Tribute to Late Professor Oladipupo Akinkugbe, who has just passed at 87 Years

Celebrating the life of Professor Akinkugbe

Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Oladipupo Olajide Akinkugbe has passed on to eternal glory at the age of 87.

I’m not here to write his biography, It is freely available from serious reference materials and also from Wikipedia or Google.

I am fascinated by my encounter with professor Akinkugbe at an impressionistic age. In 1977, when we resumed as fresh students of the University of Ilorin, he was the founding VC, just the previous year before in 1976.

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We saw a little bit of professor Akinkugbe’s persona before he was seconded to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. As the Vice Chancellor. At Ilorin, I really admired him as a brilliant Prof of Medicine whose resume was literally intimidating.

As a student, I admired and was fascinated by academics with impressive spoken English and diction. There weren’t very many then, but he led the pack. When he talked, you “leasin” (listen). He talked softly and in a captivating manner.

Professor Akinkugbe came across as a fatherly figure to many of us, the “young new arrivals” some of whom were just leaving home for the very first time for a university far away from home.

He often came to the Cafetaria during dinner hours to see the young ones. After dinner about ten of us would mill around him near the SUB, all standing, asking questions on just anything.

Professor would answer everyone and he also took his time to throw questions at everyone. I guess he read the “FirePoint Press” corner near the Cafeteria, where I was a “big fish” then.

I remember him asking us “who’s Bisbal” and everyone pointed at me. He just smiled. But I knew it wasn’t a wry smile but that of camaraderie. Yes, it was.

He’d want to know more about our backgrounds, food preferences, acclimatisation challenges, lectures, hostel conveniences etc. Always making sure we didn’t miss home too much.

He gave us the impression that we were free to see him as long as he was free and available in his office. But I never had time to do that before he moved on to Zaria.

I kept wondering if that was the general rule for all VCs to be so caring and compassionate to their young students. But it wasn’t. He was just being different and homely, always making us feel at home.

Compare that to today’s VC’s who are mostly distant, non recognisable, amorphous and are unfortunately tucked away in an Olympian height which literally rivals Mount Kilimanjaro.

Probably, signs of the times today. We felt highly honoured by his fatherly mien. How many VC’s did or still do that? “For where”?.

However, in 1978, fate took him away from us (his student friends) to ABU Zaria as VC. Professor Akinkugbe unfortunately had a riotous ethnically encumbered stint at ABU.

I felt for him for this twist of fate. He didn’t deserve such treatment. My opinion, please. Let me leave  that chapter for historians.

However, my final year project was on “Determinants of Student Activism in Nigeria” which got big data from ABU, Unilag, UI, Nsukka and Ilorin. I got all my data through physical presence, not by proxy.

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I had a glimpse of Prof Akinkugbe’s encumbrances planted on his Administrative Terrain at ABU. Even an angel, fresh from heaven, won’t have survived such premeditated onslaught from within n without of Zamaru (ABU main campus).

All in all, Prof Emeritus Oladipupo Akinkugbe was the first Chair of Medicine not only at Ibadan (where he started off) but in Nigeria.

Professor had glorious collection of literature, awards and international recognition which dwarfed his contemporaries.

In simple terms, he was some scholar. He was a World-renowned expert in the field of Hypertension and Renal Medicine.

I commiserate with his immediate and extended popular AKINKUGBE families of Ondo.

I pray that God comfort them all and may the good Lord rest his soul.

B.b Bisbal
16/06/2020

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