Obituary: Professor Kunle Lawal
Toyin Falola
Professor Kunle Lawal died yesterday. As a younger friend and colleague, he should be the one to announce my demise; that I am doing so compounds the tragedy and trauma. I have known him since the mid-1980s when he was doing his cutting edge research on decolonization in Nigeria. While in London, he and Professor Abiodun Alao (University of London) and Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Governor of Ekiti State) formed a formidable trio of intellectual power and Lawal and Fayemi later became distinguished politicians and administrators. They welcomed me in their small apartment in London in 1988, and Dr. Lawal hosted me in Lagos a number of times.
A versatile scholar, he emerged as the leading scholar of the politics of British disengagement from Nigeria in addition to critical examinations of various aspects of Islam in Nigeria. His contributions to the larger study of decolonization/transfer of power in the British Commonwealth since 1945 are well regarded, as well as major studies on urbanization processes in Lagos. His last set of essays covered aspects of the foreign policy of the U.S. toward Africa since 1945. His publication and research records were excellent, and his passion for teaching was incredible. He was a creative thinker, someone who took pleasure in making fertile connections, and one whose curiosity enriched his studies. In particular, Professor Lawal’s commitment revealed itself through the execution of significant academic work. His research progressed smoothly over the years, reflecting a great capability to accumulate additional materials, to pursue fresh leads, to conduct additional fieldwork, and to synthesize a large body of data. His professional and teaching activities complemented the academic.
His reputation was strikingly international: He was well known within the discipline because of his participation in various conferences and the themes covered by his mature scholarship. The publications, especially those on decolonization and Islam, were all innovative in the way he addressed old issues and responded to new ones. What was innovative about his approach were the linkages that he clearly established between national and international politics, things that many had failed to do. His ability to avoid cheap polemics invested his statements with an aura of profoundness and seriousness. He was one of the most engaged scholars to focus specifically on the category of emerging leadership in the decolonization phase of Nigerian history.
He started his teaching career in 1984 with the Lagos State University as a pioneer faculty. In later years, he took responsibility as a Head of Department, Program Coordinator, Dean of Faculty and Director of academic centers. He served in Lagos as the Commissioner for Education and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
His professional, teaching, and academic accomplishments were laudable. His record for bringing a project to an excellent and timely completion was fully established. Without a doubt, he became one of the most talented scholars in the pool in which he belonged. He was visible in the profession, and his publications, based on original research, were solid and respected. He was dynamic and creative, and he contributed to the professional and scholarly development of others through his works. In addition, his scholarship had implications for policy-making and assessment.
His enterprises reflected mature judgment. He was a skilled facilitator and mediator among diverse groups because of his personal qualities, broad background, and impressive academic record. Nigeria has lost an outstanding historian, a great mind, a collegial person, and a resourceful administrator.
May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Toyin Falola
oriyomijimoh4
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfric...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsub...@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "USA Africa Dialogue Series" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to usaafricadialo...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Felicia Oyekanmi
Prof Felicia A. D. Oyekanmi
Department of Sociology
University of Lagos
Akoka, Yaba,
Lagos Nigeria
Tel: {234} 1 7941757
Cell: {234}8056560970
--------------------------------------------
On Thu, 26/12/13, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Obituary: Professor Kunle Lawal
To: "abiodun alao" <al...@dircon.co.uk>, "Yoruba Affairs" <yoruba...@googlegroups.com>, "dialogue" <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>, "gny...@gmail.com" <gny...@gmail.com>, "Jide osuntokun" <josun...@yahoo.com>, "festu...@yahoo.com" <festu...@yahoo.com>, "ben_olat...@yahoo.com" <ben_olat...@yahoo.com>, "kunlel...@yahoo.com" <kunlel...@yahoo.com>, "funks29...@yahoo.co.uk" <funks29...@yahoo.co.uk>, "Toyin Falola" <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>, "Toyin Falola" <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu>, "James.M...@SMU.CA" <James.M...@SMU.CA>, "Akan...@aol.com" <Akan...@aol.com>, "Olaolu Akande" <akan...@yahoo.com>, "ogun...@nnecltd.com" <ogun...@nnecltd.com>, "jdy....@btinternet.com" <jdy....@btinternet.com>, "Lalage Bown" <lalag...@tiscali.co.uk>, "kya...@yahoo.com" <kya...@yahoo.com>, "has...@iium.edu.my" <has...@iium.edu.my>, "profay...@yahoo.com" <profay...@yahoo.com>, "bolanle...@yahoo.com"
<bolanle...@yahoo.com>, "adetowun...@gmail.com" <adetowun...@gmail.com>, "pro...@yahoo.com" <pro...@yahoo.com>, "segu...@yahoo.com" <segu...@yahoo.com>, "michae...@yahoo.com" <michae...@yahoo.com>, "niyi.a...@gmail.com" <niyi.a...@gmail.com>, "mabogu...@yahoo.com" <mabogu...@yahoo.com>, "ybamg...@yahoo.com" <ybamg...@yahoo.com>, "abiola...@kwasu.edu.ng" <abiola...@kwasu.edu.ng>, "abiol...@gmail.com" <abiol...@gmail.com>, "aap...@history.ucla.edu" <aap...@history.ucla.edu>, "olut...@gmail.com" <olut...@gmail.com>, "Michael Omolewa" <michael...@yahoo.co.uk>, "niyi afolabi" <afol...@yahoo.com>, "agwale Agwuele" <aa...@txstate.edu>, "aderinto Aderinto" <aderint...@yahoo.co.uk>, "Bukola Adeyemi Oyeniyi" <ids...@gmail.com>, "tijani" <hti...@hotmail.com>
Date: Thursday, 26 December, 2013, 8:27
okpeh...@gmail.com
Sent from my iPad
--
al...@dircon.co.uk
Yes, Professor Kunle Lawal is dead, and yes, many of us have lost a
time-tested friend, a brilliant colleague and a simply wonderful human
being whose life was rich, not because of its duration, but because of its
donation.
I cannot pull myself together to write anything long about someone who was
one of my closest friends and brother for than 30 years, and neither can
anything I write be as brilliant as the one written by Professor Toyin
Falola.
I spoke with Kunle's wife just few hours before his death and we were
still hoping for a miracle. When my phone rang at the very early hours of
the morning, I sensed immediately that Kunle had died!
I am sure many people will join me in saluting this great mind, not only
for what he was during his short time on earth, but more importantly for
what he would have become if he had been left undisturbed to continue his
onward match to the Hall of Fame.
Rest well, Olakunle, Mosebolatan Abdul Rahid Lawal � my brother and my
friend.
Abiodun Alao
Abegunrin, Olayiwola M.
May God give the family the fortitude to bear the loss and may his soul rest in perfect peace
Layi
Segun Ogungbemi
Sent from my iPhone
--