The remains of the late pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Emeritus Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe, will be committed to mother earth today, at his Ondo country home.
The professor of Medicine, who superintended over UNILORIN between 1975 and 1978, died on June 16, at 86.
The university will be represented at the burial by a delegation led by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Sylvia Malomo. Other members of the delegation are the Registrar, Dr. Fola M. Olowoleni; the Provost, College of Health Sciences, Prof. O. T. Adedoyin; and the Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. K. I. Akogun.
A funeral programme kicked off on Tuesday with a lying-in-state at the Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan and afterwards at the Foyer of the College of Medicine UCH, Ibadan.
This was followed by a Service of Songs and tributes in the evening of the same day; a Commendation Service at All Saints Church, Jericho, Ibadan and Wake and Service of Songs at the Ondo Civic Centre on Wednesday.
A lying-in-state at his Foothills residence, Ondo is scheduled for today before a funeral service at St. Stephens Cathedral, Ondo. The interment is to follow at Ipile, Ondo town.
In his condolence message the UNILORIN VC, Prof. Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, said that the late Akinkugbe laid a solid foundation for the university on which other vice-chancellors after him built.
Abdulkareem said: “The late Prof. Akinkugbe was an administrator that envisioned what others could not see many years ago”, describing him as “one of the most accomplished administrators that Nigeria has ever produced.
“Definitely, the pre-eminent status of our university today, could be rightly traced to the great foundational works done by the late Prof. Akinkugbe.”
