics in the
hope that I would be able to influence students positively. I have never
regretted that decision. Being in academics gave me the added opportunity of
engagingmyself in the fundamental research of my choice. I was committed
to putting into practice the many things I had learnt from my expatriate
teachers - their commitment and devotion to duty. I desired to add to that a
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little injection of constructive nationalism, which in my case, merely meant
trying to encourage my audience that we do not need to continue to accept
that the black man cannot do well.
Whenever I faced a new class for the first time, I would normally
introduce myself and tell them of two of my weaknesses: I would not tolerate
lateness to my class, and I would not like noisemaking. Incidentally, I did not
entertain anyone to interrupt my lectures either. I once refused a request from
a colleague who wanted to call out from my on-going class, students from his
department who were offering the course. He was not happy with me, but I
know I was right.
As a young lecturer, I was exceedingly fast in the delivery of my
lectures and tried to pack a lot into a lecture. I have met one student who told
me to my face that I was a bad lecturer. As I matured in the work, I became
more relaxed and often tried to bring in the common experiences of life to
illustrate difficult concepts. In my last twenty years or so, after introducing
myself to a class, I would try to encourage them that the course was within
easy grasp of anyone who was good enough on his/her own to make the
entrance examination to the University. I cautioned against allowing the fear
of whatever negative things they had heard about the course to immobilize
them against success. I normally told a story which would be adapted to the
local situation in this manner.
Death was the purveyor of an epidemic. It travelled by
railway from Lagos, but not before it had killed 10,000
people. In Abeokuta, it killed 5,000, in Ibadan, it killed
7,000. In Oshogbo it killed 3,000, the same number that it
killed in Offa and Ilorin. Then, curiously, it disembarked
from the train and decided to go by road to Abuja via Kabba
where it killed 2,000 and to Lokoja where it also killed
2,000. In Abuja, it was accosted and asked why it had killed
4,000 in small Jebba. Death protested that it had not been to
Jebba. What then killed them in Jebba? They would almost
in unison shout FEAR!!
If the class was in Nigeria I would try to challenge them to imbibe
some nationalism, try to paint some real picture of the black man and
encourage them to make our future better by determining to do better than
their forebears.
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Although I was never eloquent, I enjoyed my teaching and as I grew
older I enjoyed bringing my students reasonably up to date, endeavouring to
make them gain in theory what they must have missed in experimental
chemistry. I sometimes told them that I wanted them to be able to hold their
heads high in theoretical knowledge if they found themselves in Harvard or
any of the top universities of the world.
Although I took my faith seriously, and almost invariably prayed
before going in to a classroom, I never openly prayed before my class, nor
did I ever preach Christianity in class.
I avoided wasting time in the classroom with irrelevant jokes and
stories. But I discovered that occasional jokes and short anecdotes could
enliven a class. I would sometimes try to draw parallels between seemingly
abstract ideas and familiar things or incidents. For almost forty years, I
almost always wore a thick black beard, sometimes with a bushy hair. As I
normally wore a serious face, I sometimes looked fearsome. Occasionally, I
looked different when I shaved my beatd and moustache. Appearing in class
in that clean-shaven manner always drew all sorts of reactions, which
invariably lightened the atmosphere in the class and paved the way for
introducingdifficult topics without fear of negative reactions.
There was one incident I cannot forget. During class, I went out to a
tree behind the class to sever a stick with which 1 could point at things on the
blackboard without disturbing the views of students. Unknown to me, there
were many ants on the tree and as 1 was fetching the stick, many crawled on
me, through my shirt and from there to other parts of my body. Hardly had I
entered the room before I began to feel strange sensations all over me as the
ants were biting and stinging me. I managed to keep my cool, but instantly
and abruptly gave a strange reason for my immediate departure from class.
Later I told the class my story!
Two separate incidents caused me to discover that I did not want to
age. I was just 39 or so when one girl who was discussing me with another
friend of hers unaware that I was walking right behind her, referred to me as
baba. I resented that within me - me baba. I soon discovered that I was
known and called by that appellation by many. It has since become my most
popular nickname. The second incident was when I was at an international
conferencein Jamaica in 1976. I went to have a shower and had taken a look
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in the mirror when I saw one strand of grey hair on my chin. I pulled it out
quickly, hoping it was just a mistake. It did not take long before more and
more came out. Shortly afterwards, hairs on my head started to turn grey.
Let me again recount one of God's kind actions in my life. Before my
promotion as a Senior Lecturer, God had expanded the family by giving us three
more children. They are all physical/y big now, and God has elevated them al/ beyond
our wildest imagination. I appreciate each one of them and acknowledge the joy they
give us. They have also given us wonderful grandchildren who have added more
sparks to our lives.
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My Research
My research blossomed after I became a member of staff. Up till
1975, about good research could still be,conducted in the department. During
that period, the Natural Products group (the woody group) soared to a very
great height and was known world-wide for contributing significantly to
knowledge in the area. The other very well known group was the
Haemoglobin group (the bloody group). Of course there were other groups in
the department, which had made significant contribution to knowledge by
working at the cutting edge of research. The Physical Organic group was one
of such groups and, ofcourse, our well-knownAnalytical Chemistry Unit.
I continued with research on the meliacins, the mahogany related
plants, until 1970 when I decided that I would be more mission-oriented. I
chose to work on the plants and herbs, which are used for curative purposes
in traditional medicinal practices. Incidentally, this is a major privilege one
enjoys in academics. Although my Ph.D. supervisor was still in the
department, I chose a new path of research for myself without his raising an
eyebrow. The first paper that J published in this area was on the extracts of
the plant Morinda lucid a (botanical name) or oruwo in Yoruba. It is a plant
of many uses, but I do not intend to talk about some of these medicinal
plants, which include plants that are reputed to have anticancer, anti-
hypertensive, etc, activities as they have been covered in my inaugural
lecture in 1987.
I must, however, mention one or two things, which were not
mentioned in my inaugural lecture. The determination of the structure of a
new compound, which led to my first published paper, did not come easily. I
racked my brain intensely, but could not come up with a plausible solution. It
was in the night as I was tossing on my bed that the solution to the structure
came to me and I quickly put it down. Although that was the only time in
which the solution to an unknown structure came this way, I learnt to
appreciate the importance of quiet reflection on details gathered from data
obtained from spectrophotometric and other sophisticated instruments and
related degradative and synthetic experiments.
I veered into two other areas..I went for synthesis, which I regard as
the king of experimental organic chemistry. It was the combination of
synthetic and correct analytical studies that allowed a paper of ours to be
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published. It reported a new structure, which, unknown to me, was also being
worked on by a European team. Their paper reached the editor before ours
and that fact would have disqualified ours, but for our providing additional
synthetic confrrmation. Consequently, both papers were published together in
the same edition of the journal.
I also did some microbiological Chemistry. The history of my
venturing in this area was told in my inaugural lecture. It is interesting that
my first Ph.D student, then Mr., now Professor Babajide Alo, and former
Dean of the Postgraduate School, University of Lagos was heavily involved
in both synthetic and microbiological studies.
With the downturn of the Nigerian economy and the ascendancy of
the military in governance, education suffered much neglect. We could no
longer do meaningful research, except by linking up with friends from
outside the country who would do the spectral runs for us. It is important to
stress that though the hardship experienced in conducting high-level research
was felt by all, the Natural Products group to which I belonged was the
hardest hit. This was because we depended heavily on highly sophisticated
spectrophotometers with which to interpret our results: they had all been
grounded.
One major deficiency in the way we conducted our research in
Ibadan became more evident to me when I was at the University of Auckland
in Australia, where I did some intensive biotechnologywork on some of my
plant extracts and screened them for anti-cancer activity: there was
insufficient integration of related disciplines. In Auckland, I worked at a
place where several research groups worked in an integrated manner. The
centre had a few identified goals, with each discipline working in their
relevant areas of expertise and harmonising their efforts with those from
other disciplines to further their specific objectives. Their lunch was always a
working lunch. Informal sharing took place on their fmdings -solutions as
well as problems. Of course, there were formal seminars where discussions
were better articulated and sound conclusions arrived at.
It is not that we did not have any form of collaboration at Ibadan. We did.
For example, in the early 1980s, we had the Multidisciplinary Research
Group in Medicinal Chemistry, which involved medical clinicians,
pharmacologists, pharmacists and botanists. I had the privilege of being the
coordinator or chairman of that group. The group was to collaborate to
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produce new drugs from traditional medicinal leads - targeting malaria,
cancer and infectious diseases, all of which are common tropical ailments.
But that kind of interaction was not quite the same as what I had experienced
in Auckland. Incidentally, our medicinal research group wanted to start in a
big way. The Postgraduate School promised a substantial grant, and even
supported funding the Workshop of Traditional African Medicine that we
organized in 1982 at which the University of Pennsylvania was ably
represented by Professor Cava and Dr. Laksmikantham. The promised grant
never materialized, and the Group, plus its intention to start a postgraduate
course in Medicinal Chemistry, gradually died a natural death.
I am, of course, aware that many groups collaborate in research
across disciplines without making it formal. As recently as about seven years
ago, I collaborated with Professors Adetosoye, Itiola, and Moody to produce
an ointment, which was very efficacious against some skin diseases. A lady
who had some depigmentation of the skin and who was said to be developing
a complex against going out in the open tried our ointment and was cured
within a few days. You may not believe it, but our group did not move
further with this interesting ointment. Now that I am on retirement with
neither gratuity nor pensions, an unavoidable invitation may be staring me in
the face!
In terms of research, I can affirm that in a systematic and progressive
way, Ibadan wetted my appetite 0965-69), Liverpool opened my eyes (1969-
70), I cut my teeth back here in Ibadan (1970-73), and came of age at
Berkeley (1974). All other research centres of the Universities of
Southampton, Auckland, Illinois at Chicago, Brown, etc, are all icing on the
cake. The University of California at Berkeley is definitely one of the best
Universities in the world with an outstanding research record at the cutting
edge of knowledge. It was not only possible, but also tempting to work 24
hours a day at Berkeley. Sometimes when leaving the laboratory at ] 1 pm or
midnight, I would see many coming in for work. The laboratories were
always busy. It was truly fulfilling working there. Indeed, I knew that if I
were not married before going to Berkeley, I would certainly have delayed
marriage to give me more time for research. Incidentally, by the same token,
when I came to my senses as it were, I knew that I could not give to
Chemistry all it demanded of me if I continued to rank my faith above my
profession. However, one major legacy of my stay at Berkeley was that I
developed my sense of making valid and meaningful observations in
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experimental Chemistry to a high pitch. One of them led to the discovery of
an unusual reaction. The conclusion I made was resisted for quite some time
by my host as it was an unusual and an unexpected reaction. The onus was
on me, therefore, to prove in a most rigorous manner the veracity of my
claim. We subsequently expanded the reaction when I returned to Ibadan.
From that experience, I decided that I would no longer work in any
laboratory as a junior partner.
I enjoyed my research as much as I treasured the moments I worked on the
bench carrying out experiments. If conditions permit, I would still like to
continue bench work even now. The University has been kind to me by
giving me the opportunity of working at several first class laboratories. I
worked at the Universities .of Liverpool, Southampton, California at
Berkeley, Wales at Cardiff, Auckland, Illinois' at Chicago and at Brown
University. I have visited many others, like University of Bristol, Cornell
. University at Ithaca, Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge and London, etc.
The exposure has certainly built me to be a reasonably sound chemist. And to
God's glory, it was the quality of my teaching of postgraduate students at
Brown University, when my host was away on leave, that had paved the way
for my being appointed full Professor at that University, one of the seven Ivy
League universities. Of course these privileges allowed me to rob shoulders
the world's top Chemists, sometimes in their laboratories and at other times
at conferences.
I doff my cap to great scientists with whom I have interacted and from whom
I have benefited immensely; I salute Professors Francis Dean, Henry Rapoport, Carl
Djerassi, David Cane, Farnsworth, Crombie, Jake MacMillan etc.
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The Privileges of Being a Staff of VI
Being on the staff of this University has allowed me to attend many
international conferences in.Asia, the United States, Canada, Europe, West
Indies and Africa and to have presented papers in many of them. It has also
given me the opportunity of working on a World Health Organization
(WHO) project when I was involved in synthesizing long-acting oral
contraceptives for use in family planning. I should also add that I have had
the privilege to be an External Examiner at all the ftrst and most of the
second generation Universities in the country, was External Examiner several.
times to the University of Cameroon at Younde, and once was appointed
External Examiner to the University of West Indies, Jamaica although I
eventually could not make the trip. I also served as chairman of a Ph.D.
examinationpanel there at BrownUniversity in the USA.
The privileges of my trips to these places often extended to our
University in the form of materials and equipment; linkingIbadan students or
staff to work in such places or with such people.
On a personal level, the interactions have given me the opportunity
of. contributing to world knowledge in the areas or Organic Synthesis,
Natural Products Chemistry, and Traditional Medicinal Chemistry. They
have also given me the satisfaction of training distinguished scientists who
are eminent scholars in their own right in this country and around the globe.
My Interactions. with Students
With regard to students, my career has been a most humbling
experience indeed. I have been privileged to counsel hundreds and thousands
of students during my time. Some of my encounters with students have been
memorable and are sometimestoo personal and too humblingto recount.
The privileges have often led to many students reposing much confidence in
me and I got to know the parents of many of the students and the homes they
came from. In some cases, those I had taught and even those who were not
close to me would write and tell me of some wrong things that they had
done. There were those who said that a Chemistry junior staff had leaked
examination questions to them at various times, and in view of their new
status as born-again Christians, they asked how they could make an effective
restitution. Advising such people was not always easy, unlike those who
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stole library books who I normally advised to pay for the books or return
them if they still had them. I once received a letter once from one of our
former M.Sc. students who said that when I was Head of Department, he
forged my signature to attest that he and another student had got the M.Sc.
degree, while, in fact, they were still studying for the degree. I shall not give
details of my responses to such confessions.
Being a lecturer at VI gave me the opportunity to help students to be
more realistic and to accept their limitations. A student from a fellowship of
which I was patron came to me one day to inquire about his mark in an
Organic Chemistry examination he had taken. I believe he scored 24 per
cent. The breakdown of the mark was 16 out of 20 in Practicals and 8 out of
80 in Theory. He came to me the following day to inform me that God had
told him in the night that that was not his mark. I promised to look into his
paper to see if there was, indeed, some mistake in the marking or collation.
When he came to see me the following day, I sat him down and ftrst told him
the mark was his; that I had taken time to look at all the questions and the
scores; and that if I were marking all of it he would not score 8 but 5 over 80,
in which case he would score a total of 21% not 24%. I then took time to
explain some basic truths of living and the need to distinguish between
reality and wishful thinking, as well as the importance of a Christian of
taking responsibility for hislher actions.
One of the saddest letters I ever received from students came from a
girl whom I had told that on the basis of her performance vis-a-vis the laid-
down guidelines of the department for final year students, she would not be
.allowed to register as a final year student in Chemistry. She wrote a long
letter stating how indigent she was and that she must graduate at the end of
the session if some calamity was not to befall her family. She said she
usually had to wash her only wearable dress in the night and got it ironed dry
for the morning. Her fellowship sisters were essentially her main source of
feeding. The rare occasion when she had some cash gift she had to share it
with her poor mother. The incident opened my eyes in a fresh way to the
hardship some of our students faced.
Indigence is bad enough for any student, but more so for female students
who are definitely far more vulnerable than their male counterparts. This was
driven home to me a few years ago when a male student who was defending
the plea for the university to reduce the fees paid by students said, to the
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hearing of a large group of people, that some of the female students had to
resort to giving their bodies to strangers for money in order remain students
at the university!
I want to pay tribute to all the students I have had the privilege of teaching
across the globe and, believe me, they are very many. I want to specially thank those
who have found me a reliable adviser and even a father and a friend. You constitute
my major investment in life and I know many of you will ever be precious jewels to
me.
My Services to the University
I served the University in a number of ways, first as an assistant,
then full warden of Kuti Hall. I was Hall Master of Independence Hall. In the
former hall, my effort to ensure that we did not inflate the prices of things
bought did not receive much acclamation by those who had been used to that
system, but I insisted on it any way. When I was Head of our department, I
did my best to stop a few members of the Junior Staff from pilfering
laboratory and stores materials. I had my secret network, which succeeded in
curbing the menace. We did not publicize what we did, but the message got
round and we saved the department some valuable materials. I have no doubt
that some would say I took extreme positions in my attitude to official duties
and properties. For example, I did my best not to use official papers for
private use, and paid for petrol whenever I took the departmental car on
private trips, thereby modifying the concept of accountability. Although we
did not have a fmance committee in my time, I collected receipts for all
expenses by me on behalf of the department, as well as having a record of all
monies received. I believe I still have the relevant receipts. I tried,
unsuccessfully, to get the department to engage itself in some moneymaking
ventures to further improve the department's cash flow situation.
Probe Panels
I served on a few probe panels. The one I was not Chairman of has
an interesting aspect, which to my mind, is relevant to this lecture. There was
a problem among staff in a department. A retired Professor was called to give
evidence and part of what he said has remained indelible in my memory.
When he was Head of Department, he put up one of the lecturers under
interrogation for promotion to Readership. The case failed at the Faculty
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level. He said he put the same person up for Professorship the followingyear
without any alteration to his curriculum vitae and by a series of manoeuvres,
succeeded in getting the man promoted Professor that year. He gave this
evidence to show the man's ingratitude. Apparently, he had wanted the man
to be his yes man, but the man must have refused to do so some time along
the way. In my view, that retired Professor was one of our first generation
Nigerian Professors who had bastardised standards in the University. I shall
not say more on the matter.
Committees
I served on various committees of the University at various times,
either as member or chairman. Three of them were particularly tough. I am
referring to the Senate Curriculum Committee, the Housing Allocating
Committee and the committee to fashion out a new vision for the University
in the 2151 century.
The Senate Curriculum Committee under my chairmanship had the job of
coming up with a completely new set of revised syllabi for all the
departments of the University under the course system. The committee was
. set up in the wake of much confusion in the course system and the rather
chaotic way it was being implemented from department to department. The
assignment was to lead to a full reordering of the University's course system.
We tried to defmewhat constituted an hour's lecture, whether or not a course
was adequately defined and its contents appropriate, both in terms of
substance and the units allocated to it. The Committee was empowered to
make recommendations to streamline the entire system to ensure that what
the University taught was of international standard. We were to recommend
to Senate clear guidelines which, if enforced, would ensure that the new
initiativeworked.
\ The committee worked very hard to, 'produce the blue book, a major
document that removed most of the ambiguities in the system, streamlined'all
programmes under the course system, and came up with modalities which
were to be implementedwithout favour to anyone. But implementationwas
not easy. In an attempt to do what was right, it was discovered that some
members of staff would want rules, even those of Senate, to be bent to please
them. In one instance, [ had to resign, as the rule was going to be bent to
please a colleague.
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The Housing Allocating Committee provided a major challenge to our
determination to serve the community without fear or favour. The Committee
did its best to work according to existing rules, which were modified by
Council on the recommendations of our committee. Although we carried out
our assignment strictly according to laid down rules, with a human face when
necessary, provided it did not favour anyone unjustly. Indeed, a major
personal disappointment that I had was our inability to provide
accommodation to a young widow when her husband died. Although I had
been chairman at their wedding, and was very interested in the matter, there
was no question of my insisting that she had to be given accommodation
when she did not qualify for what was appropriate her. I make a strong
distinctionbetweenmy official obligations and my private interests.
I saw some ugly parts to the nature of some of our colleagues. Some
after retiring and collecting their benefits refused to leave their University
accommodation. Undoubtedly, I stepped on many toes as I did my best to put
the interest of the University above mine. It was not easy. On one occasion, I
had to tell a Professor who thought the University was not appreciative
enough of his contributions that it was the University that had made him
what he had become by making available to him the opportunity to go for
international conferences and have other exposures, which he was crediting
to himself. Eventually Council, at our recommendation, came up with rules
for the community to observe in regard to University accommodation.
Economic charges were to be paid by those who continued to flout the
relevant rules and the money was to be deducted from source. This was to
discdurage any staff from staying indefmitely in the quarters, rather than the
universitymakingmoney from the charges paid by defaulting staff.
There were several other challenging duties. For example. I served as
chairman of the committee that looked into the extensive damage done to
University structures by the storms and rains on the 8th of October 2000. It
was a major challenge to act fast and efficiently to get the blown off roofs
and broken walls repaired. The assignment allowed us to show that when the
need arises, the university can mobilize very quickly and get major things
domeat minimumcost and with full accountability.
It was however, the putting together the document for the VI Vision for the
21st Century which provided the most challenging task of all the committees
that I was privileged to serve on in the University. The most fundamental
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challenge was to enter as it were the spirit of the new vision - to imbibe it in
one's psyche and be able to get it across to the rank and file of the university
community. Another daunting aspect of the challenge was getting members
of the committee to be fully committed to the dream and thereby give the
assignment the quality time it deserved. Equally important was getting the
document to reflect the collective vision of all stakeholders of the University
of Ibadan. The idea of a Vision for the university was basically that of the
then Chairman of Council, Mr. Felix Ohiwerei, and he gave the exercise his
full backing throughout its formulation.
The committee put in hundreds of man-hours into producing the
document, which articulated two major ideas. The first one which is possibly
the more important, but which could not occupy a major part of the
document for obvious reasons, is attitudinal change. It is true that everyone
in the community needs to change their attitude to the University. Very few
workers earn their pay; many workers come late to work and leave before
closing time. Some staff defraud the University of valuable University
property, while others inflate bills and steal things entrusted to their care.
Many students are not diligent and would opt for short cuts, rather than sweat
to attain greater heights. In many cases, truth is brushed aside and mediocrity
enthroned. Much more can be said about our undesirable attitude in this
University. Radical change is needed if we are going to turn the University
the right way round. The second major idea, which is the subject of most of
the document, deals with things that had to be done before the desired
changes can take place.
~ On a personal note, I found that I had to spend a lot of time not only
in attending meetings, but most exhaustingly, in typing all the materials.
I Working late into the night was a regular experience, and I must have spent
countless hours staring at the computer screen as I typed the materials. Of
course, doing this had its reward in making me quite fast in typing. I almost
became a professional typist in the process. Not long after completing the
work, I began to see flashes of light, even in the dark. I had what was
diagnosed as tears in my retina and had to have it corrected in London
through laser surgery in June 2003, at a cost of well over two million naira. It
was financed mainly through taking loans here and there, and also gifts from
a few relations and friends. Apart from paying my return ticket, the
University paid only an equivalent of two thousand, five hundred dollars,
which inclusive of ticket costs, amounted to only about 20%. 1 did much
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telephoning and went to Abuja several times, even with the intervention of
the former Chairman of Council, but I still could not get any help from the .
Federal Government. While I cannot say categorically that the flashes were a
result of many hours behind the computer screen in working for the
University, the possibility has not been ruled out either. In any case, being in
the University system itself, you wonder if the University could not have
done more to help my situation. And, would politicians in government and
civil servants have been given the same treatment? I retired from the
Universitywith some ofthe loan still outstanding.
Let me again pause to acknowledge the help of individuals who were
particularly supportive to me financially. They include my cousins Mr. Toyin El9oramo
and Mr. Michael Dada, also Professor Peter Okebukola the Executive Secretary of
the NUC. I acknowledge with gratitude Dr. Mrs A. O. Ashaye, a competent eye
Consultant, for MecfICalassistance, courtesies and waiving off consultation charges •
she was once my student! I a/so thank the staff of Jaja HeaHh Clinic for their attention
over the years.
We must return to the visioning work. I have nothing but praise for
all the members of the committee. As might be expected, there were some
who did not show up even once and a few who gave up attending meetings
halfway through the exercise, but the vast majority saw to it that the job was
concluded. One must specially mention Mr. Aigboje Higo who was such a
faithful member of the Visioning. committee as well as the Vision
ImplementationCommittee. He put in much to ensure that the entire exercise
was successful. The current Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing
Council, Mr. Gamaliel Onosode, was equally committed to the exercise. He
was at the first meeting in Lagos when the exercise started, and was. a full
and very active member of the Implementation Committee. He attended
virtually all the committee's meetings and at his own expense.
I salute these great alumni and also Dr. Omolayo/e, Mr. Ogunlana of the
Endowment Commfftee of this University. These people are doing so much for this
University.
I remember one incident in the committee's work when I
demonstrated my naivety at its peak! In the early days of trying to sensitise
alumni to the vision work, I led a powerful team to Abuja, Port Harcourt and
Lagos. In Abuja, the alumni, under the able leadership of Mr. Adekunle
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Omoni of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, had gone on air to announce
our coming. They had seen some Senators, who are alumni of Ibadan, and we
had what we thought would be a very successful first visit. The first Senator
we saw, who was quite influential, told us how proud he was to be an
alumnus of the University of Ibadan. He said they, the Senate, would give
more money to us than what the President could give. (We had gone with a
request for assistance to the tune ofN19 billion). He said it was unlikelythey
would give us all of that in one go, but thought we would be able to collect
all of it in three or four years. He did several other things to show his
seriousness, and we believed him. I even went to our own University Senate
to announce that we would have at least three billion allocated to us in the
following budget. The budget was announced, but no extra kobo was given
to us in Ibadan. The Senator is still there in the Senate.
I wish I could say that the vision work gave me a most intense
satisfaction. I must admit that the implementation did not go as most
members of the Implementation Committee and I had desired. I am
particularly worried about the likelihood of implementing the vision
document in a selective manner, especially in regard to promotion. We want
a higher level of productivity before promotion, but it was written in the
context of a more conducive environment within which to conduct research,
and the availability of appropriate research equipment and other relevant
ingredients of productivity. I hope members of the Appointments and
Promotions Committee would take note. Let me use this occasion to make a
passionate plea to all staff, especially the administrative staff; please treat
students kindly; they are our future alumni and we must not make them hate
UI. The careless and nonchalant attitude of some of us to their progress is
worrisome!
My Involvement in Resolving Crises
It is pertinent to recount briefly my joy in seeking to work, many
times behind the scenes, though that was not always possible, in helping to
resolve many crises. I did quite a bit to try to bring harmony among several
trade unions and between students and the University. I like to cite two
instances of such intervention. At an emergencymeeting of Senate one day, a
Vice-chancellor announced that students had planned to go on a rampage; the
Committee of Provost and Deans had recommended the closure of the
University and he wanted ratification by Senate. I asked that we, who teach
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those students, be allowed to talk to thein, and strongly urged that we gave it
a try. There was initial scepticism about my suggestion, but it was
subsequently adopted. I was in the committee set up to meet the students. We
did so later that evening. Initially the students called us Ole, ole but
eventually we gained their confidence, and a very fruitful discussion
emerged.The University did not close down.
The second incident was at the Vice-Chancellor's lodge. I had been invited
as a member of Council to reason along with the Provost and Deans on how
to contain a problem brewing on campus. As we were discussing, one of us
said he was hearing some noise. Soon, we knew it was the noise of students
approaching the lodge. Within a short time, they were on us, but not before
we asked the VC to go up and hide himself. They came with sticks and
wanted to lynch the VC. They refused to allow either the Provost or any of
the Deans to address them. The Provost asked if they would listen to me; to
everyone's relief, they agreed and to God's glory they heeded my plea. One
of the leaders during the period of the incident subsequently became a Pastor
and he and his wife come to me virtually every week, for fellowship since
the last eighteen months - the dividend, not of democracy, but of God's
kindness!
I wish to pay tribute to all who have worked with me over the years on
various committees and in leadership positions, be they Professors, drivers,
secretaries, typists, etc. I thank you for patiently bearing with a man who can make a
big demand on people and for putting up with allmy foibles and idiosyncrasies.
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The Department of Chemistry: a Closer Look
I must now devote some more time to discussing more things about
my department. The Department of Chemistry is not only one of the
foundation departments in the University, it is arguably the best organized.
Along the Physics Department it has brought much international honour to
this University in the 1960s and 1970s. There is little doubt in my mind that
it has lost the distinction to such Departments as Economics. What it has not
lost, however, for which I think it is still head and shoulders above all other
departments in the University is in administrative superiority and
competence in regard to her commitment to students.
Just as it was in the days of the expatriates, teaching and
examinations are still held sacrosanct. I shall elaborate further, but I must add
that for each assertion, there will be the exceptions. The department prides
itself in starting lectures early in a new semester, and lecturers go to classes
punctually. Nobody is too big to teach. Indeed, the older ones work as if to
say: 'If I do not show commitment like those who taught me, how will
younger lecturers challenge themselves by my commitment in this area?'
Although many of us did not have formal training in teaching, we made it a
duty to improve ourselves by learning the art of communicating effectively
to our students. I remember turning out two. monographs on two rather
difficult topics after listening to a British scientist give us a HOW of
presenting tough materials to students. The department has a passion to teach
Chemistry attractively to all, irrespective of their disciplines - whether they
take Chemistry for only one or two years or as honours students. Thus, only
Professors or very senior lecturers teach students offering, first year
Chemistry. It is the belief of the department that a right foundation is
indispensable for inculcating the right attitude to the subject. In trying to
further assist students and by boosting their confidence, the department
insists that, as much as possible, no class shall be taught by just one lecturer.
Examinations are also treated very seriously. Lecturers who teach a
particular course set the questions, which are always vetted. The one who
sets questions is normally required to provide solutions to the problems, and
depending on his response, a question may be adjudged too short, too long or
below the expected standard, etc. Occasionally, group leaders have been able
to assess the competence of a lecturer through such exercise and have
advised himlher after the meeting. In view of the experience we have had
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that some junior members of staff did not prove themselves trustworthy
enough in the handling of examinations, the department took a decision that
setting examination questions, vetting, typing, marking and collating them
were all to be done by the teaching staff. In this way, if there was a leakage,
the source might be easily traced. I may mention, in passing, that those who
teach a particular course do not do all the marking. A lecturer might have
taught 70% of the course and find himselflherself marking only 20% of the
questions. It would be difficult, therefore, to sustain any allegation of biased
marking in the department.
The department regularly organizes seminars to which all staff are
expected both to attend and contribute. It is normally compulsory for final
year students to attend such seminars. In addition, research groups have their
strategies for discussing advances in research with their postgraduate
students. When I had a flourishing team of postgraduate students, I
introduced the 'Show and Tell' programme, which I had borrowed from
Berkeley. The entire research team would meet in my office, and the first 45
minutes or so would be devoted to listening to literature reviews. Each
member was assigned to find the latest information from specified journals
and present fmdings to the group. In so doing we were kept abreast of current
work in the world. The next 45 minutes or so would be spent listening to the
progress made by each researcher on his/her own work.
An innovation we had introduced and I am not claiming it was
original to us) was the Staff/Student Liaison Committee. This committee
provided a forum for class representatives to meet with a member of staff
chosen by the Head of Department who chaired each meeting. The
committee would deliberate on fmding ways to improve relationships
between all who study and or work within the department. Students were
given immunity to speak freely on any topic and about anybody. They
brought complaints about lecturers who were not diligent enough and those
found inadequate in one way or another. Such complaints were to be relayed
to the Head of Department. The representative of the Head of Department
. would also to convey to meeting complaints from staff about classes, which
were unruly or lazy. Class representatives were to relay discussions to the
respective classes. All issues were discussed freely. To illustrate the freedom
and immunity enjoyed by participants, a student whose project I later
supervised at the M.Sc. and Ph.D. levels and who was class representative to
the 300-level students, reported me to a meeting I chaired! His class had
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concluded that r was too fast in class. I listened attentively and after the
meeting, reported myself to two people - first to myself with a view to
slowing down. and secondly to the Head of Department.
I believe what has kept the department much better organized than
others include the fact that the expatriates stayed longer and the Nigerians
. who took over from them were passionately committed to maintaining the
high standards already set. As far as I know, there are no factions in the
department. Of course, we had our disagreements and misgivings, but by and
large we have maintained healthy interpersonal relationships.
I wish to use this occasion to thank all my colleagues in the department who
have been such a blessing to me - both those who are much senior to me, and those
who are not. J am particularly thankful to Professor Bill Bevan for calling me back to
the department, and to Dr. John Powell and Professor David Taylor for supervising
my Ph.D. work.
Decline and Decay of the University of Ibadan with Special Reference to
Chemistry Department
In spite of the plusses I have enumerated, it is sad that our
Department of Chemistry is a very poor shadow of its past. Practical classes
are in a shambles. Experiments, which are meant to be performed by a single
student, have been drastically reduced, sometimes by as much as 60%, and
even then, the few experiments chosen would be carried out by as many as
six or even eight students to an experiment.
Research has degenerated to a most pathetic situation in the
department. The worst hit area is Organic Chemistry, which has almost been
completely incapacitated in the absence of modern equipment. Chemicals
and consumables, which used to be taken for granted are no longer available.
I had refused to take in postgraduate students at the Ph.D. level for the last
decade or so of my service, with the exception of one who was jointly
supervised by some UTA staff and me. This is very sad in that I have, by far,
accumulated more experience and competence during this period of 'No, to
taking on research students' than when I used to have several of them. In
those days, we did not only have good and functioning equipment, we had
machines that produced for us liquid nitrogen; we had assorted gases at high
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pressures; we had functioning autoclaves, basket centrifuges and many other
highly sophisticated equipment.
The golden period was truly one of abundance and great
productivity. We were so well off that the department often got its orders
delivered through special air cargo planes and our vehicles would drive
straight to the airport tarmac to unload the departmental orders.
It was also a period when the surroundings were peaceful: the beginning and
end of sessions and examination periods were predictable. Indeed such
important dates were determined long time ahead of their time. Convocations
were held regularly without a hitch. You hardly ever heard of strikes - why
would you go on strike when things were going on very well? Strikes were
not known as a serious detraction from normal sessional activities. But things
changed when the University became a different place to live, study and
work in.
The first visible major assault was when the military government
asked us to pack out of the campus during the 1973174 session. That order
dealt a fatal blow to the Nigerian University system. One Consultant called
on his younger brother in the night with the wry observation that the then
Head of State had taught him that he had a fundamental duty to his family,
which he had neglected owing to his commitment to his profession. But
furthen assaults in different forms were to follow. The cumulative effects of
such assaults dealt a deadly blow to the Nigerian University system.
Who could go through such experiences that impoverished the
system, when helshe knew what things used to be, and be indifferent to the
strikes when ASUU cried out against the poor conditions of Nigerian
universities, especially that of 1996? I was never a student activist, but I
certainly became an ASUU activist, and was so committed to it that I was
prepared to lose my job to defend that stand, especially under the leadership
of that unusually talented: young man now Professor Jimi Adesina. The
authorities tried in vain to discourage us from continuing with the strike, but
most of us stood firm. OUIif' ight was nationalistic, and we were fighting for
the good of Nigeria. In my view, the 1996 strike was the mother of all
strikes. When the initial threat weeded some of us off the scene, those of us
remaining were threatened with expulsion from the university. There were
well-meaning appeals from various sectors of the Nigerian society, including
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the Mothers in Nigeria, via a meeting held at Rita Lori Hotel in Lagos. Here
in Ibadan, some very senior colleagues, including retired Vice-Chancellors
appealed to us to call off the strike. They mentioned that the threat to evict us
from our residences was real. 1 remember telling them I had no house to go
to, stay but would make my landcruiser my house and travelling companion.
God vindicated our stand and the university system was slightly better off, in
my view, as a result of that strike action. It was during the strike that I wrote
that article which was very well received in the society at large titled: It is a
Weeping Matter. I remain irrevocably committed to ASUU.
I must digress. There was a time when I was tempted to transfer my
services to the University of 1I0rinwhen my Professorship was delayed. If I had been
there I would have been among the over forty people who were sacked a few years
ago. I know two of them vety well: Professor Ezekiel Odelowo, a rust rate Thoracic
Surgeon and Professor Adeniran Mesubi, a great Chemist, are among the finest
Nigerians anywhere. They afe men of distinction and integrity. That Nigeria could
treat them the way they have been treated just shows how far we are from sanitizing
the nation. No nation can be great that ignores the truth and enthrones falsehood and
mediocrity. I salute the courage of those men and women who have been made to
pay such a high prize at Unilorin. God will vindicate you
It was about this time of the onslaught on all that was great in the
University system that some of us got together and floated a new magazine
called 'The Light', which, unfortunately, we were not able to sustain. The
magazine planned to publish scholarly and well reasoned articles, which
would provoke good debate that would help transform the university campus
into a healthier community.
Time it was when those we had trained here at lbadan could raise
their heads anywhere in the world of academia. When Professor (then Mr.)
Alo fmished his Ph.D. work under my supervision, I had such confidence in
the quality of his work that I asked one of the world's leading Chemists,
Professor Henry Rapoport of the University of California at Berkeley to be
his External Examiner. The same Alo later went to do his postdoctoral work
with a top Canadian Chemist, Professor Victor Snieckus who was surprised
that he got his training in Ibadan. Can I with a clear conscience rate any
Ph.D. in the department very highly now? I shall not answer the question. .
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The department is, indeed, daily becoming more and more of a sorry
sight. Unless something urgent is done to inject money and resources into it,
it may suffer a deadly stroke. While it is sad that more and more experienced
people are leaving due to old age, and replacements are almost all home-
grown, with very little experience and insight into what true academics is all
about, there are still a few good people on the ground who can salvage the
system from death, if immediate action is taken. I recall that when I was
Head of Department, I cried to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ayo Banjo, to
come to our rescue to save us from the likelihood of graduating Chemistry
students who had never done practicals! My colleague Professor Tunde
Ogunmola was Dean of Science then and he gave a very strong support to
my plea.
The department can, itself, do more to learn from its old and
departing members. I remember seeing some old but still functioning
equipment being condemned as scrap about four years ago. I knew the
equipment, had used it several decades ago, but those who discarded them
did not. In a similar way, I was very sad when I brought some final year
students from Olabisi Onabanjo University, where I am now on contract, to
come and see our equipment, which I told them were not functioning but
from which we could still learn some lessons. We had gone earlier to
Obafemi Awolowo University and saw a good and well-structured
equipment house, as well as many functional equipment in some of their
departments. I came to VI to fmd that the old equipment I had wanted to
show the students had all been dismembered, moved and packed as heaps of
rubbish in one room. You could not identify one instrument from another.
Every year I had always taken fmal year undergraduate and M.Sc. students to
see the sophisticated instruments. They still had useful information to
convey,certainly much superior to just reading about them from a textbook. I
am afraid that that exercise can no longer be carried out because of the way
we packed have packed them in the name of expediency. Little wonder that
the Ago-Iwoye students concluded that, I quote, 'VI Department of
Chemistrywas dead, dead and buried'!
An inevitable result of the collapse and decay in the department is
the absence of high quality research articles. Anyone here who publishes a
good research article in an internationally well-rated journal, especially in
Organic Chemistry, must be collaborating with a fellow chemist overseas,
. who is doing the spectral run, plus other experiments and may also be doing
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the interpretations as well. I have, for some time now, refused to publish in
the same journals J had patronized for some time. I know it would be
degrading to do such a thing, as 1 would have to depend on someone out
there who may be very junior to me for virtually all the major scientific
determinations. I would rather concentrate my efforts in giving what I think
is first rate teaching and preparing my students who are sufficiently endowed
to be able to understand the language of modern Chemistry and use it to
productive effect when they have the opportunity to go outside the country.
Our department is in many areas no longer competitive, and cannot
expect to win international grants unless it is better enabled. I personally
bemoan my inability to reproduce myself, academically, in an increasing
number. I cannot exonerate myself from the fact that we had not moved
together as a team as we should have done both as members of the same
discipline in Organic Chemistry or as fellow Chemists in different areas,
such as Organic collaborating with the Inorganic or the Physical. The race to
publish or perish has not helped this noble idea, but after becoming
Professors, we still did not pursue this noble end!
Related to all this is the fact that we as Nigerians appear not to be
galvanized into doing far more than we are doing, given the relegation of the
Black man all over the world. We have the talents but we are often too lazy
and selfish to care about challenging ourselves to excellence and providing
more comfort for others and for tomorrow. In the 1960s Japanese goods were
shunned and regarded as being inferior to those made in Britain. The
Japanese persisted and today their goods are much sought after everywhere.
We are voracious consumers of others' products and have a ridiculously high
taste for flashy and sometimes bogus importedmaterials. We appear to forget
that buying a material is not the same as making it; that giving somebody
money to buy fish is inferior to teaching him how to fish. Our nakedness is
there for anyone with eyes to see. Sometimes the technologically advanced
countries rub it on us that we are backward and they want it to remain so.
Some time ago, the technologically advanced countries took a decision that
certain chemicals they called dual-purpose chemicals (they can be used for
making useful as well as warfare materials) should not be sold to developing
countries. When I was Head of Department, I ordered many chemicals. Most
of them were delivered within six months, but none of the Phosphorus
chemicals (dual purpose!l) was delivered until after 2 years. Yet they' were
for laboratory experiments. In 1990, I was invited to present a lead paper at a
national workshop on Chemical and Biological Weapons of Warfare. I drew
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attention to the need for Nigeria to quickly empower her scientists so that we
can free ourselves from the shackles of colonialism, which are still hanging
heavily on us. There is hardly anything we cannot do if we seriously and
purposefully challengeourselves with determinationto specific goals.
I have challenged the Government a number of times to tax their
scientists to doing things for the nation. Most of the drugs sold, and whose
patents have long expired, can be synthesized without difficulty by Nigerian
Chemists. Together with Pharmacologists, Pharmacists and Clinicians we
can come up with good drugs for national use. In general, our policy makers
are very myopic. The typical Nigerian has an inferior mentality: we can
hardly believewe can do anything worthwhile. We are not prepared to accept
we can do some things better than our white counterparts. We would rather
buy things at inflated prices than try to make them ourselves. In the same
vein, we get poorly informed officers to represent us at crucial technical
international conferences. It does not matter if they do not understand what
goes on at such meetings, provided the estacode (per diem allowance) rolls
intotheir pockets.
Another digression. In trying to look into the past what do I see - a sea of
undeserved privileges. Many of those I taught are occupying far higher positions than
I have ever reached. Some of them are Vice-Chancellors of Universities, some
Provosts of Colleges and Polytechnics; many are eminent Professors in their own
right. I have had the joy of teaching with a former student I taught as my Head of
Department. An amusing experience in the last few years was the increasing number
of students who told me after some lectures I had with them, 'my father or my mother
said you taught hirnlher here in this University' - a timely call to bow out before it
becomes 'my grandfather said ... 'f
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My Assessment of My Shortcomings, Failings and Regrets
I admit that I can often be too serious and strict. I demand strict
accountability when it comes to money and diligence, and punctuality,
probity and conscientiousness in business and official duties. I take seriously
and sometimes too seriously not mixing official with private matters. I have a
weakness of entering too readily into other people's problems, in particular
the underdog. Although I have had the privilege of helping hundreds of boys
and girls over the years, it was in the last fifteen years that I assessed the
females as easily the most vulnerable in the community. Since this reaching
this conclusion, I have often specifically championed their causes most
effectively to the extent of knowing the families of most of them. A few
honest efforts at lending a helping hand have worked against me. I have
learned bitter lessons that suggest that it may not always be wise to attempt
to help the so-called vulnerable ones; Moses found that to his cost, although
he did not give up. God forbid that I seek to give my side of any story. In the
final analysis, God is the perfect Judge and will determine both actions and
motives. However, it is a fact that I carry enough scars in helpingothers, that
most would consider me foolish not to run away from giving help to that
category of human race. And maybe I am. I actually took that decision, but
found that I would be defending my honour, which I cannot do anyway. I
have resolved, therefore, to continue to fight honestly, even with the scars
from undeservedwounds that I may bear in my frame.
Let me digress once more to thank the UniversHy community, which, in spite
of the bad publicity I have received, have shown enough confidence in me to ask me
to serve them twice on the Goveming Council of this University.
It is somewhat ironical that while on one hand I can be very pliable,
on the other I can equally be very rigid, especially when it pertains to matters
of principle and standards. This is one reason I never sought for any elective
position when I was in service. Indeed, when a respectable Uniyersity sent a
high-powered delegation to search me as a possible Vicb.Chancellor, I did
not hesitate in telling them NO. I told them I was too strict to be a Vice-
Chancellor in a Nigerian University. And when the Registrar of another
University wrote formally and officially invited me to apply for the Vice-
Chancellorshipof their University, I did not even respond to the letter.
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A painful failure is that I did not bring my work on traditional
medicine into a tidy conclusion. I needed to bring out the values of what I
dubbed 'profound medicine' - okigbe, mogun, egbe, ala, etc. I also did not
bring into a tidy conclusion any aspect of my work into a useful drug, but
just did enough to show the efficacy of materials. The biogas project, which
is based in the department, was not concluded because our technical staff
was not able to fabricate the required winding rod. I might have sought help
from other sources. Ours would have preceded Professor Odeyemi's of
OAU, who is now a renown expert in the field of anaerobic digester and
related fields. The technology of the waste glass project whereby broken
glass and resin plus other additives were turned into hard and durable floor
tiles, in situ floor casting, was completed. However, the University politics at
a particular point in time that foolishly terminated CEREMAC prevented the
University from capitalising on this initiative.
A Harrowing Experience
It was the eighth day of August 2003, at about 6 pm. I was alone in.
our bedroom. I heard a knock on the door and went out to answer it. I saw
two young people, in their twenties I guess, in the veranda. I was used to
having many strange faces come to me for one help or the other. But they
were a different type of human beings. On asking what I could do for them,
they brought out their guns and marched me back to the bedroom. They gave
me some orders. My responses to them caused them to threaten to blow my
head off. I told them that was not my problem but theirs, for I was sure I
would go and rest with my Lord Jesus Christ. They robbed me of what was
to me a lot of valuables. I had re-learnt a major lesson - travel light in this
world, and that the right place to lay up treasures is not here below.
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A Bleak Future For University Education, If...
Enough has been said to convince any sceptics that the quality of
education, particularly that of University education has fallen seriously. A
country in which the teaching and research materials that were available to
students four or five decades ago were far superior to those which are
available to the present generation of students can only be described as
dangerously retrogressing.
The Universities of Ibadan and Ghana, Legon, started about the same time.
Ibadan was better known in the 1960s and 1970s, but in very few areas can
Ibadan now compete favourably with Legon today. Ibadan's deterioration
can be traced to a number of factors, which I shall briefly discuss.
Government
Successive governments, which were essentially military, have
starved Nigerian universities of much needed funds, and appeared to be
interested only in showing that the pen is not mightier than the sword! From
the mid-1970,s, conditions have deteriorated rapidly - old equipment donated
by colonial foundations were not replaced, conditions of service declined
rapidly and low morale set in among staff, fanning a brain drain phenomenon
which took a dangerous dimension in the 1990s. I remember clearly that in
late 1980s my take-home pay was so meagre that there was severe rationing
of meat in our family meals. It was about this time that two amusing
incidents happened to me. I was in Lagos one day and met an old classmate
who had rejoiced greatly for making Grade 3 in School Certificate in 1958,
while some of us were moody that the number of our distinctions was
inadequate. He rose through the ranks to become one of the top soldiers in
the country. He was happy to see me and gave me N200, saying he did not
have much on him and that he knew 'You people' did not have much money.
Did I tell him, 'don't worry. I am ok?' In another instance, a colleague asked
me to be a surety ifor him in a loan he 'was seeking to complete his house. I
agreed and signed the appropriate form. The bank did not honour my
SUppOIt.I was angry and went to the Manager, fuming that he let me down
knowing that I had never been a debtor to the bank. He politely confirmed
that I did not owe them a kobo; that my salaries came to them regularly, but
then added - 'Sir what comes in at the beginning of the month always
disappears by month end'. They had figured, correctly, that there would be
nothing left for them to take as collateral on my colleague's loan! I went
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away quietly, thoroughly embarrassment that as a Professor I was not
qualified to guarantee a small loan to a colleague.
The Contribution of Aeademies to the Decay
The decline in Nigerian university education cannot be blamed
solely on government neglect; university academic staff have contributed in
no small measure to it. While successive governments must be given credit
for appointing academics as Ministers of Education most of the time, the
truth is that most of such ministers have betrayed the academic cause. In fact,
some of them have turned out to be enemies of their university
constituencies. Within the campuses, some Professors feel too big to teach,
and are busy chasing one contract or another. Academics have been known
take appointments elsewhere while their younger colleagues, some of whose
Ph.D. work they had supervised, served as surrogate teachers for their
classes. Not a few Professors appear to take delight in setting impossible
standards for their younger colleagues as if they are deliberately working to
prevent them from attaining to the height they had reached. Of course, one
must not forget some younger lecturers who show little appetite for hard
work. Some ambitious young lecturers use politics as a cover up for laziness
and mediocrity. Such academics would lobby for promotion; they would
fraternize with others for their names to be included in papers to which they
had made no inputs; in short they would indulge in the most ignoble
academic activity to promote their selfish interests.
New Universities - a Paradox, a Huge Joke but with Terrible
Consequences
With all the factors for university decay in Nigeria that we have
mentioned and many more that one could have cited, it is not surprising that
no Nigerian University was ranked among the top 300 Universities in the
world. This is why it is disheartening that the National Universities
Commission (NuC) continues to, license private citizens and religious groups
to establish new Universities, when it is clear that the quality of exposure in
most of the present ones is very poor, indeed.
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I have no doubt whatsoever that most of the Universities being established
today will not survive. I personally doubt how much homework those
establishing that new Universities have done, and wonder if they know how
costly it is to establish and maintain a university and, especially, that a
university is not a money-makingventure.
Universities exist primarily for the pursuit of sound knowledge. A
university meant to the thirst for expansion of the frontiers of knowledgeand
for disseminating known ideas and principles to inquisitive enquirers
requires some basic things for it to achieve its objectives. It must have the
following,among others, to succeed:
• Adequately funding;
• Highly motivated staff in an environment that is conducive to
productive academicwork;
• An unfettered freedom to pursue learning, teaching and research in
specifiedareas;
• A complementof competent and well-trained support staff; and
• Working ethics that jealously enthrone diligence, integrity, probity
and accountability in all categories of staff.
Do many of the founders of Nigeria's new universities the monthly
wage bill of each university spends a month on wage bill, and to how much
is budgeted for teaching and research? Do they know that in spite of this
huge amount of money, not many universities can boast of producing high
quality research work suitable for publication in highly rated international
journals in Science or Science-based disciplines? In my time, all assessors
for professorship were from outside the country. I wonder how many
professorial candidates today would be happy to have their papers sent
outside the country for assessment. Yet it is not that the Professors of
yesteryears had superior brains than the current aspirants to that highest
academic position. The big difference is that we were better exposed and
better equipped and could better stand any form of international scrutiny.
If universities are not viable money-makingventures, and if it is very
expensive to make them competitive internationally, what is the real motive
of those rushing to establish new universities? I must say I do not know, but
guess it has to do with ego and prestige. If it is an attempt to immortalize
someone's name, it would fail, as many of the universities would soon die,
several of them in the lifetime of their founders. If people wish to
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immortalize their names, a more viable way is to endow huge sums of money
to a viable university - maybe to establish a chair, or provide a bigger sum of
money for a foundation specialising in awarding fellowships and
scholarships to certain categories of people, as the Rockefeller, Ford and
McCarthur Foundations have demonstrated for decades. I doubt if Nigeria's
private universities would allow the freedom that is consistent with
university principles. Would, for example, a university founded by a church
denomination insist on morning devotion, or see the institution as an
extension of the church? I know of senior academics who have left some of
the private institutions out of frustration. If it was not for excessive
interference it might have been for an inadequate understanding of the
function of a university on the part of the proprietors.
A university is very expensive to maintain. In ]988, when I cried to
the Vice-Chancellor for a lifeline to my department, he gave me £20,000
which at that time was about N800,000. I took the money to London and
bought many useful items, which helped the department for a while. But I
remember then telling someone that if I was given an equivalent of fifty
million naira I would not have succeeded in restoring the department to what
it was in th late 1960s under Professor Bevan. If Chemistry needed that kind
of money just to equip a department, imagine what a university would
require, knowing that N50 million in 1988 would be about one billion naira
today. We can compute at that rate for each of universities in Nigeria today
and we shall find it to be well above the nation's total earnings.
I am aware that there is always the cry that we do not have adequate
spaces in the country to admit those who qualify for university education.
That is another matter on which I do not intend to discuss here. However,
increasing the number of universities without paying attention to the quality
of students being produced in them is counter-productive. The fact is that iU-
trained citizens with high-sounding ~aper qualifications is deadly to a nation
like ours which should be very eager to catch up with other nations which
have gone way ahead of us technologically.
Do these proprietors take staff recruitment seriously? Are they
concerned that students graduating from their institutions attain a high level
of competence? I am told of a fairly famous private university, which had to
depend, on among others, Master's level students from a sister university to
survive. Recently, several universities put up advertisements in the daily
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newspapers asking for applicants to fill various academic positions;
including professorial positions. I am aware that there is much difficulty in
fmding suitable candidates for virtually all the positions, especially the most
senior ones. You cannot just will professors into existence; any crash
programme to produce Professors and Readers would crash. Now if already
established universities are fmding difficulty in recruiting academic staff,
howwill new ones fare?
Furthermore, have these proprietors taken seriously the numerous
infrastructure services a University needs to survive? For example, can they
guarantee constant water and electricity supplies for their campuses? Will a
Pro-Chancellor not be tempted to take on the functions of a Vice-Chancellor
in addition to overseeing to the day to day running of their institution?
I sawall these coming many years ago, and so in 1986 or 1987, I
wrote a paper, which I titled 'An Imminent Collapse of Modem Education in
Nigeria: First Step to Another Re-colonisation'. I gave the paper to General
Domkat Bali for onward transmission to the Supreme Military Council.
Whether it got there or not, J do not know. In that paper I spoke of what I
referred to as 'grim facts', which included 'the near-collapse of Science in
Nigerian universities' and the demoralisation of staff. Some of the
suggestions proffered in the paper for reversing the dangerous trend of
according education a very low priority were aimed at balancing politics with
nationalism. In other words, the overall interest of the nation must override
sectional desires and aspirations. Specifically, I argued that the country did
not have the resources to maintain all the universities in the country then and
neither does it have it now! I argued against the proliferation of universities,
which would make it compelling that whatever was allocated to Nigerian
tertiary institutions must have to be shared among all, irrespective of how
thinly and how ineffectivelyit was spread.
I thought that the situation had arisen for Nigerian universities to be
graded as follows.
i. universities which are allowed to award undergraduate degrees
only; and
Il. universities which can run undergraduate and postgraduate
programmes
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I still think the suggestions are relevant and urgently important
today. However, I wish to suggest, in addition to the two recommendations
above, that a few Nigerian universities be made postgraduate universities,
with clear guidelines on their areas.: of specialization. This suggestion
presupposes that the country cannot adequately maintain all the universities
I .
on ground now, and cannot afford to allow them to do whatever they desire
to do. We simply do not have the resources.
Furthermore, the time for according Science and Science-related
subjects a very high priority is now. Unfortunately, as I have noted in some
of my papers to the authorities at various times, Nigerian scientists have not
been seriously challenged to give of their best for the emancipation of the
Black race. It is not irrelevant to mention briefly that I wrote several letters to
Heads of State and to newspapers a advocating more nationalistic approach
to national problems. But this is not the place to itemize them.
In relation to our future as a nation, I make bold to assert that the
following steps need to be taken to avoid a bleak future for university
education inNigeria:
i. Urgent action must be taken to accord education a very high
priority;
. ii. Immediate steps must be taken to halt the proliferation of
universities;
iii. The current universities should be candidates for possible
mergers with a view to making them more viable. Sentiment
must give way to realism and the overall good of Nigeria. The
banks have just shown us a good example;
iv. Drastic steps need to be taken to rationalize universities on the
basis of size and responsibilities, which would be better funded
than at present;
v. Universities should not compulsorily retire healthy and
competent academics at 65. Some of them are still capable of
giving very useful service especially in mentoring their much
younger colleagues;
vi. A substantial sum of money should be released for staff
development without delay to allow young lecturers go abroad
for much-needed exposure, even if this will be with a bonding
clause to ensure their return to the Nigerian university system;
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vii. Provision should be made for adequately equipping teaching and
research laboratories to bring our students to a much higher level
of technical competence than at present;
viii. The training of technologists for maintaining new equipment
should be a top priority;
ix. The updating and upgrading of library facilities in Nigerian
universities need urgent attention; and
x, The provision of easy access to computers for all staff and the
guarantee of information and communication technology to
postgraduate institutions should be considered basic
infrastructure for meaningful education in the 21st century.
It should not come as a surprise, therefore, that I am leaving
University of Ibadan with mixed feelings. I am happy I did my best and have
the joy of knowing that many appreciate what God has done for them
through me. However, there is the other side: my sorrow that the country
continues to trample down on education and prevent geniuses in villages
. from rising to transform the nation. I bleed at heart for the inability to
reproduce myself when I was at my best; I cry for my country that there are
so many pretenders who pay lip service to all that is noble and best for the
emancipation of the Black race.
My father died long before I entered the University. At the beginning of my
second session in the University College I lost my mother who was very close to me
and for whom I had a very deep attachment and affection. In the last two decades, aI/
my siblings departed to the world beyond. They did much for me, and their love and
sacrifice for me will ever be deeply appreciated while I am still on this side of the
divide. I thank God for them all.
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Concluding Remarks
I must conclude. First, a dedication: I come from a poor family and
from a small village, Irele in Ekiti State and grew up in my mother's village,
Ogbe in Kogi State. Most of you here may never have heard of those
villages. Since the 1970s I have been fighting, unsuccessfully, to get the last
twenty or so kiIometres to my village tarred. In spite of these facts and many
more that show how lowly my background is, God has exalted me beyond
measure.
This lecture is, therefore, dedicated to all who truly appreciate that
they owe whatever they may achieve or attain to In life or Whatever good
qualities they may possess in life NOT to their own merit but the grace of God
(1Corinthians 4:7).
Secondly, I wish to narrate a story of two soldiers, which goes like
this: Both were on the same side in a war and returned from a fierce battle to
report their victory. One appeared very neat with no injuries whatever, but
his companion had bleeding wounds, dishevelled hair and a very unkempt
appearance. Why the difference? In this case, the first managed to dodge the
frontline and refused to take any risk to his life, while the other perceived a
strategic point at which the enemy wanted to strike and decided to defend it
even if it meant doing so with his life.
In retrospect, I can say that to the best of my ability I gave all I had
to be a successful teacher. From time to time, I stumbled on many within and
outside the country, I receive letters, I have phone calls, or receive visits
from many; invariably they recount some good they believe God has used me
to do in their lives. Some of these are too humbling to try to remember, let
alone mention on an occasion like this. How many of such would I ever
recognize, since no good deed was done to receive praises from anybody? Of
course, I made mistakes and wear battle wounds, some of which may be well
deserved while others may not. My inner joy is that through all the years, I
did not deliberately plan to make anyone uncomfortable; neither did I exploit
any for my personal or selfish ends.
Like the intials of my alma mater, Government College Keffi, GCK,
my desire and goal has always been to reflect the truth that
Kayode's life is hidden with Christ in God. Being read inside out
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KAVODE'S
Ufe ishidden with
CHRIST
in
GOD
COLOSSIANS 3: 3
In other words, I have endeavoured to live my life in full
consciousness that I am a child of God who will render an account of my
stewardship to God some day.
Where I have failed, He is able to defend and uphold me more than
any person can. But listen, in 1959 just before coming to the University
College Ibadan following the information gathered that one was sure to lose
one's faith in a university, I pleaded with God to take my life one day before
that would happen to me. The danger never arose. I believe that I have left
the University of Ibadan a more matured and, hopefully, more committed
Christian than in 1959.
I thank you all for your attention. You may have noticed that I have tried to
acknowledge aUwho have influenced me one way or the other during the course of
delivering this lecture. The final words will not be shared with any human being; they
belong to God alone.
My deep and unreserved gratitude goes to Him Who:
• worked-my way miraculously to uel. wl)en those I had helped did their best
to frustrate my desire to further my education;
• was a mighty Support through my undergraduate and postgraduate years;
• enabled me to do all I did as a teacher without seeking any personal
gratification;
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• supported me and sent me wonderful friends when storms raged fiercely
against me and many denounced me;
• made me continuously relevant to the old and the young across the globe;
and
• above all, continues to nourish me spiritually.
God Almighty, thank You for the privileges of life, Thank You, !t!£
Father, Thank You !t!£ Saviour and Lord.
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