Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, has announced the death of one of its former Vice-Chancellors, Professor Wale Omole.
The university said Omole died on Wednesday evening, describing his death as a painful loss to the Great Ife community, the Nigerian university system and the wider academic community.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olarewaju, the institution described the deceased as an accomplished scholar and distinguished university administrator who made significant contributions to scholarship, university administration and the development of higher education in Nigeria.
Omole served as the Vice-Chancellor of the university between 1991 and 1999, a period the institution said represented an important chapter in its pursuit of academic excellence and institutional development.
The university noted that his leadership formed part of the distinguished succession of administrators whose contributions helped shape its identity, traditions and aspirations.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire, expressed condolences to Omole’s immediate family, friends, associates and members of the academic community on behalf of the Governing Council, Management, Senate, staff, students and alumni.
Bamire said the late professor’s contributions to the university and the broader academic community would remain part of the institution’s history.
He also prayed that God would grant the bereaved family the strength to bear the loss and grant the deceased eternal rest.
“Professor Wale Omole may have taken his final bow, but his place in the history of Great Ife remains indelible,” the statement added.
