I woke up to receive a terse WhatsApp message from Bisi, your darling wife, early this morning. It reads _I wanted to inform you sir that Prof T.K. Hamzat has passed._ My only reply was _Sad. Very sad_. Please, accept my condolences. The good God will comfort you, the children and all members of the family that your husband and my very good friend, respected colleague and confidant left behind to mourn his passing. This is one death too many. Our fervent prayer is that God will spare our University community this agony.
Our paths crossed sometimes during the 1999/2000 academic session. I was at the time the Sub-Dean of the Postgraduate School of the University of Ibadan while Kolapo was pursuing his Doctoral research in the Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine. He had come to the Records Section of the Postgraduate School and decided to say hello to his Sub-Dean. There and then we started a friendship which lasted till the end of his journey on this side of the divide. You used to call me _Uncle ID_ Or _Uncle Idowu_ while in return I simply called you _TK_.
I have followed the trajectory of your career from becoming the first person to earn a PhD (Physiotherapy) from our _alma mater_ to attaining the ultimate accolade of a Professor at the relatively young age of 39 years. You were at various times Sub-Dean and Head of Department.
Believing that low aim is a crime, one was impressed that you were very ambitious, without being desperate. You were an amiable person. Honest, straightforward and a man of character and integrity.
You were appointed and served as the University Orator throughout my stint as the Vice-Chancellor, 2015 to 2020, a role in which you brought to bear the hard work, dutifulness, diligence and devotion to duty which had made you such an outstanding success in your illustrious and very brilliant career.
You were kind enough to inform me of your aspiration to serve as Vice-Chancellor in year 2020. Needless to add that I encouraged you. Although you did not eventually emerge our 13th VC, one had hoped that your own time would surely come at God’s appointed time.
I honoured many of the kind invitations you extended to me to visit your family home at the Moniya area of Ibadan Metropolis, especially during Moslem festivals.
It was such a sad news to learn through our common friend and your elder brother Dr Gani Adeniran of your health challenge some eight days ago. I visited you on your sick bed at the Private Suite of the University College Hospital with our senior colleague Professor Oladosu Ojengbede and our mutual friends Professor Bamiji Babalola and Professor Sina Oladokun. I promptly reverted to the Vice-Chancellor who informed me that he had already been contacted.
In you, TK we have lost a rare gem of a very brilliant friend and brother. We will forever cherish the sweet moments we shared. You will be sorely missed. Rest in peace till we part no more.
Our condolence is extended to your Head of Department, the Dean of Clinical Sciences, the Provost College of Medicine, the Vice Chancellor and the entire University of Ibadan community for the irreparable loss of a valued colleague.
Adieu Professor TK Kolapo Hamzat
Idowu Olayinka
Department of Geology
University of Ibadan
