Not many scholars simply fall into the habit of pursuing a career in academic for a living. It might not seem that way sometimes with making researches, cynicism and presenting papers peppering the scope, but the continued pursuit of one of the most universal dreams around requires an almost unfathomable amount of hard work, gritty determination, inner-belief and self-discipline.
Becoming a truly renowned academic requires a great deal of so many variants to join together in attempted harmony. Of course, it helps when the aspiring performer has a natural connection with the right tools and can manipulate it with the right moves in sync with carefree ease, but perhaps the most important attribute of all, is that of ardent passion.
Growing up, Olanike Adeyemo possessed the very same innocent dream so many young boys and girls do. She loved sciences and studied it with a keen interest in her school. She studied it with regularity wherever she could and as often as she was able to, and a wishful thought that no doubt brewed in her mind night and day was that she might emulate the stars she spent hours looking up to. Fortunately for the spirit of the field, she managed to tap into that hopefulness to become one of the greatest veterinary academicians anyone has ever seen.
She certainly didn’t tumble into the profession, but that’s not to say she wasn’t viewed as a fallen football angel sent back to earth to spread the vet gospel by so many.
Spread it, she did with a wonderful career that encapsulated the spirit of learning executed in lab coats. Watching her was like seeing a kid trapped inside a man’s body – she saw it through the multi-coloured, youthful lense that we all do as vivacious learners, and that manifested itself in the apparently effortless, enthusiastic style the very best of the best tend to possess.
At undergraduate level, Olanike demonstrated an almost superhuman ability, intelligence and interpretation in her discipline. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine rose from obscurity to national domination. They baffled, delighted, bewitched and dazzled in equal measure. The scrawny young kid called Olanike epitomised it all. She became revered around the world.
After finishing laudably at the undergraduate level, Olanike would repeat the gloriously transformational process at the postgraduate. She was appointed in 1999 as a Grade II Lecturer in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Ibadan. Successes followed
If Olanike’s understanding of Veterinary Medicine was acquired over time while studying, it was instant at making researches and lecturing. In the department, an emotional connection combined with technical know-how, tactical understanding and unerring confidence equalled successes. As a lecturer Olanike, unthinkably, replicated and surpassed her achievements as a student. At University of Ibadan and beyond in multiple times in various roles, she has continued to revolutionized and transformed.
She has already undoubtedly played a huge part in the careers of her colleagues. And there will almost certainly be scholars belonging to the next generation that view Olanike as a research idol, whether that be in Univeristy of Ibadan or indeed throughout the rest of the world.
To talk about what Olanike symbolises is to talk about what makes academic so enticing, enthralling and, at its most basic, what can lend beauty to it. The symmetry of her works, her thinking ability, sacrifice for humanity- all of these components helped build the now Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research Innovation and Strategic Partnership into an establishment of her own in scholarship.
