By Sola Ojewusi
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has announced the death of one of its former Vice-Chancellors, Professor Wale Omole, describing his passing as a painful loss to the university, the Nigerian higher education system and the wider academic community.
Professor Omole reportedly died yesterday evening.
In a statement issued by the University’s Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olarewaju, the institution expressed profound sadness over the demise of the distinguished scholar and university administrator, whose contributions to scholarship, institutional development and higher education in Nigeria remain significant.
Professor Omole served as Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University between 1991 and 1999, a period the institution described as an important chapter in its history and its continued pursuit of academic excellence and institutional growth.
The University noted that his tenure placed him among the distinguished succession of leaders whose vision, service and contributions helped shape the identity, traditions and aspirations of the Great Ife community.
It further observed that his passing offered an opportunity to reflect on the enormous responsibilities associated with university leadership and the enduring legacies left by those entrusted with steering institutions of higher learning.
Offering the University’s condolences, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire, on behalf of the Governing Council, Management, Senate, staff, students, alumni and the entire university community, extended heartfelt sympathies to the immediate family of the deceased, his friends, associates and all those affected by his passing.
Professor Bamire said that although Professor Omole’s earthly journey had come to an end, his contributions to Obafemi Awolowo University and the broader academic community would remain an enduring part of the institution’s history.
He also prayed that Almighty God would grant the bereaved family the strength and fortitude to bear the irreparable loss and grant the departed scholar eternal rest.
Professor Omole’s death marks the end of a remarkable chapter in the life of an academic who occupied a significant position in the history of one of Nigeria’s foremost universities.
The University concluded its tribute by affirming that although the former Vice-Chancellor had taken his final bow, his place in the history of Great Ife would remain indelible.
May his soul rest in perfect peace.
