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67 Hearty Cheers to UI’s 11th Vice -Chancellor And Nigeria’s Medical Icon, Prof. Adewole
It is gratifying to note that all over the world, countries are known for greatness through efforts of their patriotic citizens who positively impacted their immediate environment and the world at large; people whose efforts will be remembered by generations. These people at one time or the other were confronted with challenges but they were capable of putting them off. One of such people is the 11th Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan and immediate past Minister of Health, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole (IFA), a man of keen intellect.
Not many people would remember that in 1984, Professor Adewole, as a progressive unionist was elected President of the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria and led a nationwide strike that resulted in his dismissal by the then military head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently the President of Nigeria. The same person appointed him the Minister of Health and served in that capacity from 2015 to 2019 shortly before the end of his tenure as the 11th Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan.
The Federal Ministry of Health under his watch developed one of the most ambitious health programme in Africa to achieve UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE using Primary Health Care as the fulcrum. The programme aimed to provide 10,000 functional Primary Health Care facilities in Nigeria covering every political wards and this was able to provide access to basic essential health care to about 100 million Nigerians. There are indications that the same programme is being implemented in Osun State under Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s administration by leveraging on the resourceful expertise of Prof. Adewole. Indeed, he is a real change agent in government.
When Buhari declared him a wanted man, Prof. Adewole went into exile. He used the period to productively work at the Cancer Campaign Research Institute in London, where he authored four papers.
Thereafter, he had a meteoric rise in medical politics as he was showered with an avalanche of top-notch appointments in medical associations at home and abroad.
A Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science (FAS), Prof. Adewole is one of Nigeria’s most prolific writers in the medical field. He has authored over 200 scholarly articles in learned journals and over 20 books in various areas of medicine. Mention must be made of the training manual he co-authored on sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV prevention for medical students in Nigeria in 2007. The manual is currently being used in medical colleges in Nigerian universities.
Prof. Adewole is a strong pillar and significant reference point among researchers and scholars in his medical field. To incessantly quote him has been for them, a salutary demonstration of intellect and erudition. In every way, Prof. Adewole is a great medical scientist.
An avalanche of laurels have been conferred on him by appreciative beneficiaries all over the world.
As the 11th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, he was passionately committed to the welfare and capacity development of staff and students of the institution for its sustainable growth. Apart from regular payment of salaries, only God knows how many academic and non-academic staff benefited from his staff development programme by exposing them to international conferences and training programme.
It is amazing how Prof. Adewole always helps staff get up to speed. He knows how to gauge the mood of his staff for an improved performance. I recall a day he invited me to his office and asked me “Oladejo, why have you not come to me for any request like others?”. I responded: “I don’t have any request, sir” “But others have been coming to me for overseas trainings which I have granted”, he quipped. I replied: “I don’t need it sir.” Then, as a big boss, he retorted: “I hope nothing is wrong with you?; ask me anything and I will grant it.” I did not talk. He continued: “You must go to Israel for a management training” Thereafter, he directed that the trip must be processed immediately. Not a fault of his, the trip was aborted. The rest is history. I have since moved on. To God be the glory!
I am privileged to be on the team of Prof. Adewole through which I closely worked with him for nearly three years. I learnt a lot from the Master’s feet in many ways.
He knows how to handle any complex situation in an adroit manner. Is there any challenge that IFA cannot handle? I ask?
To some people, however, he has his misdeeds. Nobody is perfect!
Again, not many people would remember that it was Professor Adewole’s Vice-Chancellorship that recognised that management and students’s union engagement could be approached in a refreshingly different manner.
Prof. Adewole felt the need to change student leaders orientation in pressing home their demands before management without violence.
During one of his visits to UK, he noticed a students’ union President of University of the West England, Emmanuel Okon, was a Nigerian and he wondered how he managed to win an election in a university dominated by the whites.
He established a relationship with him and invited him to the University of Ibadan. Okon spoke at the Leadership Capacity Workshop held at the the UI Hotels’ Conference Centre now Subomi Balogun Conference Centre. The programme was targeted at all student leaders comprising Students’ Union Executives Council, Students’ Representatives Council ( SRC) Faculty Presidents, Hall Chairmen and Departmental Executive Committees.
The essence of Okon’s visit was to share the modern strategies student leaders could use to press home their demands from University administrators without violence.
He did justice to the topic and Prof. Adewole felt the UI student leaders should also travel abroad to see for themselves how things were being rightly done.
Four student leaders benefitted from this initiatve and were sponsored for the trip to University of the West England. They were the President, Mr. Babatunde Olamide Badmus (BB), Department of Theatre Arts, Faculty of Arts; Vice-President, Miss Oluwaseun Adebiyi , Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences; General Secretary, Mr. Ayokanmi Akinbuluma, Faculty of Law and the Speaker of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) Mr. Oluyemi Sarumi, Department of Dentistry, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine. These four student leaders travelled to UWE in 2013. This experience changed the narratives on Effective Management/Students’Union Engagement.
Not many people would remember that as the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adewole worked with missionary zeal to sustain the prime position of Nigeria’s premier University and transform it into one of Africa’s top 10 Universities and one of the most prestigious Universities in the world.
It is really admirable how Prof. Adewole always sees projects through from conception to completion. The 1000 capacity Computer Based Testing (CBT), Distance Learning Centre, Ajibode Extension, the initiative of Prof. Adewole led administration, remains a star project in the University system in Nigeria. The Registrar/Chief Executive, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede alluded to the Centre as one of the best for examination condition in the country drawing the attention of other Universities to go to UI and see how examinations are conducted. Adewole’s efforts at strengthening UI’s culture have, therefore, not gone unnoticed. Fantastic work! We thank Prof. Oloyede for the endorsement.
Even when the going gets tough, he continues to have the best attitude.
He is exceptionally devoted to his family, friends and associates, and maintains excellent relations at all times.
It was Winston Churchill who famously said that good and great are seldom in the same man. Prof. Adewole is delightfully a rare exception. He belongs to a pantheon of his own. The whole world already knows that he is accomplished in his own field. But beyond his greatness as an accomplished academic and administrator, he is also an exceptionally good man, extra-ordinary patriot, extremely decent being and outstanding family man.
IFA is not selfish! IFA is selfless! IFA knows how to serve others! IFA motivates others to be selfless!
For all the outstanding achievements, service to God and humanity, we are proud that UI produces, Prof. Adewole!
For a fulfilling and remarkable earthly sojourn of positive difference, life of distinction and an indellibe name in the “Book of Records”, I celebrate your special day, May 5, appreciating God’s blessings in your life.
For me, a day is not enough to celebrate this intellectual power house, versatile product of the University of Ibadan, whom Osun State, Nigeria, Africa and the world are proud of. May your star of excellence continue to shine.
CONGRATULATIONS AND HAPPY HAPPY 67TH BIRTHDAY SIR!!!
Olatunji Muhammed Oladejo,
Director of Public Communication
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Residents of the Hotoro area of Kano were thrown into panic after a woman allegedly set her co-wife and two children ablaze in a late-night domestic attack.
The incident occurred on Monday night in the Mai Allo area of Hotoro, leaving four persons with varying degrees of burns.
The victims — a 28-year-old woman and her two children aged seven and three — are currently receiving treatment at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala and Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital.
Their father, who reportedly sustained injuries while attempting to rescue the victims from the inferno, is also undergoing treatment.
A relative of the family informed that they received a distress call around 3am informing them that the woman, her husband and the children had been set ablaze.
According to the source, the victim had spent less than two weeks in her matrimonial home before the attack occurred.
“She is about 28 years old. The children are from her previous marriage. They are stepchildren to the husband, who works as a tricycle rider,” the relative added.
Residents of the area described the incident as horrifying and called on security agencies to ensure justice was served.
“We are shocked by what happened. This kind of violence has no place in our community,” a resident said.
The suspect has since been taken into custody at the Mariri Police Division.
As of the time of filing this report, the Kano State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
Crime & Court
UNIBEN killing: Edo security squad arrests 12 suspected cultists, seals initiation centres
Security operatives in Edo State have arrested 12 suspected cultists and sealed two apartments allegedly used as initiation centres during coordinated raids across parts of Benin City following the killing of a young man near the gate of the University of Benin.
The operation, code-named “Operation Flush Out Cultists and Kidnappers,” was carried out by the state’s Special Security Squad after the killing recorded on Sunday, May 10, 2026.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, Patrick Ebojele.
According to the statement, the Chief Security Officer and Principal Security Officer to the governor led the raids conducted in Ekosodin, Isihor, Old Road off S&T Barracks, Airport Road, 19th Street Ugbowo, Ogba-Evbuodia and Evbuomore Quarters, all in Benin City.
Spokesman for the security squad, Noah Idemudia, alleged that some youth leaders within communities in the state were aiding violent crimes and harbouring criminal elements.
He said intelligence reports indicated that sophisticated weapons used in deadly attacks were often traced to communities across the state.
“Reports reaching us indicate that some persons are allegedly harbouring criminals. Intelligence reports also suggest that sophisticated weapons used in deadly attacks on citizens are allegedly sourced from communities.
“The governor is warning community leaders to maintain peace in their various communities and ensure that no unlicensed weapons are found in their possession, as they will be held liable and treated as criminals,” Idemudia said.
He, however, clarified that the 12 suspects arrested were not directly linked to the killing near the university gate.
According to him, the suspects were allegedly identified as members of different cult groups after security operatives reportedly discovered symbols, signs and other incriminating materials on them during the raids.
Idemudia added that the suspects had been handed over to the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Nigeria Police Force for profiling and further investigation.
Speaking on the properties sealed during the operation, he said one of the apartments was allegedly being used as a cult initiation centre.
He explained that operatives came under attack while attempting to arrest suspects at the location, forcing authorities to seal the premises and invite the property owner for questioning.
He added that another apartment raided allegedly contained shrines and fetish items scattered across several rooms, which investigators suspect were being used for initiation into different confraternities.
According to him, the owner of the property had also been invited for questioning by security agencies.
“The governor has warned those sponsoring cultism and violent killings in the state to desist immediately.
“Anyone found aiding criminality in Edo State will face the full weight of the law, as the state will no longer be conducive for criminal elements,” Idemudia added.
He also warned against unlawful gatherings, alleging that some cult groups were planning anniversary celebrations across the state.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday convicted and sentenced former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to a cumulative 75 years imprisonment in absentia over a ₦33.8bn money laundering scandal linked to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.
The trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, found Mamman guilty on all 12 counts bordering on conspiracy and money laundering filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The judge ruled that the prison terms would run consecutively, bringing the total sentence to 75 years.
Justice Omotosho held that Mamman deliberately absented himself from court on the day of judgment and during the previous adjourned sitting in a bid to frustrate the administration of justice.
He agreed with counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 empowered the court to proceed with sentencing despite the defendant’s absence.
The court consequently sentenced the former minister to seven years imprisonment each on Counts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 without an option of fine.
Mamman was also sentenced to three years imprisonment on Count 4 with an option of a ₦10m fine, and two years imprisonment on Count 5 without an option of fine.
Justice Omotosho further ordered that the sentence would commence from the date of Mamman’s arrest since he was convicted in absentia.
The judge directed security agencies within and outside Nigeria, including Interpol, to arrest the convict wherever he is found and hand him over to the Nigerian Correctional Service to serve his jail term.
The court also ordered the final forfeiture of two Abuja properties linked to the former minister, alongside various sums recovered in different currencies by anti-graft agencies.
In addition, the court ordered Mamman to refund the outstanding balance from the ₦22bn already traced to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects out of the ₦33.8bn allegedly diverted.
The conviction followed a lengthy trial instituted by the EFCC, which accused Mamman of conspiring with ministry officials and private companies to divert funds earmarked for the two power projects.
Mamman was arraigned on July 11, 2024 on a 12-count charge and pleaded not guilty.
During the trial, the EFCC called 17 witnesses and tendered 43 exhibits to support its case.
Following the close of the prosecution’s case, the former minister filed a no-case submission on November 19, 2025, contending that the EFCC had failed to establish sufficient evidence against him.
However, Justice Omotosho, in a ruling delivered on December 11, 2025, dismissed the application and held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring the defendant to open his defence.
The matter was subsequently adjourned for continuation of defence before Wednesday’s judgment brought the proceedings to a close.
The case, regarded as one of the most significant corruption convictions in recent years, stemmed from Mamman’s arrest and detention by the EFCC on May 10, 2021.
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