Titus Eleweke l Saturday, April 29, 2017
EPE, Lagos, Nigeria – Professor Olu Akeusola was a renowned professor of Yoruba-French comparative Linguistic of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). A man who believed so much in his ability and capacity to turn around any situation.
Until his death, just a month after the celebration of his 55 years birth date on March 21st 2017, was the Provost of Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED), Naforija, Epe, where he transformed the unknown institution to a world class citadel of learning.
He was one of outstanding and multi-dimensional scholars and cultural exponent, writers and interviewers delight until Friday April 21st when he breathed his last air in this sinful world. Akeusola was cerebral academic who bestrode the academic landscape both national and international like a colossus and was a distinguished intellectual of a conversational proclivity rated as one of the world’s best 2000 outstanding scholars of the 21st century .
He attended Epe Grammar School, between 1974 and 1980, and later went to the then Lagos State College of Education, now Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) Otto/Ijanikin between October 1983 and August 1986.
For his university education ,he attended University of Lagos between 1987 and 1990 for his First Degree; 1994 for Masters Degree and between 1999 and 2003 for his Ph.D Degree.
He was the University of Lagos Best Scholar of the year 1988/89 session, the Dean Faculty of Arts Award Holder for the Best performance in French 1989/90 session, Vice Chancellor’s Award for the Best performance at the Degree Level 1989/90 session and the Best Masters Graduating Student, M.A French and Comparative Grammar, University of Lagos in 1995 and as a result of which he was exempted from M.Phil to proceed directly to Ph.D.
Akeusola, an internationally acknowledged Linguist was appointment some years ago, a professor of Comparative Grammar of French and Yoruba at the National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos.
He was awarded the 1997 French Government Scholarship at The ‘Université de Toulouse, Le Mirail, in France: The year 2000 French Government Scholarship at the ‘Centre Audio-Visuel de Langues Modernes (CAVILAM), Vichy, in France; The year 2010 French Government Scholarship at the ‘BELC 2010, Université de Nantes, France.
As a Comparative Grammarian, he excelled in the translation, lecturing and linguistic criticism of theories and syntactic structures.
Akeusola before his dead, published over 25 text books, over seventy articles in National and International Learned Journals, three completed research works, presented over twenty seminar papers and edited several academic publications/textbooks. He was member of over 16 professional bodies and served in various capacities as Member. He was member of AOCOED Governing Council between 2001 to 2006; Director of many Centres (CILA, CILAMAS and Centre for Evening National Certificate of Education (NCE) Studies, CENCES-AOCOED between 1999 and 2006; National Chief Examiner French Language for National Examinations Council (NECO) (2000 to 2003); AOCOED representative at the Lagos State West African Examinations Council (W.A.E.C.) committee (1999 to 2008); visiting Professor of French and Comparative Grammar to Europa University, Frankfurt-Oder, Germany and University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; External Moderator to Babcock University, Ilishan,Ogun State , Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu and Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu Ode both in Ogun State .
He was Acting Dean, School of Arts and Social Sciences, National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos between April 2010 to March 2011, was the former National Secretary General, Committee of Provosts of Colleges of Education in Nigeria. He was appointed, the Chairman, Governing Council of Art Kingdom Cultural Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa in 2012.
Prof. Akeusola would have been a radio mechanic, if not for his purposeful approach to life and drive to excel, discovered himself after failing the West African Senior Certificate Examinations three times, and rose to become a great academic giant and mentor to many youths.
He started his academic journey very late, but before his death, had recovered all the lost ground and became an academic giant.
He failed the first school leaving certificate in 1973,repeated twice in 1976/1977 and 1977/1978 at the Epe grammar school and was withdrawn from the secondary school and enrolled at a radio mechanic workshop in Epe, where he learnt the art of repairing electronic ,miraculously ,he was recalled to secondary school in October 1978 and he still failed Senior Certificate Examination in June 1980, failed General Certificate in Education (GCE) in 1980 and did not pass until November 1982.
The death of his father brought back senses to his sleeping brains and before he died he rose to become a professor of comparative, French English and Yoruba at age of 49. According to him, he was born into a rich family and given his background was a spendthrift and troublesome as result was on the path of academic perdition.
Until his death after a brief illness o Friday 21 April 2017 , was a cultural aficionado and an amalgamator of town and gown, and he created admiration to teeming Nigerians, an inextricable link between academic and culture. He was a strong believer in the synergy between town and gown and he held over 23 traditional chieftaincy titles, among include, Otunba Akinrogun, Obagun, Akogun and the most recent Otun Obagun of Akile ijebu. Akeusaola was a proud recipient of Distinguished Alumni Awards given to the best 50 best Awardees of the University of Lagos.
Just few months after being appointed the provost of MOCPED ,he established MOCPED’s computerized libraries and Laboratories , got all the institution’s fund trapped with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund). He indeed transformed the not popular MOCPED to a world class institution of learning in the less than five years .He did constructed many block of buildings, and acquired more land for the development of the institution . He was the first provost to give out new brand cars to all the deans of the institution. His works at MOCPED earned him, the second tenure, thereby becoming the first provost of the college to secure second time since the inception of the college 23 years ago.
In an efforts to appreciate God to what He has done in his life, Akeusola instituted scholarship foundation for indigent and brilliant students in the Epe town and currently over 2000 students are undergoing various scholarship programme under Akeusola Education Foundation.
His extensive transformation at MOCPED also earned him the sobriquet, the magician of MOCPED. AKEUSOLA was not a promise maker but a promise fulfiller with integrity and he never fail to fulfill any promised he made. He was an epitome of insatiable propensity for hard work and excellent results. He once said ‘my focus was who can deliver and not how long you can warm the chair’’. History will always remember Prof Olu Akeusola as one man who immense contributed and leapfrogged the institution to greater height and also as one of the greatest provost of the college has produced since its inception .
