As we celebrate the 86th birthday of our beloved Professor Allen Bankole Oladunmoye Olukayode Oyediran, who served meritoriously as the 7th Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, we honour not only his remarkable life but also his profound impact on our academic community and the countless lives he has impacted.
It is only befitting to celebrate a milestone birthday of an extraordinary individual whose dedication to education has left an indelible mark on our institution and inspired generations of staff and students.
Apparently, every life has a story that underpins its existence. Interestingly, every story has its own peculiar narratives, uniquely structured and patterned to reflect the individual’s journey through time. Such chronicles are usually interwoven with intrigues and other defining suspense, all of which coalesce to form the distinct identity of the individual: his success, his failure, indeed his entire persona, for which he would be evaluated, admired, respected, honoured and even criticized.
The life of Professor Oyediran follows this uniquely designed pattern. His life’s narrative has sufficient measure of dramatic intrigues and suspense divinely structured to evoke inspirational reflections. It is a story of a distinguished academic career both as a scholar and administrator whose rising is laced with honours and accolades, a noteworthy feat as a medical professional and a desirable success as a family man.
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Professor Oyediran’s high intelligence has been one of the defining divinely endowed qualities in his career sojourn. His high cerebral gift has earned him rewards and accolades. Apart from the full UAC scholarship which he enjoyed; he also had the singular privilege of being awarded the Commonwealth scholarship for Medicine from 1968 to 1970. He is the first ever recipient of D.T.M & H with distinction from the Edinburgh University and the Greig medal of honour from the same university in 1969. He was also the recipient of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Travel Fellowship, among other such recognitions.
With an academic career spanning over four decades, this resourceful personality has made tremendous contributions to the quantum of research in medicine, particularly in the area of tropical and preventive health, which he specialised in to address the grave health needs and challenges of modern Nigerians and Africans as a whole. As a professor of Preventive and Social Medicine, Professor Oyediran was not only faced with the task of ensuring adequate researches on that field of medicine, he was also required to produce medical experts and scholars like himself. He fulfilled this task effectively judging from the array of medical scholars and practitioners which he mentored primarily at the University of Ibadan.
He served as acting Chief Medical Director at the University College Hospital (UCH) before attaining the pinnacle of academic ambition by being appointed the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, a position he held from 1991 to 1995.
Professor Oyediran had his work well cut out for him from the beginning. He became UI VC during the military era of General Ibrahim Babangida precisely when the nation was in the thick of economic crises and political agitations. The University of Ibadan had only recently then survived a closure aftermath a bloody nationwide varsity students’ campaign against the government’s Structural Adjustment Policy (SAP).
Interestingly, also, he would also later inherit the national agitations for revalidation of June 12, 1993 presidential election which was annulled by the Babangida government and disrupted academic activities in universities. Professor Oyediran did not allow these distractions to daunt him and override his vision for the university. He blazed the trail by computerising the iconic Kenneth Dike Library. He created the position of second Deputy Vice Chancellor, as well as completed many landmark projects in UI.
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Today, though retired as a public servant, Professor Oyediran has continued his life of service. He co-founded the Nigeria Network for Awareness and Action for Environmental Health [NINAAFEH] – successively serving as CEO and Board of Trustees Chairman. He contributes to the promotion NINAAFEH, whose interest is primarily to draw attention to the health benefit of a cleaner environment in the promotion of good health.
Recognized for sterling contributions to Medicine and scholarship and having served his country well in many areas of health, environment and other interventions, he was coronated and decorated as the Ba’asegun of Offa, a chieftaincy title that truly befits a worthy personality like him.
On behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode O. Adebowale, mni, FAS; Management; Staff and Student of the University of Ibadan, I wish this distinguished icon of the University of Ibadan a blissful 86th birthday and a new year filled with good health and sound mind.
G.O. Saliu, fspsp, FCIML, MNIM, MANUPA,
Registrar,
University of Ibadan
