Former Students Mourn Professor Sobowale

Former students of Professor Idowu Akanbi Sobowale are currently reliving the time they spent with the late university don. Describing his death as a painful occurrence, the head of the Mass Communication Department, University of Lagos, Professor Tayo Popoola, said, “It is a painful occurrence that we lost a very good pillar in the Nigerian communication sector in the person of Professor Idowu Akande Sobowale (OON).

“We have produced so many communication scholars in Nigeria, but there are no two types of Professor Sobowale. He was a very loving father and mentor. He taught me and wrote the foreword to two of my books, and for that I am very grateful to him. One of the things he taught me was how to write in a very simple manner such that a pupil can read and understand. His death is a very sad one.”

Moreso, the Editor-In-Chief of Leadership Newspaper, Azu Ishiekwene, who was taught by the professor in 1988 set, said he was approachable but firm.

“He taught me Precision Journalism and Mass Communication Theory. His experience as a teacher and practitioner made his classes real and exciting. He was approachable, but firm. He genuinely cared about his students. I’ll miss him,” he said.

As for Mr Olusegun Akindele of the1985/88 set, he said, “I recall my contact twice again with Dr Idowu Sobowale. The first was by proxy and the other by default. I came to check the status of my admission through the then Student Union Secretary, Suyi Alademehin, in October 1985. Alademehin went in to meet the Acting HOD to ascertain the possibility of admitting me. He came out in less than five minutes with the good news that my name was number four on the list. He did that just to go ahead with the processing of my accommodation. The HOD told him to go ahead, saying that I was already admitted. He said the HOD pasted the names on the board beside him. One could commend the transparency of the admission process under Dr Sobowale. I never knew who the HOD was until I resumed in the department.

He continued, “The second time was when I had a carry-over of his research course. All of us who wrote the first question, which was compulsory without drawing out the chart, failed the exam. He personally said he needed to know the particular chart we were answering, hence the failure. We all scored zero there. If you score zero out of forty, which was the obtainable mark for the first question, only God could help you out. I scored 38 in the course and needed to resit it in Year Three. Unfortunately, the period for the lectures coincided with one of ours in Year Three.

“So, those of us who had to resit the course missed the test of 30 marks he gave the Year Two class without notice. When we heard that, about eight of us who were affected in our class went to meet him. He felt sorry but advised us to prepare hard for the exam proper. The exam was to carry 70 marks. After the exam, Dr Sobowale personally sent for me. At that time, he was no longer the HOD. He asked how I failed his course the previous year because he said I scored 68 out of 70. I then reminded him how all of us left out the chart while answering question one. He felt sorry again but confided in me that all of us who came to resit did very, very well in the main exam and that he would give us 10 marks each for the test we missed. He did what he promised. Dr Show was calm, confident and painstaking. In his speech, you could also see his firmness. Dr Sobowale was very compassionate. That was how he noted me, which he referred to when I met him as Managing Director of Prime People about a year later.”

Also, Mr Peter Adebolu, while sharing his encounter, stated that the late professor was given the nickname ‘Dr Sho’. “My name is Peter Adebolu, 1985-88 set. Dr Sho, as he was then known, supervised my project.
Project writing then was a frightening venture to many of us. I was not close to any lecturer, but I knew Dr Sho to be a fatherly lecturer. You could approach him without feeling scared or intimidated.

“I was among the students who considered themselves fortunate to have him as project supervisor. I still remember how he made things so easy for me. May his gentle soul rest in peace,” he said.

In his tribute to the late don, Emmanuel Obe, Mass Communication Class of 1989, University of Lagos, described Professor Sobowale as a teacher who led by example.

Taking a trip down memory lane, he said, “Prof. Idowu Sobowale was the Acting Head of the Department of Mass Communication when I gained admission into the department in 1986. He was a simple, easygoing and accessible man whose humility and approachability endeared him to students.

“It was in our second year, which we then referred to as Year Three, Part II, that he taught us Mass Communication Research. He was one lecturer who came into the classroom thoroughly equipped for the task, having practised journalism and risen to the position of Acting Editor of the Daily Times, which for many years was Nigeria’s biggest newspaper.”

He noted that Prof. Sobowale had also served the administration of the late Chief Lateef Jakande in Lagos State as Special Adviser on Education.

“He therefore brought to the classroom a wealth of experience as a journalist, public officer and scholar. He generously shared this wealth of knowledge with us during his lectures and tutorials, enriching our learning with practical insights drawn from his professional and academic experiences.

“Beyond his impressive credentials, Prof. Sobowale was a teacher who recognised and rewarded diligence. I was fortunate to benefit from this aspect of his character when he awarded me five additional marks in our Data Analysis course, even before we sat for the examination.

“I had been consistent in following his lectures and answering questions in class, and he was evidently impressed by my commitment. His decision to award me those extra marks was both an encouragement and a lesson in the value of hard work. It taught me that dedication does not go unnoticed and that a good teacher knows how to motivate students to give their best,” he wrote.

Obe said one of the things Professor Sobowale taught them was to avoid the indiscriminate use of adjectives in news writing.

He said, “One of the enduring lessons he impressed upon us was the need to avoid the indiscriminate use of adjectives in news writing. He insisted that news reports should be anchored on facts rather than coloured by subjective descriptions. Adjectives, he cautioned, could introduce bias, distort the presentation of events and obscure the facts that readers needed to understand.

“That lesson has remained relevant to me throughout my years in journalism. It reinforced the fundamental principle that the journalist’s duty is to report facts accurately, clearly and objectively, leaving readers to draw their own conclusions.

“Even after Prof. Sobowale took a leave of absence from the university to assume the position of Managing Director of Prime People magazine, he did not abandon his students. He still found time to return to the department to conduct tutorials for us. His commitment to teaching, despite the demands of his new professional responsibility, spoke volumes about his dedication to the development of young journalists.

“Looking back, I remember Prof. Sobowale not merely as an accomplished journalist and scholar but also as a teacher who made learning practical, encouraged diligence and instilled in his students the values of responsible journalism.

“For those of us who passed through his classroom, his lessons went beyond the lecture notes and examinations. They became part of the professional principles that continue to guide our work.

“I remain grateful for the opportunity to have been one of his students at the University of Lagos. His example reminds me that the true measure of a teacher’s influence is not only in what students learn within the classroom but also in the values they carry into their professional lives.”