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A special
megaphone of CyberschuulNews
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presents |
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A File on
Excellence, Service and Patriotism
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Call for
Ayo
Awojobi Centre
to pursue Excellence in Engineering Training and Research
A befitting
centre for learning and research in engineering has been canvassed to immortalise the
name of late resourceful professor of mechanical engineering, Prof. Ayo
Awojobi. This emerged from a presentation made by Prof. O A Fakilede on
behalf of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Lagos where the late
professor worked for 19 years till he died in 1984 at 47.
The call for Ayo
Awojobi Centre was hailed by an audience which included very top
engineers and university administrators at an event to commemorate the
life and times of late Prof. Awojobi.
In the audience
were top engineers including Prof VOS Olunloyo, President of Nigeria
Academy of Engineering; Kashim Ali, President of Nigerian Society of
Engineers, NSE; and Bayo Adeola, President, Association of Consulting
Engineers, Nigeria, ACEN. Although The Vice-Chancellor of the University
of Lagos, Prof. Tolu Odugbemi, was overseas on duty tour, all other principal officers of the
University including Two Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Registrar, Bursar,
Librarian, Director of Works and Services and several Deans of
Faculties, Colleges
and Schools were present. Also present were serving and retired
practising engineers including two retired Commandants of the Nigerian
Army Corps of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers Gen. M.S Toki [Rtd.],
and Gen. Tunde Adebanjo [Rtd].
According to
several accounts of highly rated speakers at the event, if Ayo Awojobi had
lived to old age, he would have been seventy-one years old now. Having
completed his PhD in 1964 - two years after a Bachelors degree, he came
in as one of the pioneers of the then new Faculty of Engineering,
University of Lagos in 1965. Professor Ayo Awojobi died at the
relatively young age of 47 in the heat of the battle for a better
Nigeria. That battle still rages on. 'Sometimes', says Fakilede, 'one shudders at the risk
and other things Awojobi would have done under the Abacha regime he did
not live to see'.
The audience had
earlier listened to a Lecture by Prof Akin Oyebode, himself an
accomplished academic, who in the lecture, identifies
the crying and urgent need to trust our own ability by deploying local
expertise in confronting the critical problems of the day. He insists
that 'adopting a
turn-key approach, for example, in the design and construction of
projects constitutes a shameful and unacceptable vote of no confidence
in our engineers' suggesting therefore, a new policy which would
think Nigeria first before enlisting the help of the so-called foreign
development partners. According to Oyebode, 'If other developing countries which have since
turned the bend in their developmental efforts had relied so much on
foreigners as we do, it is unlikely that they would be exuding the
capability, self-confidence and competitiveness which have today made
them objects of envy even by the technologically advanced countries of
the West'.
Prof Akin Oyebode sees late Professor
Ayodele Awojobi as 'undoubtedly one of the most gifted and insightful
teachers that have ever paraded the precincts of (this) great citadel of
learning'. He says ‘anyone who had had the good fortune to encounter the
incredibly talented and prodigious polyvalent academic, would agree that Awojobi was indeed a man and a half, the likes of whom appear, perhaps,
only once in a generation’.
Ogun Sate Governor, Otunba Gbenga
Daniel who studied mechanical engineering under the tutelage of the late
genius said he came to read engineering because he wanted to read
whatever Ayo Awojobi read. He was Special Guest of Honour at the
Event.
Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, renown phamacist,
lawyer, entrepreneur and former Minister of Health as chairman of the
Lecture told the audience which also included Mrs. 'Bode Ayo-Awojobi, widow of
the late genius, to
always celebrate our stars so that common idiots do not end up starring
for our society.
The event to Commemorate the Life
and Times of Late Prof. Ayo Awojobi was packaged by the students whom he
taught engineering in the years of 1969 -72 at the university of Lagos.
Gen. Tunde Adebanjo [Rtd.] who is President of the association of the
students said they would use their influence to drive the implementation
of the recommendations which emerged from the Lecture. He said a bust of
late Prof Ayo Awojobi is being erected in the Faculty to enable future
generations of students remember that Nigeria had stars and it is not
only common criminals who will occupy all the pages of our history
books.
Several works done by the late
professor and books written by him were on exhibition and copies of the
books he wrote on social engineering were given to those who were
present.
The organisers of the Event asked
those who desire to have the books to contact
titiomoettu@yahoo.co.uk
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Excellence, Service and Patriotism
by
Akin Oyebode
Text of a Lecture delivered
at the Commemoration of the
Life and Times of Late Professor Ayodele
Awojobi,
organized by the University of Lagos
Engineering Class 69-72 on July 9, 2008
at the Julius Berger Auditorium, University
of Lagos.
Akin Oyebode is Professor and Head,
Department of Jurisprudence and
International Law, University of Lagos
Introduction
In the great universities of the world, the
memories of great scholars and scientists
are usually kept alive by having structures
or chairs named after them as a means of
inspiring on-coming generations to strive to
attain or even surpass their
larger-than-life statures and exploits. It
does not appear as if Nigerian universities
have fully appreciated these norms since we
are yet to evince sufficient acknowledgement
of the contributions of the great minds that
it has pleased Providence to allow to pass
through the portals of our higher
institutions.
It is, therefore, my intention to begin this
presentation by saluting the 1969-72
Mechanical Engineering set of the University
of Lagos for their high sense of history and
awareness of the need to acknowledge and
celebrate our great men and women of
learning by deeming it fit and proper to
host events commemorating the life and times
of the late Professor Ayodele Awojobi,
undoubtedly, one of the most gifted and
insightful teachers that have ever paraded
the precincts of this great citadel of
learning. Anyone who had had the good
fortune to encounter the incredibly talented
and prodigious polyvalent academic, would
agree that Awojobi was indeed a man and a
half, the likes of whom appear, perhaps,
only once in a generation.
The man in whose honour we are here gathered
today, the late Ayodele Awojobi, was an
uncommon academic, engineer, inventor,
author, social commentator and political
activist. It is no exaggeration to say that
in Awojobi, we were presented with a man who
approximated a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci
and Albert Einstein rolled in one. It was as
if our late Professor had a premonition that
his sojourn on this planet was going to be
brief. For, he packed so much into his life
and thereby succeeded in leaving his
footprints on the sands of time.
Professor Ayodele Awojobi, as we all know,
had graduated with a First Class in
Mechanical Engineering from the Ahmadu Bello
University and ended with a Ph.D. and D.Sc.
from the Imperial College of Science and
Technology, University of London. He became
a Professor at 37 and died at 47, that is,
for just 10 years during which period he
demonstrated thorough grounding especially
in mechanical vibrations and numerous
academic disciplines, so much so that he
soared so high in public consciousness as
both a consummate engineer and critical
social analyst, the omission of whose
exploits would be clearly inexcusable in any
chronicle of people and events in Nigeria of
his time and beyond.
Professor Awojobi showed through his uncanny
intellect, uncompromising attitude towards
academic excellence and dogged commitment to
the betterment of the society the promise
and possibilities of Nigeria. His heritage
is a perpetual challenge and inspiration to
succeeding generations that the best is
actually possible if only we are ready and
willing to put things right in this country.
The fact that we are today reminiscing about
the exploits of the great man 24 years after
his demise is sufficient proof, if there was
any need for such, that death can only take
away great men but it cannot destroy their
good works.
Our prayer is that may Nigeria be blessed
with more persons like Awojobi who would be
well placed to illuminate the path towards a
better Nigeria and constitute a searing and
veritable scourge to evil-doers, negative
forces and all those that do not wish the
nation and the people well.
The Quest for Excellence
The theme of today's lecture is particularly
apt because Awojobi can be considered an
epitome of all that is excellent, patriotic
and in the public interest. However, the
beginning of the discourse should be the
struggle to attain excellence in both our
private and public lives. Without what
Subomi Balogun had characterized as "the
culture of excellence," it is doubtful if we
can ever play in the big leagues. The nation
seems to be afflicted with the tyranny of
mediocrity at almost every facet of human
endeavour and except and unless and only to
the extent that we as a people decide to
imbibe the sense of best practices in all
that we do, the nation would continue to be
caught up in the labyrinths of diffidence,
self-doubt, stunted growth and hopelessness.
The search for excellence should perforce
begin with ensuring that only the best is
good for Nigeria and the only way to do this
is by insisting that our best and brightest
occupy the highest positions of power,
influence and authority in the country. A
rigidly enforced meritocracy in the
dispensing of preferment is apt to lift the
country up from its present morass of
poverty, underdevelopment and
disillusionment. Accordingly, the pursuit of
excellence should start from the process of
recruitment of the nation's elite and the
placing of round pegs in round holes.
Right from the kindergarten to the
university, we need to encourage and promote
a culture of reward and advancement based on
merit and intellect. To the extent that the
quality of life of the people depends on the
quality of those manning our institutions,
to that extent should we have to insist that
the best persons available are put in charge
of our affairs without heed for extraneous
considerations such as ethnic origin, creed
or gender. In other words, we have to
inculcate in our people the sense of
excellence such as to accept the desideratum
of perfection or near-perfection, especially
in our public institutions manned, as is
being here suggested, by the most capable
and competent hands available.
Excellence, undoubtedly, abounds everywhere
in the country What has been lacking
hitherto has been a deliberate and conscious
effort to seek it out. Of course, excellence
carries a high price tag but if we possess
the will to entrench it in our national
life, we should be prepared to pay the price
without caring whose ox is gored. It is
instructive that the foundations laid by the
Mandarinate system during the Chi'n dynasty
in ancient China formed the leitmotif for
the current successes being scored by
present-day China. Same can be said of the
preparations laid during the Meiji period of
Japanese history which account, to a
considerable extent, for the Japanese
ascendancy in the current global political
economy. Thus, an enlightened ruling class
would make a conscious policy decision to
cultivate excellence by way of developing
the country's human capital in order to
ensure the emergence of a self-propelled and
competitive economy in an increasingly
difficult, uncaring, beggar-thy-neighbour
world.
In a situation where only bones are left for
late-comers, time is definitely not on the
side of a country such as ours which
continually leaves undone what it ought to
do. We can no longer afford to be sending
forth our "third eleven," to borrow Chinua
Achebe's words in a harsh economic climate
where victorious generals do not like taking
prisoners. This explains why sloganeering on
Nigeria becoming one of the 20 most
developed economies by 2020 is little more
than hot air. As a wiseacre remarked
recently, at the end of the day, we might
actually end up among the bottom 20
economies in the world if the much-needed
drastic action is not taken in critical
areas of the economy. If there is no firm
commitment to excellence and insistence on
the best and brightest for positions in both
the public and private sectors, we would
only continue to move round in circles,
with, as our people say, all motion, no
movement.
Nigeria is amply gifted with resources, both
natural and human. Nevertheless, the
Nigerian predicament has been lack of a
clear and focused leadership ready, willing
and able to put square pegs in square holes
with a view to moving the country to the
next level of socio-economic and political
transformation. The moment the country
becomes blessed with the right kind of
leadership, imbued with a sense of
excellence and a tenacity of purpose,
Nigeria should be able to square the
nation's circles and make visible progress
towards growth and development. The pursuit
of excellence in all its ramifications,
based on a clear-cut vision and mission
would definitely launch the country along
the path of finally realizing its incredible
potentials.
While pockets of excellence and original
thinking may exist in different areas of
human endeavour, there is a definite need
for coalescence of all the talents and
informed views in the country within a
holistic framework in order to impact in a
meaningful way on the effort towards
nation-building and improvement of the lot
of the common man. It is the extent to which
policies and activities are harnessed within
a broad, national strategy that can help
make a difference between success and
failure. The multidimensional scope of the
search for excellence compels new thinking
by the powers-that-be on prioritization of
the goals, objectives and strategic choices
confronting the nation. Policies, programmes
and actions need to be constantly fine-tuned
and possibly, re-worked or re-configured in
order to ensure proper focus and relevance.
It hardly requires re-stating that such an
exercise requires tremendous intellect and
savvy in order for excellence to be
achieved. Without the necessary strategic
sensing and deliberate policy decisions, the
nation cannot achieve optimal growth and
development, regardless of pious
declarations of intent.
In the final analysis, to recall the
statement of Joseph de Maistre, a people get
the government they deserve. Therefore, a
well-informed society is apt to appreciate
the necessity for excellence in the
different facets of human activity. If this
is so, we cannot stress too strongly the
need of our people for greater appreciation
of excellence in both our private and public
lives if we seriously wish to number among
the more enlightened members of the human
race. Accordingly, every effort should be
invested into nurturing a culture for
excellence among our people. They should be
ready and willing to decry any manifestation
of indolence, corruption and mediocrity in
our national life and hold themselves out
and able to strive for a better society
despite the risks associated with such a
mind-set in contemporary Nigeria.
The devastation wrought on our psyche and
developmental process by pervasive
corruption is, quite simply, unimaginable.
It is bad enough that we still rank among
the most corrupt people in the universe. A
situation where the cost of engineering
projects in Nigeria is in multiples of what
they cost elsewhere is definitely untenable.
That the presentation of the Nigerian
passport and travel documents at various
foreign destinations would most often invite
opprobrium and suspicion of some malfeasance
or the other, should be enough to put all
and sundry on notice regarding the world's
perception of our country and ourselves.
This brings into bold relief the necessity
to inculcate new societal values, especially
in relation to public service, which is our
next issue of focus.
Serving the Common Interest
Nigerians tend to be self-seeking and
self-serving when placed in positions of
public service. In the face of a government
that generally does not seem to care for
anyone, it is quite understandable why our
people have to fend for themselves and make
self-interest their categorical imperative
at every available opportunity. In a
situation bordering on the hobbesian state
of nature where life was "solitary, nasty,
brutish and short," where every man cared
for himself while the devil took the
hindermost, it would be most imprudent, if
not, in fact, downright suicidal for people
not to be motivated by self-interest instead
of an elusive and ill-defined public
interest. Self-preservation, as we all know,
is the first law in nature.
However, the truth of the matter is that
no-one is or can really be an island to
himself. Man lives in and is of society. The
social Darwinist society foisted on us by
votaries of free enterprise capitalism which
extols individual freedom and liberties at
the expense of the common good and the
common cause can effectively lead to social
disintegration and anarchy. It is for this
reason that the privileged few must always
spare a thought for the needs and interests
of the larger society. More importantly, as
Africans, we are basically a communal
people, more attuned to thinking in the
collective and communal than the dog-eat-dog
notion bequeathed to us by our erstwhile
conquistadores. Even in the advanced
capitalist societies of the West which
trumpet the advantages of freedom of
contract and private property, it has been
considered necessary to pay credence to
feelings of solidarity and the utilitarian
values of the welfare state in a bid to
ensure a wholesome society.
Accordingly, whenever the issue of service
crops up, it is imperative to pose the
following questions : In whose interest?
Should we continue to seek and pursue our
individual interests whenever we are called
upon to render service to the nation or the
community? What should be put in place to
check the propensity of members of the
governing class for filthy lucre? Is it
feasible to attempt a bridging of the gap
between public and private morality? etc.
To some, man exists in this world,
basically, to maximize his potentialities
even if through a rabid and relentless
pursuit of his interest. In fact,
considerable jurisprudential ink has been
wasted to justify the egoistic nature of
man, sometimes, in fact, anchored on
biblical injunctions. Quite often, the
argument is along the line that man being
the best judge of his interest, he is better
placed than the state or the community to
defend or pursue same. As J. S. Mill once
opined, over his body and mind man is
sovereign!
However, ranged against this body of opinion
is the viewpoint which stresses the social
nature of man and, therefore, places him
under the superintendence of society. In the
words of Jeremy Bentham, for example, the
greatest happiness of the greatest number
should be the acid test of all governmental
activity. Thus, leaving man to serve himself
can only lead him to perdition. Within this
perspective, society must always act in
order to save man from himself which would,
therefore, entail the enactment and
enforcement of legislation founded on the
ideals of social utilitarianism.
In considering these two diametrically
opposed views, everything would seem to
depend on one's perception of the nature of
man and his purpose here on earth. If all
there was to life was the need to satisfy
one's epicurean tastes, then, perhaps, there
would be no felt need for individuals to
worry or care about societal interests.
However, to the extent that man is a social
animal, to that extent can it be said that
he must pursue his interests with full
cognizance of the needs and goals of society
at large. Accordingly, there is an argument
to be made in favour of dedicating one's
life to the betterment of society.
Self-interest can, by no stretch of the
imagination, be considered as being in the
public or social interest except in pursuit
thereof certain benefits are conferred on
the public or society as a whole. The
individual utilitarian could, of course,
attempt to pass off his happiness for that
of society but no-one is deceived except,
perhaps, the unwary. Service to society, its
needs and interests is, therefore, laudable
and worthwhile. A life committed to social
well-being is, surely, a life well-lived and
worthy of emulation by the rest of society.
Service to humanity has always been
extolled. From the saying of the ancients
that it is fit and sweet to die for one's
country to the biblical statement that there
was no greater love than for a man to lay
down his life for his friends, the sense of
sacrifice of the self for the majority is
clearly one of the highest of human values.
It should be emphasized that by paying the
supreme price in the service of the common
cause, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, Alhaja Kudirat
Abiola and innumerable heroes of the
struggle to entrench democracy in Nigeria
would be etched forever in the memories of
the masses and indeed the Nigerian nation to
the chagrin of the enemies of freedom and
the open society.
Regrettably, the overly individualistic
ethos which informs inter-personal relations
in contemporary Nigeria mocks anyone
actuated by feelings of brotherhood or love
for the common cause and commitment to the
public interest. This attitude should be
seen as being both dysfunctional and
counter-productive. Doing things for society
without expectation of any reward is an
attitude that should be encouraged
especially among the young who labour under
distorted values, lack of faith in the
future and considerable despair and
disillusionment. If Nigeria is ever going to
make it as a wholesome and well- structured
society, it is definitely not too early to
start canvassing a re-orientation of values,
advocating greater emphasis on, to
paraphrase the late American President John
F. Kennedy, what we all can do for the
country rather than what the country can do
for us. It is if, and only if we can
implement this bit of social re-armament
that we can rest assured that we are in the
right track towards a better and more
cohesive society.
Interestingly, leadership in the country
hardly connotes service; rather, those in
leadership positions expect to be served and
tend to live off society without any qualms
whatsoever. The arrival on the national
political stage by a President who announced
that he would like to be seen as a
'servant-leader' was met with considerable
doubt and cynicism. The implication of this
is that we are yet to come to terms with the
idea that leadership connotes service and
for as long as people see those in
leadership positions as rulers or bosses
instead of servants (which they really are),
for that long would the country be enmeshed
in authoritarianism, lack of transparency
and non-accountability. Service to humanity
is indeed one of the highest of human values
and the earlier Nigerians apprehended this
fact, the better for the future of the
country. Altruism and love of fellow man are
some of the enduring values of a good
society. Regrettably, the jury is still out
on whether or not the Nigerian leadership is
prepared to imbibe such values.
The Catechism of the Patriot
Although, in the words of Samuel Johnson,
patriotism was the last refuge of a
scoundrel, there is a lot to say for love of
country and commitment to the cause of the
fatherland. In our own circumstance, where
the country has remained largely a
geographical expression, as Chief Obafemi
Awolowo had characterized Nigeria over 60
years ago, patriotic feelings and an avowed
commitment to the national cause are
relatively scarce commodities among the
population. Whenever discussions on the fate
of the country arise, there is, more often
than not, a consensus that Nigeria was not
worth dying for.
Admittedly, institutions such as the armed
forces, security and para-military
organisations like the Police, Customs,
Immigration Department and the Nigerian
Security and Civil Defence Corps, the
National Orientation Agency and even the
National Youth Service Corps operate on the
premise of patriotism and the desideratum of
coherence in nation-building. However, there
is ample room for improvement so far as
patriotic sentiments go. While patriotism
has more to do with a deepened consciousness
of and commitment to the nation and its
defence and protection at all times, it
should not be allowed to degenerate into
jingoism or xenophobia which are clearly
antithetical to good neighbourliness and
social well-being. The excesses of fascism
and Nazism in the last century have taught
the world the necessity never again to
succumb to uncontrolled nationalist fervour.
This is why the recent outburst in South
Africa against immigrants from other African
countries should be deprecated in no
uncertain terms.
Of course, healthy patriotism evidenced by
the emotions of football fans during World
Cup or regional championships or indeed
athletic contests in the Olympics and other
global tournaments is, perhaps, the
acceptable limit of the avowal of
nationalist sentiments in today's world.
Even then, some football fans have tended to
carry things too far so much so that matches
have sometimes had to be re-located to
neutral venues in a bid to avoid mishaps.
However, in an age of the obsolescence of
the nation-state in favour of larger
economic integration units across the world,
patriotic sentiments are becoming gradually
subdued and muted except, perhaps in Africa
and the rest of the developing world whose
romance with nationalism and patriotism is,
generally speaking, of recent vintage and
could be expected to endure for much longer.
In a sense, therefore, patriotism can be
considered an unhealthy, if not, in fact,
dangerous and inimical to international
solidarity as well as social well-being. It
needs to be given a short leash in order to
curb its more deleterious aspects. Yet, it
should be acknowledged that patriotism
fulfills a positive role as a means of
social mobilization and consolidation of
efforts at nation-building.
A Peep into the Future
Nigeria occupies an incredibly strategic
position in the scheme of things in the
world. With abundant human and material
endowments, Nigeria is better placed than
most countries on the African continent to
make the transition from the Third World to
the First. The prospects of Nigeria are, to
put it mildly, staggering. With over 90
universities, albeit at different stages of
disrepair, countless polytechnics and
colleges of education, Nigeria can be truly
said to be at the take-off stage for
socio-economic transformation.
The emphasis here on human capital
development rather than reciting the
statistics on oil production and export is
deliberate in view of the reality of
petroleum being a wasting asset, more so as
the industrialized consumer economies are
now fully seized of the task of inventing
substitutes including bio-fuel, wind and
water as energy sources in the face of
prohibitive cost of oil imports. We should
realize that our oil would dry up one day
and even the abundant gas with which we are
endowed might prove no solution to our
developmental needs except we start planning
right away. The observation by the late
Claude Ake and Bade Onimode that Nigeria
runs a 'disarticulate' economy, that is, an
economy that produces what it does not
consume and consumes what it does not
produce is as poignant as ever. According to
them, except, unless and only to the extent
that Nigeria is able to link its production
to its consumption can the country get a
reprieve from its present position of
stagnation, squalor and underdevelopment and
assume its rightful place within the family
of nations.
The very fact that successive
administrations in the country have been
unable to elaborate a feasible master plan
for the country's rapid socio-economic
transformation and instead concentrated on
massive pillage of the nation's resources
bespeaks a conscienceless political
leadership, motivated solely by avarice and
naked self-interest rather than the public
interest and social amity. It is obvious
that the present governing class lacks both
the ideological and intellectual wherewithal
and requisite commitment to steer the
national ship to a safe berth. What is even
more bothersome is the abysmal ignorance or
unawareness of what needs to be done within
a rigorous and well-thought out and
realizable blueprint. Latching on to
exogenous frameworks such as the Vision
20-2020 and other stratagems inspired by
Policy Support Instruments of the Bretton
Woods institutions, would only seem to
suggest mental laziness and an insufferable
inability to harness local expertise and
know-how in the task of creating a new
Nigeria.
What it all boils down to is the crying and
urgent need to trust our own ability by
deploying local expertise in confronting the
critical problems of the day. Adopting a
turn-key approach, for example, in the
design and construction of projects
constitutes a shameful and unacceptable vote
of no confidence in our engineers. A new
policy is, therefore, called for which would
think Nigeria first before enlisting the
help of the so-called foreign development
partners. If other developing countries
which have since turned the bend in their
developmental efforts had relied so much on
foreigners as we do, it is unlikely that
they would be exuding the capability,
self-confidence and competitiveness which
have today made them objects of envy even by
the technologically advanced countries of
the West.
Our future, therefore, lies in self-reliance
rather than an unthinking, wholesale
imitation and concession of both our thought
processes and institutions to those whose
interests might not necessarily coincide
with ours. We have the capability to create
our own El Dorado. So much have the Arab
Gulf states and Asian tigers demonstrated.
What we have lacked hitherto is the will to
attain self-actualization. There is no doubt
in my mind that a dogged self-reliance and
endogamous development strategy would
unleash our creative genius and launch
Nigeria along the path of self-discovery,
modernization, national pride and
self-fulfillment.
The argument usually made is that we do not
need to re-invent the wheel and should,
therefore, feel free to take advantage of
the state of the art technology of the
western countries. The point, however, is
that there is a lot to be gained in learning
by doing, aside from the issue of
self-worth, satisfaction and self-confidence
derivable from products emanating from our
own imagination and ingenuity.
Unfortunately, a leadership that runs abroad
for routine medical tests cannot be expected
to grasp the benefits of entrusting its own
experts with the task of providing solutions
to the urgent problems of the day.
Conclusion
Eight years into the 21st century, Nigeria
is still enmeshed in general incompetence,
illogicality and mass disillusionment. The
fact stares us all in the face that the lack
of the correct attitude to excellence,
service and patriotism has been the bane of
all our efforts towards national
development. Although there are oases of
promise and growth within the Nigerian
firmament, such positive phenomena are,
regrettably, few and far between.
The world has never known any such thing as
a free lunch. Therefore, Nigerians must be
prepared to lift themselves up by their
bootstraps. We are equally endowed like
other people in the rest of the world and,
therefore, possess the ability to transform
our country into a more wholesome
environment. What has hitherto been lacking
has been a leadership that would radiate a
passion for excellence, service and a high
level of patriotism. With the correct
leadership, Nigeria should be able to turn
the page on poverty, squalor and
underdevelopment.
However, we need to keep hope alive and
believe that in fullness of time, Nigeria's
backwardness would become history. With many
more Awojobis in different areas of our
national endeavour, Nigeria would indeed be
able to transcend its present niggardly
circumstances and claim its deserved
position in the international community.
I am done. I thank you very kindly for your
attention.
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The Man
AYODELE AWOJOBI
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(1937 – 1984) |
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‘Prof.
Ayodele Awojobi is, undoubtedly, one of the most gifted and
insightful teachers that have ever paraded the precincts of this
great citadel of learning. Anyone who had had the good fortune
to encounter the incredibly talented and prodigious polyvalent
academic, would agree that Awojobi was indeed a man and a half,
the likes of whom appear, perhaps, only once in a generation’
........Akin
Oyebode
‘At the
University of Lagos in the late 70’s and early 80’s Professor Awojobi had held sway the University’s community with his
seminal lectures like ‘Nigeria in search of a social order’,
‘where our oil money has gone’, "In search of a political order"
and "Nigeria Today" amongst others which had made Awojobi an
emerging participant of a literary insights of those days.’
........Paul Mamza
"I
became attracted to Ayodele Awojobi. And believe me, it is for
this reason that I went to the faculty of Engineering and
studied mechanical engineering. You see, I would not survive a
day without reading all the newspapers. I met Awojobi in the
journal... and I became attracted to him. And so I decided that
I was going to study whatever course this man read..."
......Justus Olugbenga Daniel
(a.k.a
OGD)
"Awojobi
came to Park Lane (where Awolowo's residence was located in
Apapa, Lagos) to argue with the leader. He would pick on any
topic and argue with Chief Awolowo as if they were colleagues.
He started buying books on law and was planning to do a degree
in law so as to match Awolowo on points of law,"
......Odia
Ofeimun
‘.I can
only talk of Prof. Ayo Awojobi in the present. In Awojobi you
see a thoroughly brilliant, confident, selfless and patriotic
academic whose horizon is very wide. In the Faculty, he is
primus inter pares. He is different things to different
observers. A guy tells you if you can be an engineer, you can be
any other thing you choose to be. If you end up being an
engineer, you will love him and say he is brilliant. If you are
unable to make it, you will hate him and call him a braggart. He
is all of the above.’
......
Titi Omo-Ettu
…the
late Professor (Ayodele Awojobi)
established a sound
and worthy reputation as a gifted scientist but one with a
social conscience as evident in his revolutionary interrogation
of the Nigerian State in the media."
......Reuben Abati
'...I
thought if by chance I found myself in the position of power, I
would honour this man who, even in death, endured verbal attacks
from those he fought for....
......
Kunle Awobodu
‘Prof.
Ayo Awojobi, in his life-time, was a rare Nigerian, part of a
special breed whose major interest was the welfare of others and
indeed, of the Nigerian nation at large. He was truly respected
and highly revered by his students for his uncommon brilliance
and uncanny ability to reduce the rigours of engineering science
to simple logic and easy vocation. At another plane, he fought
relentlessly for the institution of probity and accountability
in government and transparency and focus in governance.
.........Temilola Kehinde
‘If
Ayo Awojobi had lived to old age, he would have been seventy-one
years old now. Having completed his PhD in 1964, two years after
a Bachelors degree, he came in as one of the pioneers of the
then new Faculty of Engineering, University of Lagos in 1965.
Professor Ayo Awojobi died at the relatively young age of 47 in
the heat of the battle for a better Nigeria. That battle still
rages on. Sometimes one shudders at the risk and other things
Awojobi would have done under the Abacha regime he did not live
to see’
...........O A. Fakilede
To
be a social crusader in favour of the amelioration of the human
condition is normally a courageous selfless feat. To be
iconoclastic in challenging the rulership of the day for not
living up to popular yearnings, that takes exceptional courage.
The late Prof. Awojobi was not only exceptionally selfless and
courageous, he was both an epitome and personification of
encyclopaedic intellectual ingenuity. He was, therefore, a
quintensential role model.
.........Adebayo
Ninalowo
There is a generation of
Nigerians who do not know anything about Prof Awojobi, it is
incumbent and imperative that his memory is not besmirched by
specious comparisons because if we do not set the records
straight, who the hell will?
.........Tunde Bilesanmi,
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Celebrating an Icon:
A Proposal for the
Ayodele
Awojobi Centre:
An Engineering Teaching & Learning Centre,
University of Lagos
by
Adegbenro, Professor
O (Class of 1972)
Aiyesimoju, Dr. KO
(Class of 1981)
Mowete, Dr. AI
(Class of 1980)
Damisa, Dr. OO
(Class of 1973)
Fakinlede, Professor
OA (Class of 1977)
Introduction
If he
had lived to old age, the late Professor
Ayodele Awojobi – Nigeria's first professor
of Mechanical Engineering would have been
seventy-one years old now. Having completed
his PhD in 1964 (two years after Bachelor's
degree), he came in as one of the pioneers
of the new faculty of engineering in the
following year. It is a welcome development
that classes of University of Lagos
engineering alumni are gathering to honour
him at this point in time. Professor Ayodele
Awojobi died at the relatively young age of
47 in the heat of the battle for a better
Nigeria. That battle still rages on.
Sometimes one shudders at the risks and
other things Awojobi would have done under
the Abacha regime he did not live to see!
The University of Lagos of his time
consisted of a star-studded faculty of many
who remain house-hold names till this day.
Several did not live to old age (Professors
Olakanpo, Fagbemi etc were in that class)
From the Faculty of Engineering, Ayodele
Awojobi was the quintessence of that
generation and our faculty's best brand. It
is not too late in the day to celebrate our
icon.
Professor Awojobi was always an all-round
student all his life. Mathematics and
History were studied with equal vigor and
passion. He could start an argument with a
freshman (today's JAMBite) on religion or
psychology and he exhibited that academic
tradition of allowing superior argument to
win. It is no wonder that his influence
transcended engineering and Unilag to become
one of the most famous university professors
in Nigeria. Many will remember him as the
major witness during the twelve two thirds
political wizardry of a pre-Maurice Iwu
electoral magic. Awojobi shouted himself
hoarse telling Nigeria what the allegedly
missing 2.8 billion Naira would do to
educating Nigerian youths if the money had
been spent in that way. Lucky man, he left
the scene before the money stolen from
public purse went to a higher order of
magnitude! Awojobi was loved with passion.
Students loved him and would carry him
shoulder high anytime he tried to give a
public lecture! He was also hated the same
way. On his fortieth birthday, March 1977,
he organized what he called Birthday
Lectures. Daily Times, the highest
Circulating Daily at that time wrote a
condemnatory editorial arguing among other
things that Awojobi was “talking when older
and wiser men were quiet!” He was Head of
the Mechanical Engineering in my final year.
We went to complain that we did not have a
lecturer for a particular course. Awojobi
had convinced us there was no problem within
five minutes of our reaching his office and
gave us a political lecture for thirty
minutes after. We completely forgot the ire
with which we went to his office initially.
State of
the Faculty
The
faculty of engineering at the peak period in
Awojobi's time boasted a star-studded class
of professors and lecturers up to fifty in
number from the best engineering schools the
world over. A cursory look at the Faculty of
Engineering prospectus of the 70's reveals a
list of degrees from the top ten
universities in today's world rankings. Even
among this group, Awojobi, with a D.Sc from
the famous Imperial College of Science &
Technology was a man apart.
Something untoward happened to our
engineering faculty in the intervening
years. The student population in 1973 was
about 300 students in four departments.
Today, we have nearly ten times that number
in twice as many departments. The famous
drawing offices at rooms 106, 115 and 206
did not graduate to become technical
computing and graphics laboratories;
instead, they are poorly equipped,
overcrowded and leaky classrooms. Many
returning alumni will recognise some old
equipment and laboratories only that the
former are obsolete, in a state of near
disrepair and the rooms may be leaking and
certainly inadequate for their present
mandate. Surely, the faculty of engineering
needs a new lease of life!
It has
not all been bad news. The faculty that
Awojobi left has been there up in front –
leading other Nigerian engineering schools
in many ways. The NLNG prize in Engineering
for this year was won by Dr. Meshida of the
Department of Civil Engineering just as
Professor Susu and Dr Abhulimen of Chemical
Engineering had done a few years before.
Professor Susu of Chemical Engineering,
Distinguished Professor Olunloyo of Systems
Engineering as well as Emeritus Professors
Oladapo and Orangun of Civil Engineering
have all won the National Order of Merit
Awards. Unilag engineering graduates are
doing very well indeed both locally and
internationally. Yet, it is time to raise
our game beyond the local context. We need
to move beyond rejoicing that we have had
teachers from the world's top universities
to a point where we too can be justifiably
described as a member of that same league.
That journey is a long one. A new Centre for
Teaching and learning within this faculty
may be the best way to start that. Naming it
after such an icon as Professor Awojobi
creates an avenue to immortalize our best
brand and make his achievements and value
part of the lives of present and future
students of this great faculty.
Proposed Centre
This
short tract proposes to initiate a change of
this situation by providing better
facilities for the faculty of engineering in
a teaching and learning centre named for the
late professor - “The Ayodele Awojobi
Centre”. This will consist of a block of
four storey buildings of laboratories,
Seminar and Lecture rooms as well as a
Lecture Theatre. Our estimated cost for the
physical structure is two hundred million
Naira while three hundred million Naira is
our estimate for the equipment. It is hereby
proposed that this sum of five hundred
million Naira (N500,000,000.00) be raised
for building and equipping the Ayodele
Awojobi Centre as a starting point of a
wholesale rebuilding and rebranding of the
University of Lagos Faculty of Engineering.
Challenge to this gathering
There is
the need for a powerful International
Coordinating Committee to oversee the
fund-raising and delivery of this Centre.
The local committee can serve as secretariat
of the whole process and will be able to
provide all the support services. Alumni,
students, parents, staff, friends and all
other well wishers of this faculty who are
in positions of power and influence can
deliver this product in a very short time.
Such people are hereby invited and
encouraged to give generously to this
project. Leaders of corporate bodies may
even be able to do much more than making
personal gifts and interventions. Such
people are also needed to be part of the
National coordinating committee who will
later constitute or appoint the governing
board for the Ayodele Awojobi Centre. We
will also be grateful for additional ideas
and suggestions of what we can add to the
present proposition to achieve the set
objectives of the Centre. |
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AYODELE
OLUTUMINU AWOJOBI
LIVES ON!!
BSc, PhD, DIC,
DSc (Lond)
‘Ayus
Perchlorate
Hyperchlorisa’
‘Macbeth’
‘Giant of Akoka’
‘Professor Dead
Easy’
‘Romeo’
Engineering
Genius
by
’Busola and ’Yombo Awojobi
9th July 2008.
Ayodele
Olutuminu Awojobi was born on Friday the
12th of March, 1937 at Oshodi, Lagos State.
His father was the late Chief Daniel Adekoya
Awojobi of Itun-Elepe, Ijomu Quarters, Aga
Ward, Ikorodu, Lagos State, a retired
stationmaster with the Nigeria Railway and
the former President of the Christian Union
of Ikorodu and the Environs from 1977 to
1986. His mother was the late Madam Comfort
Bamidele Awojobi (nee Adetunji) a petty
trader from Modakeke, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Young Ayodele spent his early life with his
brothers and sisters in Lagos under the
watchful eyes of our mother as he attended
St. Peter’s Primary School, Faji, Lagos from
1942 to 1947. Like his siblings, he was
literate in Yoruba, knew the first hundred
numerals and the alphabets in English before
he was five years old. We were taught by our
mother who, as a house girl, learnt to read
and write from the children of her master
and mistress in Lagos.
Like most geniuses who pass on without
writing their biographies, his teenage years
are encapsulated in the words of Professor
Olajide O Ajayi, CON, a classmate of our
elder brother, Engineer Oluyinka Awojobi, at
a recent lecture:
These brilliant performances later
culminated in his setting the school’s new
record at the then West African School
Certificate Examination, when he scored
eight distinctions in the 1955 examinations.
This result remained as the school’s record
until 1967 when it was improved upon by one
of Ayodele’s younger brothers – Oluyombo.
Brother ’Yinka would call Ayodele ‘Ayus
perchlorate hyperchlorisa’ (coined from
Latin and Chemistry) because they often
engaged in seminal discussions till the
early hours of the morning.
The late Revd Canon B A Adelaja, the twenty
year-long-serving Principal of our alma
mater wrote in the 1969 annual school
report:
Seven more Awojobis were educated at CMS
Grammar School. The thirteenth graduated in
2003 with excellent grade. Altogether, four
generations of Awojobis have passed through
the school from 1937. No other family can
lay claim to that feat in the oldest and the
best grammar school in Nigeria.
In 1955, which was Ayodele’s final year at
the Grammar School, the Dramatic Society of
the School, of which he was a member, staged
William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth”.
Ayodele was asked to play the lead role of
Macbeth when the original actor took ill one
week before the premiere. It was claimed by
many of his colleagues that, in playing the
role of Macbeth, Ayodele, in fact, committed
to memory the whole of “Macbeth”. Thus,
during rehearsals, he was able to prompt
other actors in their lines.
After leaving C.M.S. Grammar School, Lagos,
Ayodele worked briefly at the Federal
Government Secretariat, Broad Street, Lagos
before he left for the Nigerian College of
Arts Science and Technology, Ibadan to read
for the G.C.E. (Advanced Level) in Physics,
Pure and Applied Mathematics. Needless to
say, he successfully completed this course
by scoring distinctions in the three
subjects in June 1958. This brilliant result
earned him a Federal Government scholarship
to study Mechanical Engineering at the then
Nigerian College of Arts, Science and
Technology, Zaria (now Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria).
His academic brilliance was again evident
throughout his Engineering course, obtaining
his first degree of BSc. (Eng.) London with
First Class Honours in 1962.
Later in 1962, again with the award of a
Federal Government scholarship “On Merit”,
Ayodele left the shores of Nigeria for
University of London’s prestigious Imperial
College for his post-graduate course in
Mechanical Engineering. Late in 1965, he
submitted his thesis and this was
successfully defended. He was awarded his
PhD in 1966.
In March1963, Ayodele got married in London
to Miss Mabel Abiola Iyabode Odetunde also
of Ikorodu. The marriage was blessed with
children most of whom have graduated from
the University of Lagos.
In 1966, Dr. Ayodele Awojobi returned to
Nigeria and was encouraged by his former
lecturer at Nigerian College of Arts, Zaria,
Prof. S.A. Adekola, to join the academic
staff of the Faculty of Engineering,
University of Lagos, Akoka. These were the
early years of the University and as a
Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering
Dr. Ayodele Awojobi contributed immensely to
the growth and subsequent worldwide
recognition of the University’s Faculty of
Engineering.
In 1974, Ayodele had the honour and singular
distinction of being the first African to be
awarded the post-doctorate degree of Doctor
of Science, DSc, by examinations by the
University of London. This great achievement
contributed in no small measure to his being
appointed a Professor by the Senate of the
University a week after his promotion to the
grade of Associate Professor.
He was 37 years old, one of three
authorities in the whole world in his field,
“Mechanical Vibrations and Resonance in
Rigid Structures”. The other two were a
Russian and an English.
When in 1972, Nigeria was going to change
from left-to-right-hand driving, Ayodele,
working with some of his students and
technicians in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, successfully converted a Jeep
from right to left hand steering. This
fabrication he named AUTONOV 1 (from
Automobile Novelty)
This is what the present governor of Ogun
State, Engineer ’Gbenga Daniel, said about
Brother Ayo in an interview published in The
Guardian of Nigeria on 24th May 2003:
His younger brothers, ’Busola (civil
engineer) and ’Yombo (medical engineer), who
were taught Physics and Mathematics at the
CMS Grammar School by Ayodele, have
proceeded to
•
fabricate Autonov 3 which is the
conversion of the conventional motor
cycle to a tricycle that serves as a
personnel carrier or as a village
ambulance,
• invent a manual haematocrit centrifuge
from the rear wheel of the bicycle. This
centrifuge revolves at 5 400rpm with a
centrifugal force of 3 360g. It is more
efficient and five times cheaper than
the imported electric model.
• fabricate a portable concrete mixer
using the back axle of the car and which
can rotate 360° like the swivel chair.
• construct an operating table which is
80% wooden and 20% metal but functions
like the imported brand made of cast
iron and costs 90% less.
• produce a furnace that is fuelled by
the dry maize cobs, coal or wood.
• fashion a water distiller from
domestic gas cylinder and helical copper
tubing. It is powered by the furnace and
produces 10 litres of distilled water in
an hour.
In
academic circles, he was called ‘Professor
Dead Easy’ as he would solve all
mathematical problems without recourse to a
textbook, eight-figure table or the slide
rule!!
On the political and social scene he was
‘The Giant of Akoka’ because he defended the
rights of the downtrodden during the
military era and would defeat the lawyers to
their game in the courts while the judge
saved the latter’s face by ruling that he
had no locus standi in the case!!
Professor Ayodele Olutuminu Awojobi’s sun
eventually set in the morning of Sunday 23rd
day of September, 1984 in his official
residence at the University of Lagos, Akoka.
The ‘Macbeth‘ took the final bow in the
manner of another Shakespeare’s works, Romeo
and Juliet, but his good works have not been
interred with his bones.
On his future…
“At the age of 65, I will have built the
infrastructure. There would be very few
illiterates in Nigeria when I mount the
soapbox. Then, I will go into proper
politics.”
- Ayodele Awojobi in an NTA interview
programme in 1981.
- Courtesy November SPEAR 1984 magazine
Some food for thought……
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