It will be recalled that Prof Adewole was about to conclude his five-year single tenure as the 11th vice chancellor of Nigeria’s premier university, University of Ibadan (UI) in 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him as Health Minister. As his media assistant who worked closely with him while the tenure lasted, I can testify that this medical doctor neither went on leave nor fell sick for a day. I challenged him on a particular occasion, asking “Oga, what is the secret of your daily vitality, you never show any sign of weariness despite your challenging job?” His response was comically instructive, “may be because I don’t do those things you do!” And what what are those things? Only Adewole could define them!
When he was appointed as Health Minister in 2015, I, like many of his admirers, feared for his health. Having worked assiduously for five unbroken years for the betterment of UI, I thought he deserved to rest. But, as they say, “the reward of hard work is an opportunity to do more!” He was recognized for his industry and appointed to do more for his country. Clearly, Professor Adewole enjoys divine uncommon grace. How many Nigerians at his age can afford to be crisscrossing the length and breadth of the country in the service of humanity without having to regularly visiting local or foreign hospitals for rejuvenation? Uncommon grace makes the difference!
However, we can’t adequately celebrate Adewole at 64 without highlighting some of his peculiar qualities which make him unique. Chief among his attributes is his inclination towards ameliorating the sufferings of the people. Perhaps, because he is a medical doctor, Professor Adewole hates to see people in pains. Probably not necessarily because of his profession, but due largely to his biological make up. He is a welfarist to the core. His regime as UI VC may have come and gone, but not so its ripples. Till tomorrow, people keep making reference to his kindness and welfarism. Apart from the large number of people he employed, Adewole took some radical steps which spoke directly to people’s plight. Destinies were positively reconstructed as he genuinely displayed love and passion towards people, though at his own risk!
Assisting people is his pastime. His joy is the fulfillment and accomplishment of other people. He simply loves to see people to prosper. Not a few people have attributed his appointment as Health Minister in the twilight of his administration in UI to all the good he did, by all the means he could, in all the places he could and to all the people he could. Indeed, Professor Adewole is a gregarious fellow. He is a man of the people. He radiates so much zest in fellowship and cultivation of acquaintanceship. He is a powerful network specialist. He connects easily and flows with you as if you had known each other for years. No wonder some people are of the opinion that he may one day contest the governorship position of his state of origin, Osun State! Yes, he has the qualities. He is eminently qualified. But does he have the financial wherewithal? It is doubtful! He is a socially smart soul. He believes nobody succeeds without synergy.
In the same vein, Adewole loves to invest in human capital development. He challenges you to grow. He compels you to develop. For instance, he facilitated so many conferences and seminars for many people while in UI. He sent people abroad for training. His passion for excellence in all departments of life is contagious. As a result of his own attendance at international conferences, he changed his position about industrial action in the health sector. Professor Adewole, ever before being appointed as Health Minister, had been condemning the idea of closing down hospitals during protest. He confessed that Nigeria was derided at an international conference when he told the participants that all hospitals in the country had been shut down. “Is your country at war?”, the foreigners asked him. Since then, he has been urging his medical colleagues to find better options, rather than closing down hospitals in protest.
Another outstanding quality of this enigma is that he is a peace-loving mind. I have personally witnessed several occasions he extended olive branch to his perceived enemies and opponents. Even at a level one can describe as condescending, Professor Adewole is always in the habit of pocketing his pride and making peace with people. In my presence, he picked his phone and called a particular individual who was obviously annoyed with him and pleaded for forgiveness and understanding. Such an attitude is not common with people in high class with cash. But “IFA”, as he is being fondly addressed by his overwhelming admirers will go to any length to broker peace with you. Obviously, Adewole, whose temper constitutes the template for enviable conduct , commands both adoration and emulation without demanding them. We respect his dignified deportment.
However, his recent foray into the political terrain may be giving him, altogether, a different experience in life. Since his appointment , Professor Adewole may have started getting to know that the political terrain in Nigeria is a minefield. He accepted to serve his fatherland with a mandate of moral regeneration. He recently saw corruption and decided to fight it, but corruption fought back. Nigeria, in its weird characteristic, turned an aberration into celebration by deodorizing the dirty system, instead of washing it. Some pundits argued that Adewole has been disgraced and humiliated with the way a suspended junior officer in his ministry who was under investigation was reinstated. Some urged him to resign while a columnist described him as an intelligent coward! I totally disagree. Professor Adewole is not disgraced and humiliated. It is Nigeria that disgraces and humiliates herself. It is the country that is telling the world that she is not serious with the much-touted anti-corruption crusade.
Why should he resign? Adewole couldn’t have rocked the boat in order to score a point! The facts are available. It is clear that a saint is surrounded by sinners. Why should he be the one to embarrass the government by resigning? The presidency only showed us the colour of his heart! If he had resigned, they would have raised some phantom allegations to nail him. The backlash would have been unpalatable. Nigeria is a country where a hero is painted villainously and ensconced in the valley of helplessness and despondency. He may have been wounded by the denigrating treatment from his principal, but there is no doubt that he will turn the wound to wisdom.
It is now clear that, like Shakespeare’s King Lear, Professor Adewole is a man “ more sinned against than sinning”. His continued staying in government is not because he is jobless or because of perquisites of power, but probably because he believes it is better to be cheated than to be a cheat. A General’s best epaulets are his scars; this scar is going to be a story of vilification to vindication. He left UI as its 11th VC, with his head held high. Professor Adewole will certainly leave as an Health Minister who worked tirelessly to improve the health condition of Nigerians. Notwithstanding the antics of merchants of mischief, he will never be disgraced or humiliated out of office. Nigeria will certainly appreciate this present Health Minister in the future, for we have a culture of celebrating our best after departure.
As he marks his 64th birthday today, it is hoped that this amiable man of the people who is always caught up in the whirl of work will find time to rest and reflect. We still need his prodigious mind in many more ways than one. You know what a man can do by what he has done . We know what he can do to assist people. Prof. IFA has always been a beacon and a blistering light in usually impossible tunnels. He is worth the epithets forever etched in gold. My boss and benefactor, happy birthday, I sincerely wish you many more years in the land of the living before you become an ancestor.
Professor Adewole was born on 5th May, 1954. He attended Ilesa Grammar School from 1966-1972 . And even at that tender age, he was a role model to his schoolmates on account of his good conduct, exemplary character and exceptional brilliance. He obtained Grade 1 with Distinction in his West African School Certificate in 1970 and scored AAC grades at the Higher School Certificate Examination in 1972.
He enrolled as a National Award Scholar at the University of Ibadan in 1973. He obtained his MB BS degree in 1978, winning the Glaxo Allenbury Prize for the best overall performance in pediatrics. He underwent further medical training in Nigeria, becoming a Senior Registrar in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, in 1984. He then proceeded to the United Kingdom for a Research Fellowship in the Department of Medical Oncology at Charing Cross Hospital in London. He obtained the Fellowship of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (FMCOG) in May 1986 and the Fellowship of the West African College of Surgeons (FWACS) in January 1994. He became the UI VC December 1, 2010
Saanu writes from the University of Ibadan
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