The Exit Of Greatness
ing of the subject written in Arabic.
On his return to Nigeria, he was appointed lecturer at the University of Ibadan. His freshness of teaching the subject attracted many students. He, however, decided to continue his study at the postgraduate level, took to learning French and German and visited France and Germany to collect and collate materials for his work. His thesis, like that of Aderemi Adeleye, was a masterpiece. He rose through the ranks, contributed articles to learned journals and was promoted Senior Lecturer.
At the University of Ibadan, Akinola was appreciated for his firmness, his mastery of his subject and strict pursuit of excellence. He was given the Historiography course to teach and he used the course to challenge many of the basic assumptions about the writing of history. On one occasion he argued that writers on African History should find out why there are no materials from the conquered peoples whose stories should also be reflected in accounts of historians. He was of course feared by his students including this writer who dreaded answering his questions and who predicted low scores because of the insistence on writing in elegant prose and intelligible manner.
Akinola was zero tolerant of mediocrity, ethnic chauvinism, religious bigotry or pettiness in any form. He was a dream teacher, researcher, nationalist, dedicated patriot and sincere person.
He retired as Senior Lecturer. Like his colleague Aderemi Adeleye who retired as Reader, Akinola did not rise to the position of Professor, because he was reluctant to simply acquire and accumulate articles to meet the minimum number specified for promotion to the position. He believed that the system was faulty and that promotion across the disciplines was like comparing the juice from mangoes to that from oranges. But he bore no grudges but simply laughed in silence when new promotions were announced.
His pension was ridiculously very little and embarrassing for someone who had served the nation for many years productively and with commitment. His pension was hardly paid on time and on one occasion, I accompanied him to a pensioner verification exercise where he waited for a long time in a noisy environment to confirm that he was still alive. He had no property but lived in a small building that was sparsely furnished. But he continued to live in dignity, and enjoyed his freedom and peace of mind. In his later years he spent much time at home, subscribing to few newspapers, which he believed could convey news with accuracy and courage. He appreciated journalists who spoke truth to power and who were consistently analytical and balanced in their contributions. He constantly drew the attention of his few friends who included the eminent poet, Professor Niyi Osundare, to columnists in newspapers whom he considered noble and made many cuttings of their articles. He expressed disappointment with governance and the failure of administrations that did little to review pensions or provide security, good roads and health facilities. He once asked, more out of curiousity than in desperation, why politics should be more rewarding than any other occupation in a developing nation that requires all resources to make life more comfortable for people. His death raises many issues for which he lived and died and is another loss to this nation.
Michael Omolewa is Emeritus Professor of the History of Education at the University of Ibadan and Emeritus Professor of History and International Studies at Babcock University