The University of Lagos (UNILAG) yesterday hosted an array of dignitaries from the academia and other spheres of life.
The occasion was the commendation lecture in honour of the late Professor Sophie Oluwole.
Among the dignitaries were the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by renowned scholar, Prof. Adebayo Williams; a professor of African and African-American Studies, Prof Jacob Olupona; former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, represented by Mr Kabir Aregbesola and Prof Jim Umah, among others.
Prof Oluwole was the first female to earn a doctoral degree in Philosophy in Nigeria.
She was the Dean of Student Affairs and the Head of the Department of Philosophy at UNILAG.
Delivering the lecture, titled: Courage, Scholarship and the Revitalisation of Traditions: The Life and Legacy of Professor Sopjie Bosede Oluwole, a Professor of African and African American Studies, Prof Jacob Olupona, described Professor Oluwole as a unique individual who spoke in prophetic and visionary voices.
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The expert noted that the late scholar exhibited a high sense of urgency and moral authority, alerting the people to impending social danger and calling them to action.
He also described her as a remarkable and virtuous woman and an extraordinary unconventional being who pushed the boundaries of what was possible for humans to do and to be.
“She was concerned with many things, including education, women and gender issues. Her mission was to empower women, particularly the young ones, to develop confidence in themselves.
“Her approach to the interpretation of culture was innovative and demonstrated an uncommon knowledge. She was one of the few scholars who took Ifa (the Yoruba oracle) studies out of literary academic articles and even religious studies in which it was grounded for so long, moving it into philosophy and indigenous epistemological and hermeneutical contexts, against that as universal system of thoughts.
“Her commentaries and expertise in education, language, indigenous life, particularly life of Ifa, are all indicators of the breadth of her knowledge and her deep approach to learning,” Olupona said.
According to him, the late Prof Oluwole was a great advocate of teaching and indigenous languages as she believed that the growth of children comes through their exposure to their mother tongue in the early stages of their educational development.
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