Tribute Series On A National Figure Accentuate Need To Celebrate Nigerian Heroes Whilst They Are Living

Millennials and Gen Z’s may not have heard of the name Dr Victor Omololu Olunloyo, and may ask why should they have?

That’s because in addition to being multitalented – a mathematician, scientist, and cultural custodian, he was a former governor and former Rector at Ibadan Polytechnic, where he deployed his talents and skills towards national development.

A graduate of Government College Ibadan (GCI), Dr Olunloyo challenged the British education system when he completed his HSC at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, thereby skipping an entire school year, and moving directly from an undergraduate study to a PhD programme.

As the rector of Ibadan Technical College, he constructed a road in one day, and as a public servant pioneered the traffic warden system, initiated the ‘Environmental Sanitation Day’ and managed a crisis during a tense mission to the African Development Bank in Tunisia.

Not to mention, he is an avid Shakespearean reader, a classical music singer and quite knowledgeable on Yoruba Cosmology – a rare nexus of the science, arts/culture and memory in a single mind.

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This two-part publication is a summary of the six-part tribute on Dr Olunloyo written by Bayo Adeyinka in honour of a man whose contributions to Nigeria’s development were neither sung nor celebrated.
He was rather robbed sometime before his death, during the collations for this tribute; that is the sad but true state of affairs of Nigeria’s relationship with its intellectual giants.

It is hoped that these series will not only ensure Dr Olunloyo legacy is not only remembered but that the services of other brilliant Nigerians who have impacted the nation, including his GCI cohort impact in medicine, journalism, infrastructure and corporate leadership are celebrated.
Below an excerpt from the condensed version of tribute series: