This month (February 2012), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, one of Nigeria’s first generation universities, marks 50^th year of its establishment. Expectedly, drums have been sounding from the ever proud alumni, students and management of the institution and, not surprisingly, the school’s name has been the trending (term used to describe the most mentioned word on Twitter in a region in a period) word on Twitter in Lagos and Nigeria in the last few days.

Established in 1962 by the venerable Chief Obafemi Awolowo-led government of Western Nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo University (known as University of Ife until 1987, shortly after the demise of the founding premier) has established itself as a force to reckon with among Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. It is one of the reference points in lessons on what visionary leadership can do. A number of classic issues around the school’s establishment, like others of its generation, easily come to mind when discussing the now elusive good governance in Nigeria. One, it was established at a time the now neglected agriculture, and not crude oil, was the main revenue spinner for the government. Two, the then premier of western region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his deputy, the equally respectable Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, never sited the university in their villages(Ikenne and Ogbomosho respectively), rather in Ile-Ife, the ancestral home of their Yoruba people. Sir Ahmadu Bello and Dr Nnamdi Azikwe, of Northern and Eastern regions respectively, also did the same by siting their government’s universities, not in their villages but in Zaria and Nsukka respectively. With all the petrodollars available to subsequent governments, none of them has been able to build an institution of these universities’ structural standard. What we have today as universities are a number of poorly designed buildings scattered over an expanse of land. The hometowns of the president or the governors or their wives and concubines are the priority choice of locations for institutions today, even when they are not the best suited.

In its five decades of existence, OAU has contributed its fair share to the manpower requirement of the nation, with products that are high flyers not only in Nigeria but also at the global level. Although the last one to two decades have witnessed decline in quality, it is nothing but a reflection of the generally waning standards of education in the country owing to successive governments’ failure to give education the attention it deserves. OAU has especially suffered more neglect from the governments in the last one decade. It would be recalled that in the run-up to his election as civilian president of Nigeria in 1998/99, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, while on a visit to the institution, suffered unjustifiable ignominy from the mass of Ife students, who believed his military regime was anti-students, with the infamous Ali-Must-Go crisis of 1978 that led the killing and brutalization of Nigerian university students, Ife students actively involved and also victims, the signpost of his education-insensitive posture. Not a few observers hold that the neglect OAU suffered throughout Obasanjo’s eight years in office, when other schools like ABU, Unimaid and Unilorin got billion Naira projects, can be traced to the 1998 brush he had with the nationally relevant, politically conscious Ife students.

The result of this was acute shortage of funds to manage the school and lack of new, modern projects. But in the last five years there has been a re-awakening championed by the private sector and some well-heeled alumni. First Bank, Skye Bank, Intercontinental Bank, Chams, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim and a number of other alumni have changed the face of the school in the last few years. More is still in the pipeline, as Mr Segun Adeniyi, an alumnus and former media adviser to late president Umaru Yar’adua, noted recently in his column in Thisday newspaper.

Although this has been threatened in the last few years, OAU provides a model of what an ideal university should be. It is a community, not just for direct learning and researching, but also providing a voice that cannot be ignored in the national polity. With vibrant students’ and workers’ unions that regularly lend their voice to national issues, Ife has maintained its tradition of being a watchdog for good governance in Nigeria. From the Ali-Must-Go uprising of the late 1970s, through the June 12 1993 rape of democracy to the struggle against the despotic regime of the goggled one, Ife students have been at the forefront of the civil struggle. Small wonder Nigeria’s most celebrated political critic, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, at the point of his death, mentioned Ife varsity as the institution deserving of having his corpse if the family decided not to bury him. It should be noted that the now nationally quoted Senior Advocate of the Masses (S.A.M) honour for Gani was conferred on him by the Great Ife students in 1988. It is also noteworthy that Ife is the breeding grounds for most of Nigeria’s finest progressive minds, notably Itse Sagay, Femi Falana(P.R.O, Ife Students Union 80/81), Mike Ozhekhome, Lanre Arogundade, Justice Oyewole of Bode George trial fame, Opeyemi Bamidele(also ex-P.R.O, Ife Students Union) Bamidele Aturu, Paul Usoro most of whom started their activism in their Ife days; not to mention the likes of Wole Soyinka, Dipo Fashina, Biodun Jeyifo, G.G Darah, and other leading progressive intellectuals connected to Ife as ex-teachers.

One unique feature of Ife that is also worthy of mention as the school celebrates its golden jubilee is the post-school spirit of solidarity among its products. No other school in Nigeria boasts of such sense of belonging.  Apart from having the largest alumni networks across the world, the Ife spirit easily comes to life in any gathering where two or three Ife products meet. From informal gatherings like wedding ceremonies to formal ones like conferences, you can’t but recognize Ife alumni with their predictable Great Ife banters. Although every tertiary institution in Nigeria, including those that are no more than a number of uncompleted storey buildings, freely arrogate the epithet  ‘Great’ today, Nigerians know the authentic owner of the epithet.

Yet, we will be deceiving ourselves if we say all is well with our university today. As I noted in my article, ‘OAU: Metamorphosis of progressive varsity’ (Thisday, November 12, 2010), the vivacious intellectual fireworks that our institution emitted in the 60’s to early 90’s has practically been put off. The seminal contributions to global and national intellectual discourses through the world class teachers it paraded in years past is fast fading away. Since the exit of world class teachers like Professors Jacob Olupona, Biodun Jeyifo(both the only two Nigerian tenured-Professors at Harvard, as Segun Adeniyi brought to light in his Thisday column, August 4, 2011), Wole Soyinka(who got his Nobel prize while he was teaching in Ife), Sam Aluko(unarguably one of the top three most cerebral Nigerian economists ever), Babatunde Fafunwa, G.G Darah, Itse Sagay etc, Ife has not been able to fill the shoes of these breeds, much as the remaining legends like Dipo Fashina, Adebayo Lamikanra and few others are trying. This intellectual depletion, caused majorly by the brain drain of the 80’s to 90’s, hits Ife more than any other Nigerian university of its generation.

As we celebrate our great alma mater @ 50, it is pertinent for us to reflect on this low point. Segun Adeniyi impressed me by dedicating three consecutive editions of his weekly column to calling Great Ife alumni to stand up for their university. This is another wake-up call. We must count ourselves lucky to have passed through the four walls of this great citadel of learning, which to us, is the greatest university south of the Sahara and North of the Limpopo.  The only way we can be grateful to this university that has shaped the lives of many of us is to rise for it. Who else is ready?

Comments Page: 1 posted on 02-15-2012, 00:20:59 AM Benjani Re: Celebrating Great Ife @ 50 @Suraj: [Two, the then premier of western region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his deputy, the equally respectable Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, never sited the university in their villages(Ikenne and Ogbomosho respectively), rather in Ile-Ife, the ancestral home of their Yoruba people. Sir Ahmadu Bello and Dr Nnamdi Azikwe, of Northern and Eastern regions respectively, also did the same by siting their government’s universities, not in their villages but in Zaria and Nsukka respectively.] With all due respect, we need to correct some general believes and inaccuracies about these institutions. Unlike OAU, ABU and UNN are not regional universities and were not built by those regional governments or premiers. ABU and UNN were conceived, built and owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria. ABU and UNN are national properties. posted on 02-15-2012, 22:19:32 PM Purple Re: Celebrating Great Ife @ 50 Mr Oyewale, I appreciate the depth of your article honoring a truly great institution, the crucible and refining fire for many of the great ones. Here is the OAU anthem. The passion with which Ife students sing this anthem is hearth warming. Enjoy! Obafemi Awolowo University Anthem Great Ife! Great Ife!! Africa's most beautiful campus Conscious, vigilant, progressive Aluta against all oppression Forward ever, backward never For learning and culture, sports and struggle Great Ife! I love you There is no other Great Ife in the universe; Another Great Ife is a counterfeit Great! Great!! Great!!! Great Ife!!! posted on 02-16-2012, 01:00:54 AM Auspicious Re: Celebrating Great Ife @ 50 - As seen on Facebook recently: OAU. Obafemi Awolowo University. Oba Awon University [The Best of Universities]. -- posted on 02-16-2012, 01:25:48 AM Agidimolaja Re: Celebrating Great Ife @ 50 Chief Obafemi Awolowo. To know him is to love him. for he was/is a whole lot of a man. Facts cannot be denied that he was and still is the best President that Nigeria did not have. Nigeria is today paying heavy price for that error. Chief Obafemi Awolowo is laughing today while Nigeria is weeping.He is saying to us;" see, I told you so". posted on 02-16-2012, 02:07:45 AM Osibinaebi Re: Celebrating Great Ife @ 50 QUOTE: @Suraj: [Two, the then premier of western region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his deputy, the equally respectable Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, never sited the university in their villages(Ikenne and Ogbomosho respectively), rather in Ile-Ife, the ancestral home of their Yoruba people. Sir Ahmadu Bello and Dr Nnamdi Azikwe, of Northern and Eastern regions respectively, also did the same by siting their government’s universities, not in their villages but in Zaria and Nsukka respectively.] With all due respect, we need to correct some general believes and inaccuracies about these institutions. Unlike OAU, ABU and UNN are not regional universities and were not built by those regional governments or premiers. ABU and UNN were conceived, built and owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria. ABU and UNN are national properties. Benjani.... You got it wrong half way... ABU was a regional University (Northern Nigeria). QUOTE: Ahmadu Bello University began full operation in 1962, on the cites of these educational institutions: the defunct Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, founded in 1955; the Clerical Training Centre, Kongo, founded in 1957; the Samaru Agricultural Research Station, established in 1924, and the Shika Livestock Farm, started in 1928. The University was named after SirAhmadu Bello (1901-1966), \"the Sardauna of Sokoto\" and the Premier of Northern Nigeria. As the first Chancellor of the' University, Sir Ahmadu Bello performed its Opening Ceremony on the 4th of October, 1962. In 1975, the University was taken over by the Federal Government through a Decree (the Ahmadu Bello University [Transitional] Provisions Decree of 1975), thus becoming a Federal University. http://www.abu.edu.ng/info/about.php posted on 02-16-2012, 07:04:17 AM Ph3y Re: Celebrating Great Ife @ 50 QUOTE: - As seen on Facebook recently: OAU. Obafemi Awolowo University. Oba Awon University [The Best of Universities]. -- Hell no Auspy, It means the ONLY university there is..... posted on 02-17-2012, 07:48:35 AM Anonimi Re: Celebrating Great Ife @ 50 Any chance that the alumni of this great university, some of whom benefitted from free education and scholarships would raise a contributory endowment fund for giving out scholarships to deserving, indigent students? Go to the Full Discussion Thread Comments Page: 1