Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Adewole will be 60 years on May 5, his reign in the premier university has largely been described as successful, but very little is known about his personal life and foray into the medical profession. Recently in his office, he had a chat with a group of journalists, he spoke extensively about his birth, adventures, and challenges as a Vice-Chancellor of Nigeria’s premier university. Tayo Johnson was there.
SIR, how has life been at 60?
I’m not yet 60 and I wouldn’t know how life is at 60. But you can say how has life been over the last 60 years? That will be a different story. It is a story of thanksgiving, appreciation simply because I was delivered inside a vehicle. So, by ordinary run of event maybe I shouldn’t be alive. For the fact that I’m alive is an evidence of God’s faithfulness, which is why I said thanksgiving.
It’s thanksgiving because I was born into a happy family. I’m a lucky son with lucky parents. I was all over the place travelling even with my uncles and so on. I enjoyed my youth. I started from Ilesa and came to Ibadan and then went to Akure. From Akure I then moved back to Ilesa and I was then lucky to have attended a good school – lucky because of the good teachers we had. International teachers I was taught Physics by a Canadian teacher, taught Chemistry by a Pakistani teacher, taught Biology by an Indian teacher and I’m not too sure anybody would have that privilege nowadays. And then, I was lucky to attend the University of Ibadan. And that is why I must thank God for where I am today. I do tell people that the Vice Chancellor is not the best, but one of the best. So, to be in this office is a privilege. At 60, I have to look back and thank God. And I will then make a conscious decision that henceforth I want to give back. I have taken enough from my parents and the country, and now I must give back give back to the society, give back to the nation and also of importance, the people.
You said you were born in a vehicle. Can you to shed light on that?
Well, my mother was a trader. So she ran into labour in her shop and all they could do was to quickly call Mr. Seun Abimbola, a prominent medicine vendor in Ilesa at that time, who had a vehicle. He took my mother to the hospital, but I was delivered inside the vehicle on the way to the hospital. We know that in this part of the world, one of the factors for death during labour is lack of supervision. Someone who delivered inside a vehicle obviously would not have supervision. So, I’m not a candidate ordinarily who should survive. That is why I said I’m lucky to be alive.
What impact does that have on you or what informed your choice of career?
To be honest it did not. I think what informed my choice of career is what I must say is divine. My father who was a trader had an usual relationship with some of the missionaries – doctors and laboratory scientists. And through that relationship, I paid regular visits to Wesley and I think I got drawn into the serene environment. Wesley was a top grade hospital in those days. The environment was classic green, the walls were white and neat, and everything was set. And anytime I visit Wesley I just wept, it was not the Wesley I knew in those days. But then I visited them. Back then, I used to come back to recreate the hospital environment. I will barricade myself and start calling some fictitious names asking them to come and take injection and then their medications. And an uncle of mine right there said: “This boy will be a doctor”. But then that I studied medicine is also divine. Let me state clearly that my original plan was to do Mathematics, Physics and Geography. I think I was designed by plan and I wanted to do Aeronautic Engineering. But then, I got attracted to two bright young graduates from the University of Ibadan, one taught Chemistry, the other taught Physics and I can tell you these bright doctors captivated me. And I think the other one also taught Biology. So, I became a follower or disciple of these bright teachers. And of course, it was not too difficult for the guidance counselor in the school. He advised me: “Oh you have to do this and that and you’ll end up being a doctor”.
Sir, talking about your background, you’ve been referring to your parents as traders, can you tell us more on that?
Well, my father was a trader and also a unionist to some extent before he became a trader and then a community person. My father owned a shop in Ilesa, Osun State. It used to be a big shop in those days, but when I visited the place a couple of weeks ago, it looks so small. My father happened to be an agent of UAC and GB Olivant, and I learnt quite a number of things from him. He was very meticulous. He believed in transparency and accountability. He would take stock every month and I was his accountant and auditor. And I carried that into administration. I know so much about accounting, about reconciliation and auditing and so, people are quite shocked that how come a medical doctor be talking about reconciliation, auditing and so on. But I grew up in such practice and it has become part of me.
Are from a rich background?
By any standard, I came from a modest background. But not too poor, because my father was able to afford school fees. And to me by any standard, if your father can pay your school fees… then, my father had a bicycle. In those days, we don’t have cars.
Do you have everything at your disposal to make life comfortable?
I wouldn’t say so. I think I and others had what we needed to survive and then, my father one way or the other believed in education. In our house, he created a reading room. It was the biggest room downstairs in the storey building that it was created. It had a long table and chairs. He encouraged all my colleagues, friends including those of my brothers and sisters to come into the house and read. And we had electricity in those days. Quite a number of my classmates would come home to read with us. Many of us in those days read over night. Reading over night was quite fascinating.
Sir, there are some life-changing adventures that you have experienced along the line.
Let me say I’ve been a VC of interaction with so many adventures. And at various levels, those adventures have largely contributed to who I am today. I joined Medical Politics by sheer accident. I was encouraged by Dr. Kayode Obembe, who just came to me and said: “Dr. Adewole, I want you to be a Secretary”. And I couldn’t explain till today. So, I just told him: “Why not”. And I became the Secretary of the Association of Resident Doctors in UCH at that early level and from there rose to become the President of the association. We led the nation-wide strike and we were dismissed. That was the turning point and everything appeared bleak and blank at that point, because we were sacked. That was during the Buhari-Idiagbon regime. We were not only sacked, we were asked to be picked dead or alive. And so some us went to Georgia. And till today, I tell people: “I won’t disclose to you how I got out of Nigeria for obvious reasons”. You know people knock doors to move out and you don’t want to put them in trouble – you don’t want them to regret helping you to escape. I escaped and I was away for about 15 months. But the experience I had in London also influenced who I am today and helped me when I returned, because while I was in exile, I wrote four papers. And so, by the time I came for interview and we were victims of some internal and complex national politics and one way or the other, some of those processes also helped us to come back and the then president, General Babangida gave us pardon when he was launching the then Political Bureau. He said: “I’m granting pardon to all the dismissed doctors, so they can participate in the national political discourse”. So, that was how we came back. I think I must thank some of my teachers, who believed in me and I must thank one of my teachers, Prof. Oladipo who is still alive, who took avid interest in me and brought me up. He is from Ogbomoso. He was one of those who encouraged me to come back. I almost did not want to come back, but he said: “I think you should come back”. And coming back means I’m now in the academic line.
How did you meet your wife?
Well, let me state clearly that I have had two marriages. I had the first and then the second one and I think I’m at the bus stop, much more matured. Sometimes when you are not matured things you would do. There are things you would not do as a matured person. So I think now I’m at the bus stop. I met both of them, the first and second in the hospital environment. My first wife is a nurse, while my second wife is a doctor. So that would explain that this is not somebody who believes in adventure. So, I’ve been able to fish in my local surroundings. (laughs)
But what about the pressure around?
What do you mean by pressure? I decided to fish in my local waters and that is why I didn’t go far beyond my environment.
There would be other women that have had positive impact in your life. Can you just share?
Let me just say that what I am today apart from God and then Professor Oladipo, women generally have contributed to what I am. And maybe that’s why I’m an Obstetrician Gynecologist. Maybe that is why I now believed I need to promote women health. My mother is a great woman, quite unique and has been likely influential to what I am today. I had quite a number of fantastic female teachers. One of them an Indian, Mrs. Mathew, who was my Biology teacher. Mrs. Mathew would take you home and ask: “Did you understand the lecture today?” I will say no and she will open the textbook and say go and read. The philosophy of Mrs. Mathew is that it is only those who read that can understand. To her you must read. So she encouraged me in the art of reading. When I became a doctor, Mrs. Abiola Oshoti taught me about resilience. As a woman, she would operate from evening till the next morning. And growing up under such a fantastic lady means a lot. We never complain, we were never tired, and we did one operation after another. And when I became top professional, quite a number of my collaborators internationally are women.
At the beginning of this interview, you spoke about the job of a Vice Chancellor. Can you shed light on this?
I said being a Vice Chancellor in U.I doesn’t mean you are the best, but one of the best. In other words, you are not the only person that can do this job. That is what I told myself. So you consider yourself lucky to be on this seat. And don’t let it get into your head that others can’t do it. I think the mistake most people make is that they believe they are the only one, but I say no, you are not!
What came to your mind the day you were made Vice Chancellor?
Well, let me paint this scenario. I had a fine CV. So, that is why I’m a bit different. I competed in 2005 for VC and came second. So, in other words, when the announcement was made to congratulate the man who won, I took my laptop and looked at what I presented and I said: “I will build it up for the next time, so I had enough period to work. And when I became Vice Chancellor, fortunately the announcement was made in August, I had three months to prepare and I thought that one of the things that would stand you out is to be prepared for the office. So, I put up a committee, gave them a vision and asked them to work with me, because you can’t do it alone. So I developed the Vice Chancellor Strategy Plan for five years and that plan is still what I’m using till today as my compass. So, with everything I’m doing today, I have four pillars. I promised to develop the welfare of the people, because the human capital is the most important factor in production. When the people are motivated and can go to anywhere. A highly motivated army would win wars. An ill-motivated or unprepared army cannot even conquer a terrain. So, we would work on infrastructure and governance so that we can put in place a system. So I was prepared for it and when I started, I was ready to fly.
If you have that kind of a chance, what kind of successor will you desire?
Well, I will look for a successor who will build and amend. I will look for a successor, who can build on what I have done. I told somebody this morning that I’m already unwinding and preparing for it. Because you can’t finish this job. Let the next person come and finish it. And I’m also going to make sure that my successor has a three-month period to work with me. We would travel around. So all the decisions that I am going to take in my last three months will be taken in conjunction with my successor. I will take him round and introduce him, because anybody can occupy this seat. I will take him or her around and make sure I tell what I ought to have done, which I could not do. This is because I still have two items left that I have not been able to achieve. I still hope we’ll be able to do it, but for chance we could not do it. I will give him or her a robust hand over it.
The university has been transformed, how have you been able to achieve this with all the workload as a Vice Chancellor?
Well, I did mention that we had a plan and this was a product of what one would call serious interaction. We sold the plan to the Senate and to the Council. The Senate said this is the first time we are having a Vice Chancellor present a strategy plan. This is a plan we approved so go and implement it. The Council said the same thing. “If this is a thing from you, we wish you luck”. And then, I must commend the people I have around me. It is not a one-person show. The Principal officers have been fantastic, the Director of Works. I pushed them and they keep on moving, and we’ve been able to achieve a lot as a team. And I also believe that what of the thing that we’ve done: one, we were also fortunate there was an investigation panel right at the beginning of the tenure. And I had a discussion with the Chairman of the investigation panel who gave me lots of advice and I have put it into use. And I will also tell my successor some of those tricks.
Was one of it the seven-point agenda? And what has been your greatest challenge so far?
No, it was a four-point agenda. My greatest challenge so far is to convince people that it can be done. There is a wide spread pessimism. And to move people from pessimist to optimist is to me the greatest challenge. You go around and ask why this is like this and they tell you: “Oh, we can’t do it. It is because of money”. You then ask them how much do you need? They have no idea. So how can you say you need money when you don’t even have an idea? Even when we provided some of the resources, people can’t still believe it is like can it be true? Money is good, but I tell people it is not the only solution, it is won with the solution. And I won’t be the one to start shouting we need money. We need money, we need people, we need ideas and when we marry all together, we can move mountains.
Let’s look at the challenges you have so far. How would you describe the challenges that have affected the work or hinder what you have in mind for the school?
Well, let me situate ASUU strike in proper context. One, is to say that we stand to be very unfortunate. The strike was completely preventable and avoidable, but we mismanaged it. And this country would not take decisions as at when due and when necessary. That to me was the unfortunate side. Otherwise, government can sign an MoU with ASUU. ASUU needed to go on strike for government to wake up. And then, the strike lasted for months… A solution came when Vice Chancellors were involved. And all we did was to marry ASUU and government positions. After finding a way of marrying both, someone said why have we not thought of this before? But in terms of how it has affected us in terms of positive and negative sides – first thing is that it has made government to honour the agreement. So in terms of resources, we are optimistic that there will be more resource for revitalization. Negatively because we lost for six months and it will take us up to two or three years to recover that. We are trying to readjust the calendar back September/June or October/July calendar that we use to operate. When we get there it will take us another two or three years.
The issue of security challenges now, we are now witnessing a trend whereby schools are now been attacked. How prepared is the university in terms of this?
Nigerian universities are part of the society, so I do not see how Nigerian universities can pretend not to be part of Nigeria. I think my message is that all of us must be security conscious.
As a Vice Chancellor, what’s your position on ranking of universities in the world? U.I is number seven out of 100 universities in Africa.
Well, let me say that rankings have their shortcomings but they are still ranking. And we believe we must reposition ourselves. We need to take it seriously. And I am a university Vice Chancellor, who can give a marching order to the staff. The rankings essentially measure the website. But we must not complain. I’m not going to be a Vice Chancellor, who will be chasing rankings.
Sir, what is your happiest day and your saddest day?
The saddest day was when I lost my sister. My happiest day was the day I was made a professor. I was made a professor in 1999.
What would you want to do better if you have the chance?
Let me tell you one thing I did in 1984 and 85. I declared a nation-wide strike as a doctor and in 1988 and 90 I was in a meeting in Hungary. There was another strike. And so I told someone sitting next to me that all the hospitals in Nigeria will go on strike and he said:”Is your country at war? Because even in war time situations hospitals are never completely shut.” So I came back a changed person, and I told my colleagues we can go on strike, but let’s create an emergency, where there will be intensive care unit, labour room and children emergency room. Four places in the hospitals were not to be closed.
What will you do after your tenure as VC?
I’ll go back to my department and lecture.
