The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr. – Prophet Muhammad
It was the Scottish historian and essayist Thomas Carlyle (1795 – 1881) who once said: “No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men.”
Carlyle’s thoughts above wouldn’t have meant anything save for the fact that it was to tell the significant essence of great men in any society. His argument based on that great work of history On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History was premised on the fact that the rise of world civilisation we know today was but the actions of heroes. Heroes are great men who did extraordinary things and have always had their names ingrained on the sands of time.
I was a pioneer student at the Ikire Campus of Osun State University, Osogbo (UNIOSUN) at its take-off in 2007. I took a risk to sought admission in a new and yet unknown university despite having been admitted to one of the older universities in Ondo State. A new university that claimed to have mounted world class facilities, deployed first class academics, one of the brightest governing councils and senate, permanent structures across six campuses or colleges among others, to hit the ground running seemed to me a university that really means business in an age of decay in that sector.. After a very rigorous post-UME test, I resumed sometime in September as a student of English and International Studies.
Few weeks after we started receiving lectures, I and about 30 others in the same class were moved to the Department of History and International Studies. I had queried the rationale behind this forced movement from my choice course of study to another unfamiliar terrain. This would bring me on a collision course with the pioneer Provost, Ikire Campus of UNIOSUN, one Professor Siyan Abdul-Gafar Oyeweso. All pleas to allow me return to my previous department proved abortive. He would, however, keep saying that I will one day come back to appreciate him for sending me to the Department of History and International Studies rather than my preferred choice.
Prof. Oyeweso’s firm grasp of diverse fields of study in the humanities was a blessing to us students. This he brought to bear in all of his classes. Beyond the classroom, Prof Oyeweso meant a lot to many of us. He was a mentor and strict disciplinarian. He never condoned disrespect to authority or acts of indolence. He created channels for students to express their grievances. For instance, The Student Colloquium, the brainchild he always anchored held at least once every semester. It provided a platform for interaction and debate, in the absence of a student union at the time, between staff and students on a wide range of issues bothering us. This type of engagement lacking in most universities today, helped a great deal to resolve disputes and give room for crisis-free academic sessions while my studentship lasted.
I could recall how he always impressed it on us that education and character go hand in hand without which a student remained superficial. Many of us today have exhibited in our different places of work and everyday life such simple life lessons which we mostly owe to him.
The cordial relationship that existed between town and gown in Ikire led to student’s patronage of the emergent landlords in town and also helped in boosting the economy of the town. This was made possible by the unique networking skills of Prof. Oyeweso in engaging the different strata of Ikire town. Between 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 sessions, we embarked on educational trips to Ghana aimed at exposing us to the tourist and historical sites like the popular Elmina castle. Prof. Oyeweso, who initiated the trips, felt beyond the theoretical narrations in class, we needed to see some of these monuments and historical sites.
It was believed by many that as a new university, we may never get the much needed accreditation by the NUC. Prof. Oyeweso, being a positive minded person and a goal-getter, hit the ground running. Between my first semester and the last, we were under the tutelage of first class scholars drawn from Nigeria’s first generation and Ivy-League universities abroad. We had international scholars like Insa Nolte of Centre for West African Studies, University of Birmingham, Regina Williams from Cleveland State University, USA; Vincent Harribaren from University of Leeds, Jendele Hungbo from University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, Chidozie Okoro from University of Cape Coast, Ghana and Dr. Akin Oyetade, School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Back home, we had the rare privilege of drawing from the fountain of knowledge of such outstanding scholars as Professors Akinjide Osuntokun, Femi Osofisan, Ayodeji Olukoju, Biola Odejide, Diji Aina, Charles Quacker Dokubo and Kunle Lawal (late), Victor Osaro Edo and Mallam Yusuf Ali (SAN). While some came to deliver lectures and seminars to whet our academic appetite, others remained for as much as two to three sessions, teaching and giving us the best on offer.
With such rich calibre of scholars assembled in Ikire Campus, and the solid structures in place, the College was given full accreditation of its four Programmes in June 2010 by the NUC accreditation team who were very much impressed by what they saw and met on ground. It was remarkable that Ikire Campus was the only College out of the six campuses of UNIOSUN to attain that feat in the 2010 accreditation exercise. This was possible due to the personal sacrifice and painstaking efforts of the Provost, Prof. Oyeweso and the support of the Management and Staff. It is noteworthy that without this accreditation, 92 out of the original 115 pioneer students of the College would not have served in the 2011 national youth service programme.
There is a bold imprint of Prof. Oyeweso’s immense contributions to the growth and development of not only Ikire Campus, but UNIOSUN as a whole that cannot be wished away. As one of its founding fathers, he helped built the university from the scratch and turned it into an enviable university that continues to grow in leaps and bounds today. His penchant for academic excellence and love for the university has yielded outstanding achievements and legacies that include the construction of 25 offices, 88 toilets, 2 libraries, Provost’s Chalet, 6-Room Studio Apartments, a building dedicated to ICT, 120-seater hall, a Language Laboratory, Communication Studio, one 300-seater library and a twin Lecture Theatre.
Also, Prof. Oyeweso with staff of the university initiated a number of co-curricular cum educational programmes like Students Inter-Collegiate Competitions (debate, essay writing and football) which Ikire Campus won at all levels and helped set up social organisations like Ikire Creative Arts Club, Ikire Campus Joint Press Club, UNIOSUN Cultural Troupe, Ikire end of year get-together among others. Interestingly, Prof. Oyeweso chaired the Committee that produced the UNIOSUN Anthem.
One could go on and on, however, one of the most enduring legacies of Prof. Oyeweso is the mentorship he provided most of us even after graduation. While some of us, after our compulsory service year, went on to work in both public and private sectors of the economy, others pursued one form of postgraduate degree programmes or the other. It is instructive to note that Ikire Campus was the first College after the graduation of the university’s pioneer set to produce its first Masters Degree holder in person of Miss Oluwafisayo Fatima Abdul, a 2011 graduate of English and International Studies, Ikire Campus who bagged an M.A in Global Media and Communication at the Coventry University, United Kingdom in 2013. After this enviable feat, other alumnus of the College has also graduated in one course or the other, in universities both in Nigeria and abroad. This writer intends to enrol for his PhD this year.
Today, I work as a highly rated publicist for a multi-billion dollar oil and gas company in Abuja. I had studied History, why would I be working as a publicist, people may ask? The answer to this is not far-fetched. Apart from diverse knowledge historians are known to exhibit, studying under the tutelage and mentorship of Professor Siyan Oyeweso was a rare privilege. Prof. Oyeweso’s style of imparting academic knowledge in his students is refreshingly different. It was his affective teaching method and unique professorial touch lacking today in most Nigerian universities that made us proud and respected historians.
Wherever we are today, we owe our success largely to UNIOSUN and the diverse number of teaching and non-teaching staff that dot the university during our sojourn in the university who moulded us to be able to hold our shoulders high anywhere. If the success of Ikire campus is now been talked about with a sense of pride, it is because few people took the pain to drive it to where it is today and the sacrifices of these forerunners should not be in vain. Rather than being vilified, they should be appreciated. Thomas Carlyle was right when he said no great man lives in vain. For us, Prof. Oyeweso is a both a great scholar and an extraordinary human being.
Raheem Oluwafunminiyi, 08181284595, [email protected]
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