Obituary: Prof. J.F. Ade-Ajayi

[Toyin Falola]

 

Dear All,

This is to announce that the great historian, Prof. J.F. Ade-Ajayi died yesterday (August 9, 2014) at the age of 85. He died at the UCH after a brief illness.

One of Africa's most distinguished historians of our time, an acclaimed scholar of world repute, and an exemplary achiever, Jacob Festus Ade-Ajayi : Nigerian National Merit Award Winner and Distinguished Africanist Award Winner; Double Bachelor of Arts holder (London and Leicester respectively); Doctor of Philosophy, London; Honorary Doctor of Letters, Birmingham; Honorary Doctor of Letters, Ondo State University (now University of Ado-Ekiti); Honorary Fellow, School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), London; Foundation Fellow, Historical Society of Nigeria and Fellow; Ghana Historical Society; Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos; Former Chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities; 25th Anniversary Gold Medal Winner, University of Lagos; Honorary Vice-President for Life, Royal African Society, London; Bobapitan of lkole-Ekiti, Onikoyi of Ife; and Emeritus Professor of History, University of Ibadan.

Born on 26th of May 1929, Ade-Ajayi had his early education at St. Paul's School, Ikole-Ekiti (1934-39) and Christ's School, Ado-Ekiti in 1940. He then proceeded to Igbobi College, Yaba (1941-46) where he completed his secondary education at the tender age of 17, an age when most of his peers in those days were just about stepping into the primary school. In 1947, he had the rare privilege of gaining admission into the Higher College, Yaba from where, after only a year, he, along with other students of his generation, secured automatic transfer into the newly established University College, Ibadan, then an affiliate of the University of London. He is therefore one of the foundation students of this university when it was established in 1948. Young Ajayi obtained his B.A. General in History, Latin and English in 1951. He took a second Bachelor's degree of Leicester, with First Class Honours in 1955. In 1958, he bagged his Ph.D. degree, also in History, and became a full-blown historian.

May his gentle soul rest in peace. Amen.

--
=========================
Olutayo C. ADESINA, Ph.D
Department of History,
Faculty of Arts,
University of Ibadan,
Ibadan, Oyo State,
Nigeria.
Tel:(234)8023151255(Mobile)

[Ibrahim Abdullah]

Adieu JF! You will surely be missed. JF and AA passed away the same year! Good grief!
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[Rex Marinus]

A great light has passed from among us. May his great spirit find repose.
Obi Nwakanma

 

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Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 22:04:05 +0100
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obituary: Prof. J.F. Ade-Ajayi
From: ibdu...@gmail.com
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

[Chika Onyeani]

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[Pablo]

A great loss to Africa and the world, a genuine giant of historiography.

A friend  to my uncle and aunt, we brought him to York a number of years ago, and he was just,  well, amazing. At the time he was a visiting professor at the Yale theological seminary, and where he revisited the issue of missions in Nigeria and West Africa, the scholarship of which was mind blowing, and the kind that I doubt few could emulate in today's instant knowledge.  His contributions are without comparison,  indeed, incomparable.

We did a celebration for him, with a local Yoruba troupe, but he was a Nigerian, non-sectarian and modest in the power of the knowledge  and learning he wore and had. JF has joined the best of the ancestors, may we praise you always for what you have done. Yes, good grief.

[Segun Ogungbemi]

May his soul rest in peace as he joined his ancestors. 

Segun Ogungbemi Ph.D

Professor of Philosophy

Adekunle Ajasin University

Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State

Nigeria

Cellphone: 08033041371

                   08024670952

--

[Moses Ebe Ochonu]

A great loss to Nigeria, Africa, and to his academic constituency. But he left us a treasure trove of enduring works, and he lived a productive, quality life and influenced his world. May his soul rest in peace.

There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.


---Mohandas Gandhi

[Ibrahim Abdullah]

JF and AA passed away in the same year? Not coincidental : Christian Missionaries in Nigeria and The Missionary Impact on Modern Nigeria were companion texts in the then evolving postcolonial historiography even though AA was to the left oof JF.

[Abubakar Momoh]

Prof Ajayi became the best known and most towering member of the Ibadan School of History. Apart from his well- decorated academic life, there is need to acknowledge his progressive political outlook as a public intellectual: his views on Higher education in Nigeria, the national question, political transition etc. 

As Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, Prof. Ajayi led the burial procession of Akintunde Ojo, a student who was murdered during the 1978 "Education jihad" led by Segun Okeowo under military rule. This is a feat that most Vice Chancellors, who cannot wipe their own urine, will never do.

Abu

Sent from my iPhone