Nostalgic memories Great Ife, 30 years after By Mark Longyen

It is exactly 30 years ago when I was admitted into the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife (“Great Ife,”) to undergo my undergraduate degree in International Relations in 1988.
The memories of my journey to – and sojourn in – Ife have remained indelible on my mind as though those events took place just yesterday.
I was an ambitious and intelligent young teenager admitted via JAMB on merit, straight from my secondary school, the famous CSJ, Vom, after “clearing” all my 1987 WAEC subjects at one sitting.
The long trip to Ife was my first-ever journey outside the shores of Plateau state. Naturally, I was overwhelmed by a mixed feelings of anxiety, curiosity, excitement and trepidation. I boarded a bus of Salisu Adamu Fagge Motors on Bauchi Road in Jos… the long agonising route was Jos-Kaduna-Birnin Gwari-Kainji-Ogbomosho-Oyo-Ibadan-Lagos.
I still remember patiently waiting and watching from the windows of the old vehicle, which tortuously meandered its way through the guinea savanna vegetation of the North Central that gradually faded into the thick forest of the South West. I also remember observing the gradual change from the chilly weather of Jos, to the hot, humid, almost suffocating heat of the South West. I recall as well the dusty air of the North giving way to the wet, muggy embrace of the South’s monsoon-like climatic conditions.
I arrived in Lagos just before dawn, prior to the connecting trip to Ile-Ife, the ancestral headquarters of the Yorubas, in another vehicle.
At last I arrived at the beautiful, imposing OAU gate on the Lagos-Ibadan-Ife highway and I was immediately hurled into a waiting bus specially arranged by the Students Union to convey “Jambites” on arrival day to the central campus.
We hit the popular Road One, the well-lit university dual carriageway that was decorated with beautiful flowers and lawns which leads to the main campus. The bus was blaring the then reigning Fuji music of, I guess, “Kolington” or “Barrister” to my discomfort. I surely would have been more at home with one of the familiar tracts of Danmaraya Jos.
I had read so much about Great Ife in magazines like Newswatch and the African Concord and had also read the great plays of Ife’s literary avatars like Profs Wole Soyinka and Ola Rotimi, and had also learned that the then revered Ife University VC, Prof Wande Abimbola, was an Ifa Priest, a “Babalawo,” etc. “So, this is the campus where I’ll see all these “demi-gods in real life?” I thought to myself.
After my mandatory clearance and documentation, I was allocated a room in the Adekunle Fajuyi male Hostel. The Students Union later organised a welcome party for Jambites. It was great! I can’t forget that experience forever. Everybody was gorgeously dressed. I recall Yinka Odumakin, the then Students Union Public Relations Officer, now an Afenifere chieftain, stood out. The babes were extremely beautiful, perhaps as beautiful as the campus itself. There were so many beautiful girls that I was scared stiff of asking any of them for a dance.
But I requested none to the floor and danced all alone, even when my favourite tract, “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue,” of Nu Shooz, which reigned at the time, was played intermittently.
The academic experience was exhilarating. What with my department’s panoply of world-renowned lecturers like Prof. Olajide Aluko, Africa’s first professor of International Relations; Prof Amadu Sesay, the University of London-trained Sierra Leonian Professor; Prof. Alade Fawole, the American-trained George Washington University Doctorate graduate, who later supervised my graduation project with his “electrical brain”; Ambassador Olu Sanu, former Nigerian Ambassador to the European Union; Prof. Tale Omole, France-trained and immediate past OAU VC; Prof. Jide Owoeye, the Afro-Asian Relations expert, now co-owner of Lead City University, Ibadan; Prof. Sola Ojo, the Middle-East-Arab-Israeli Relations guru and Prof Kayode Soremekun, International Energy Resources expert, now VC of a Federal University, among others.
I also met some good classmates, and some seniors too, like Charles Ukeje, a senior and mentor of sorts, now a Professor and Senior Lecturer in the same department, Olusegun Adeniyi, three years my senior and former Spokesman to late President Yar’Adua, Wale Adeniyi, immediate past Spokesman of the Nigerian Customs Service, and the late “campus comedian,” Segun George.
Social life in Great Ife was as great as its moniker. I can’t forget the days when we used to troop to the campus Oduduwa Hall Amphitheater, clutching our babes like our handbags to attend the live concerts of visiting musicians like Sina Peters, Majek Fashek, of the “Send Down The Rain” fame, etc. (I hope my wife doesn’t get to read this part).
Established about 57 years ago in 1961 as one of Nigeria’s first generation universities, the OAU is, without doubt, Africa’s leading Citadel of Learning. It’s the breeding ground for African Arts, Science and Technology. OAU is without doubt the reservoir for Africa’s academic Intellectualism and Intelligentsia.
For instance, world-renowned authors and playwrights like Africa’s first Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and Prof. Ola Rotimi of, author of the book, “The gods are not to blame,” among others, literally shook the world with their literary savvy while doing what they knew best at Great Ife.
Legal luminaries like former Gambian Justice Minister and Present Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, Femi Falana (SAN), Yusuf Ali (SAN), the Supreme Court’s Sylvester Ngwuta, among others, all had their tutelage at the OAU.
Media gurus like Ovation’s Dele Momodu, ex-NTA’s presenter and current Presidential Aide on Foreign and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri, ex-TheNews’ and present Presidential Political Adviser, Babafemi Ojudu, former and present presidential spokesmen, Olusegun Adeniyi and Femi Adesina, respectively, are all OAU alumni.
Present and immediate past Ondo State Governors, Rotimi Akeredolu and Olusegun Mimiko, both graduated from the Great Ife. Former governor of Lagos and Osun states, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, is an OAU alumnus. Former governors of Ekiti State, Olusegun Oni and Kayode Fayemi both graduated from the OAU.
OAU has also produced its fair share of billionaires in the Nigerian business circle. The list includes Forte Oil’s Femi Otedola, CEO of Global Fleet, Jimoh Ibrahim, Oil and Gas magnate, Wole Arisekola and ex-NCC CEO, Ernest Ndukwe, among others.
Also, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God Worldwide, RCCG, Enoch Adeboye (bagged Ife’s B.Sc. Mathematics in 1967), ex-Agriculture Minister and present President of the African Development Bank, ADB, Akinwunmi Adesina, Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, Communications Minister, Adebayo Shittu, are also among some of the university’s notable products. The list is indeed endless.
Looking back 30 years, one is simply nostalgic about the amazing Ife experience. I’ve bagged postgraduate qualifications in Journalism, Law and Diplomacy in other reputable institutions but the Ife experience remains indelibly intertwined with my whole being like a set of siamese twins.

Longyen is Senior Special Assistant to Plateau State Governor on Media and Publicity

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