The killing of Professor Opeyemi Ajewole

LAST week, tragedy struck the University of Ibadan as a lecturer at the institution’s Department of Social and Environmental Forestry, Professor Opeyemi Ajewole, was gruesomely murdered by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.  The assailants, who reportedly rode in a gold colour Toyota Camry (Big Daddy), reportedly trailed the respected don to the gate of his house, shot him, then drove his body away in the car. The lifeless, bullet-ridden body would later be discovered by the roadside at Ebedi area along the Ibadan-Oyo Road. The white polo shirt he was wearing had turned crimson with his blood, while there was a gaping hole in front of his head on the left side. The University of Ibadan has been thrown into mourning since the incident occurred.

Giving details of the tragic episode at the residence of the deceased at Duku Close, Orogun, Ibadan, his son, Tomiwa, recalled: “My mother and I were inside when we heard a sound like gunshot. We were both spooked by the weird sound. Again, we heard the sound of a car. We thought Daddy was back because he was the one who typically opened the gate by himself. We decided to go and check what was happening. As I was about to step out, we heard car doors being slammed. The next I saw was the reverse light of the car. By that time, I was already outside. I looked over the fence and saw a car driving away fast. I stepped outside our compound and chased the car barefoot. I was sure something was wrong.

“I went back inside, got a key to another car to pursue them. We were stopped by local security men who were also alarmed. From there, we went to the police station. Later, I guess the police got some information. They called one of us outside and showed him some pictures, but they didn’t tell us anything at that time.  They told us to go home and get the car documents. When we got back home, we saw blood on the ground outside our gate, with his UI identity card and two ATM cards. We got in touch with our Reverend and he was the one who came to break the news to us.”

From the accounts of staff and students of the university, the slain don was an affable personality, a treasure whose passion and dedication to his duties and the cause of the university was known to many. Sadly, however, having done his day’s duties and heading home to his family, he was cut down in the most brutal fashion. He indeed reached home, but could not receive the warm embrace of his family as the assailants shed his blood right at his own gate, throwing the family into agony and confusion. Professor Ajewole was full of life and vigour—he reportedly saluted neighbours with accustomed warmth as he drove home—but the assailants chose to deprive him of his right to live to a ripe old age. This dastardly event, like many others before it, certainly speaks to the terrible security situation in the country where, increasingly, human life means virtually nothing and no place seems to be sacred anymore.

It is a shame that the country has reached the point where any citizen could be killed at any point without a semblance of governmental structure to prevent such or go after the perpetrators with the kind of certainty that would make criminals think twice before venturing into dastardly acts. Due to no fault of theirs, the family of Professor Ajewole and his colleagues are now left to bear the pains of his untimely and ghastly death. This cannot be a worthy experience in any organised society. Indeed, many Nigerians have been left wondering what has become of government and governance in Nigeria.  Increasingly, Nigerians are mere sport for deranged killers. Life has become such a cheap and harrowing spectacle within the context of the deepening insecurity in the country, and  we call for urgent and drastic action to reverse the descent into anarchy.

We hope that those who have taken up the responsibility of being in government would see it as their most important duty to provide security, without which they would have betrayed the whole essence of the existence of government and their own venture into governance. This is the most urgent task facing Nigeria now and it is this task we solemnly commend to the government even as we sympathise with the family of Professor Ajewole and the University of Ibadan on their irreparable loss. May his gentle soul rest in sweet repose.