Prof Wale Omole, 1942-2026, By Chris Adetayo

The death of Prof Wale Omole, at 84, hits deep for everyone associated with OAU in the 1990s. He ran the University from 1991 to 1999, a length of time that places him only second to the legendary Hezekiah Oluwasanmi as the longest served VC.

The 1990s was a tumultuous period in Nigeria. Political restiveness was super high as Nigerians battled to get the Military to go back to the barracks. This put a lot of pressure on University administrators as their students were the foot soldiers in the battles. Schools were routinely closed for extended periods.

As a result of the internal and external environment, Prof Omole’s tenure is largely remembered for the relationship between the school authorities and students union. Unlike one of his predecessors, Prof Wande Abimbola, his style was to largely sit above the fray. Outside of VIP events like convocations, he was hardly seen. I was an undergraduate in OAU for 5 of his 8 years and I don’t recall seeing him more than a couple of times. One of them was a memorable occasion.

It was early 1993. I was a Freshman, but already filled with the spirit of Aluta. So it was that on this day, officials of the Students Union came to Angola Hall (hostel of Jambites) to announce that the SUG Secretary General (Shola Tokede, who also took his leave of us this year) had been abducted by the school authorities and kept in the VC’s Lodge. We were mobilized to invade the VC’s lodge to release our student leader.

Students marched to the Lodge and, after some initial resistance, gained entry. But rather than find and release Tokede, the aim swiftly moved to capturing the VC and hauling him before an emergency Congress of the Students. In the midst of doing so, Tokede showed up in boundless energy. I and many quickly realised that the noise about his abduction was a ruse to get students to move against the VC.

Prof Omole faced the Students Congress that afternoon. His wife insisted on joining him. A Roman-style public court got underway. The Lead Prosecutor was the Students Union President, who is now a well known SAN. He announced a series of infractions by the VC against students. Despite the thousands of students baying for his blood in a jam-packed Amphitheatre, Prof Omole calmly responded to all the “charges” against him, made promises here and there, and was eventually “discharged and acquitted”. I saw a brave man that day!

His run-ins with the Students Union did not end there though. On another occasion, one that shames everyone associated with it, the Convocation ceremony was disrupted by some students in protest at some decisions of the OAU authorities. It was a cruel way to get attention and I have never been able to forgive those behind it.

Ultimately, it was an incident involving students that ended Prof Omole’s tenure few months ahead of schedule. This was in mid 1999 when a murderous gang of cultists invaded OAU in the dead of night, and killed 5 students in cold blood. Sadly, the allegation, never proven, that the VC had, by acts of omission or commission, enabled this incident cost him his job. From then on, though he held several board appointments, he largely left the spotlight.

But beyond the noise, evidence of his impact on OAU’s growth abounds. The expansive Technology Centre that houses the Computer Departments was built under his watch in 1995. The expansion of students accommodation with the building of new hostels (Alumni Hall, ETF etc) also happened under him.

Behind the scenes, he also did a lot of good to many. I know someone who, after his graduation, found a way to reach him. His Dad had served the university in a non-academic role but had recently died. His desire (and his late Dad’s prayer for him) was to be an academic. At the time, there was an embargo on recruitment. Prof Omole found a window through which he got his heart’s desire fulfilled. That man, a wise man from the East, is a well regarded Professor today.

There will be different takes on the man. Like all mortals, he was not perfect. But his footprints will be visible for a long time to come.

May Prof Omole rest in perfect peace. 🙏