Professor Nurudeen Adedipe: Exit of a mental giant

“O soul at rest! Return to your Lord, well-pleased (with him), well-pleasing (to Him). So, enter among My servants, And enter My Garden.” (Qur’an 89:27-30).

The death of the pioneer vice chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, Professor Nurudeen Olorunnimbe Adedipe, at the age of 84 on Wednesday, 13 November, 2024 in his home in Ikorodu remains shocking. He was buried the following day. May Almighty Allah accept the mental giant to Aljanna Firdous, Ameen.

His exit at this critical moment in Nigeria when his expertise is needed most is very unfortunate and painful. The generosity of Professor Adedipe in serving God and humanity was unparalleled. He gave the whole of his knowledge and expertise in the service of humanity, especially in the establishment of private universities.

As a prelude to the establishment of Crescent University, Abeokuta, I put up a proposal for the establishment of the university to the President of Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA), Judge Bola Ajibola, SAN, as the Secretary-General of IMA.

On his arrival from Britain as the High Commissioner to Britain, after the death of the deputy president of IMA and former deputy governor of Ogun State, Alhaji Adeolu Balogun, he acknowledged that he had seen my proposal on the establishment of the university, and asked me to see him by 6am the following day which was a Sunday.

It was after he phoned me on the Saturday night that the wife and the first born, Barrister Mahruf Adesegun Ajibola, SAN, phoned me that they were yet to inform Judge Ajibola about the death of Alhaji Adeolu Balogun, and they both asked me to inform him. They said I was the appropriate person to inform him.

Alhaja Ajibola left for London after we buried Alhaji Adeolu Balogun at his house at Ibara Housing Estate in Abeokuta. I prayed Almighty Allah to make it easy for me.

Incredibly, Alhaji Adeolu Balogun was the first person Judge Ajibola SAN asked me. I said gently, “Your Excellency, Alhaji Adeolu Balogun couldn’t make it sir, honestly”. Then Judge Ajibola started to cry. He went to his bedroom to cry some more and left me on the seat.

After cleaning his face in the bathroom, he came back to me, and asked “Where was Adeolu Balogun buried?” And I responded that he was buried in his house at Ibara Housing Estate. He then said we would go there together to pray on his grave.

Actually, Judge Ajibola and I visited Alhaji Adeolu Balogun at a private hospital in Lagos on his way to London three weeks before. The rest is history. May God Almighty bless their souls and grant them Aljanna Firdous, Ameen.

Almighty Allah declares in the Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-’Imran, verses 185 to 191, “Every soul will taste death. And you will only receive your full reward on the Day of Judgment.”

On our way to IMA Research Centre for the weekly Sunday assalat prayer session, he commended my detailed proposal for the IMA university summit, and said “Sulaiman, you must go and get Professor Nurudeen Adedipe as the chairman of the summit.” He said Professor Adedipe was the person that could get it done for us. And I said, “Yes, sir.”

For the IMA Intellectual Summit, I had proposed the invitation of ten Muslim professors from different faculties at the University of Ibadan; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife; University of Lagos, Lagos State University, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; University of Ilorin and Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta.

The leaders of NASFAT Muslim organisation at this period met His Excellency, Prince Bola Ajibola, SAN, at a programme in Lagos, and he asked me to invite NASFAT as a team to send ten delegates to the IMA Intellectual Summit. Thus, they were invited to join the team.

Meanwhile, I got in touch with Professor Nurudeen Adedipe inviting him formally as the chairman of the IMA Intellectual Summit. I sent with the invitation dossier on IMA establishment and what we had achieved since 1996 that we started with At-Tanzil – The Revelation Programme on OGBC II 90.5 FM Stereo with the recitation of the Glorious Qur’an in Arabic and English for three years to complete.

We normally presented the At-Tanzil programme everyday during Ramadan and every Friday in other months of the year.

Other achievements are the establishment of IMA Nursery/Primary School; IMA Secondary School; IMA Multipurpose Hall for monthly lecture series by scholars from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia, and others; IMA Library; IMA Hospital; IMA Guest House; Imam’s Lodge; IMA Hostels for students; and IMA Mosque.

By the time Professor Adedipe got the invitation letter as chairman of the summit and the fact-file on IMA, he asked me to see him at his home at the University of Ibadan for discussions on the invitation. He emphatically asked me to go ahead with the arrangements of the IMA Intellectual Summit, as he had agreed to the invitation.

The responses to the invitation were fantastic and great, as if they were all expecting the university project to come up. More so, it was the foremost to be organized by any Muslim organization to set up a Muslim University in Nigeria in 2002.

The incredible thing about all the Muslim professors invited to the IMA Intellectual Summit was that they all agreed to carry out the intellectual work at Gratis.

Thus, I had the meeting with Professor Adedipe at Ibadan, and we had the summit in Abeokuta attended by all the invitees, with a welcome address by His Excellency, Judge Bola Ajibola, SAN; and we broke into different faculties as groups for the packaging of the academic programmes for each faculty. I served as the secretary of the University Planning Committee while Professor Nurudeen Adedipe served as the chairman of the committee.

The major task of the Intellectual Summit was to prepare a unique academic brief for submission to the National Universities Commission (NUC); University Law; master plan of the University; name of the university, among others, towards the issuance of licence to us to operate as a Muslim university in Nigeria.

In the welcome address of Judge Bola Ajibola SAN, he thanked the Muslim intellectuals for responding to our invitation and challenged them to rise up to our quest for setting up a Muslim university to meet up with the backward trend in acquiring university education by our children.

Judge Ajibola, SAN, asked, “Why should Federal Government provide the opportunity for all to establish private universities since 1990, and we Muslims refused to take up the challenge while our Christian counterparts are setting up universities in droves?”

Insisting that he didn’t intend to name the university after himself but the summit should find a beautiful name that would reflect the sanctity of Islam.

At the threshold of the revelation of the Holy Qur’an, Almighty Allah declares, in the first five verses revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in Cave Hira, Qur’an Iqraa, 96:1-5, “Proclaim! (or Read!) in the name Of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created—Created man out of A (mere) clot Of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord Is Most Bountiful,— He Who taught (The use of) the Pen,— Taught man that Which he knew not.”

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When we resumed session after the break for lunch, the chairman, Professor Adedipe, asked for suggestions for the names of the university. We all agreed on Crescent University as the name, which was suggested by Professor Amidu Sanni from the Lagos State University.

I wish to end with the thoughts of a sage: “It is not easy to realise that nevertheless some people hate mental giants and will like to destroy them. Not only enviously because the juxtaposition of a superior wounds their vanity. But quite humbly and honestly, because it frightens them.”