UNILORIN homecoming: How Ex-JAMB Registrar Ishaq Oloyede transitioned from institutional investment beneficiary to benefactor – Kunle Adegoke, SAN
The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) on Monday, August 17 held an homecoming celebration in honour of its 8th Vice-Chancellor and immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede.
According to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Wahab, the Homecoming Celebration was designed to honour the enduring legacy and remarkable contributions of Professor Oloyede, while recognising outstanding alumni whose professional accomplishments continue to elevate the University’s profile globally.
Speaking in his capacity as keynote speaker, renowned legal practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kunle Rasheed Adegoke, SAN, said aside the paraphernalia of the event, the homecoming actually presented a moment of reflection particularly for those who may also wish to sail high in their respective careers while drawing outstanding inspiration from Oloyede’s excellence in and out of office.
“Today is not merely a homecoming. It is a moment of reflection. It is an occasion that invites us to examine the enduring relationship between opportunity and responsibility, between privilege and service, and between gratitude and impact.
We are gathered not simply to welcome back a former Vice-Chancellor, a distinguished scholar, accomplished public servant. We are gathered to celebrate a remarkable journey; a journey that embodies one of the noblest ideals in human endeavour — the transformation from beneficiary to benefactor. Today, we gather not merely to welcome back a retired administrator or a returning faculty member. We gather to celebrate a transformative journey, a narrative arc that captures the very essence of human progress and moral stewardship… the evolution from beneficiaries to benefactors.”
The legal luminary noted that it is only when individuals advance from mere recipients of the opportunities they earlier enjoyed that the society can progress. He explained that no one starts life as a benefactor without first being a beneficiary.
“Every society progresses because certain individuals refuse to remain mere recipients of the opportunities they have enjoyed. They choose instead to become builders. They become stewards. They become custodians of institutions and architects of a better future.
“Every human starts life as a beneficiary. No matter how unfair a society may be, its members are its primary beneficiaries. Conception in a mother’s womb and being brought alive are initial benefits every human enjoys. The benefit of life is crucial and ultimate in itself. Without birth, there can be no being. No human descends from heaven save for humanoids like Oduduwa, the primogenitor of the Yoruba and some other mythical characters that history adorns with the myth of heavenly descension.
“From the beginning by birth to the conclusion through death, we all remain beneficiaries of society one way or another.
“It is society that teaches us values and means of livelihood. A child has the opportunity of primary, secondary and, probably, tertiary education through society that nurtures him. In the alternative, the skill acquired through which he probably earns a living is often a benefit conferred by society. No matter how humble the beginnings are, certain benefits are guaranteed by society on every constituent of its geographical space. In return, a conscious member of society who is appreciative of his developmental process will then choose to be grateful to society by rendering stewardship deeply oriented in nurturing others and thereby create a lasting legacy of impact.
Thus, we must ask certain questions: Let me start with 3 quick questions. Don’t answer out loud, just think: Who paid your school fees? Who gave you that first job connection? Who prayed for you when you had nothing to give back? The truth is, all of us started life as beneficiaries. Somebody carried us. Somebody fed us. Somebody opened a door.”
Chronicling some of the lessons from Prof Oloyede’s public service journey, Adegoke said Oloyede’s rare trait of building institutions as against the more convenient personal empires was worth highlighting. He said while titles and personalities fade, institutions endure.
“One of the greatest lessons from Professor Oloyede’s public service journey is the importance of building institutions rather than personal empires. Personalities fade while institutions endure. Titles expire but systems remain. The true measure of leadership is not what happens while a leader is present, but what continues to happen after he has departed.
“The institutions Professor Oloyede served continue to draw strength from structures, processes, and values established under his stewardship. That is the hallmark of enduring impact. That is the signature of genuine leadership.
“Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, as you return today to the serene academic environment that helped shape your remarkable journey, you do not return as a visitor seeking recognition You return as a distinguished son whose accomplishments have brought honour to his alma mater and pride to the nation. You return as a scholar whose intellectual contributions continue to enrich academic discourse. You return as an administrator whose reforms have become reference points in public governance.
You return as a leader who has shown that excellence and integrity can coexist in public office. Through your life and service, you have demonstrated that an academic can lead with courage, vision, and administrative competence. You have shown that public resources can be managed with transparency and accountability. You have proven that a beneficiary of institutional investment can, through discipline, dedication, and principled leadership, become one of its greatest benefactors,” he said.
