By Kenny Ola
The recent emergence of Professor Gbenga Solomon Ibileye, a renowned Professor of Discourse Analysis and Pragmatics, as the 4th substantive Vice Chancellor, Federal University Lokoja comes with not just rethinking but reflections on the life of a teacher who serves humanity so selflessly and whose pedagogical evangelism has rescued countless lives from the ignoble consequences of ignorance. The preponderant number of people who celebrated this man of destiny on the occasion of his announcement as the next academic and administrative head, Federal University Lokoja are oblivious of the fact that he who serves must have something huge in reserve and that there is no actual success that comes without a price. Hence, this leads us to the heart of this piece.
Professor Gbenga Solomon Ibileye has been in the service of humanity for decades, touching lives and building young scholars who are so passionate about bringing rapid transformation not just to the world of academia but to the nation. He started his academic career at Ahmadu Bello University, the institution where he had his degrees. Professor Ibileye’s pedagogy in department of English, Ahmadu Bello University is not the kind that vanishes after the lecture ends. The method he employs for delivering content is so profound that it leaves many ruminating over his extraordinary expertise and unusual flair for knowledge dissemination. His pedagogical impact still lives in the department even after he leaves. His teaching is not merely linguistic exploration; it is nation-building, the one that turns abstraction to application and doubt to dominance resulting in not only practical learning but functional education whose impact still endures till today. Professor Ibileye’s academic stay in department of English, Ahmadu Bello University leaves an indelible imprint on the lives he nurtures and the lives of those that do not meet him but feel his notable contributions in the department.
Having been thoroughly groomed and mentored under the tutelage of Professor Adebayo Joshua, Professor Ibileye feels the need to return home to give back what he was privileged to enjoy. In 2012, he left Zaria for Lokoja. His return to Federal University Lokoja, a newly established federal university at the time does not merely improve the academic excellence of the institution; it further reveals his unrelenting desire to wholeheartedly serve his state. Since his arrival in FUL, Professor Ibileye has held several academic and administrative positions which have attested to his honest instinct to bring FUL not just to the limelight but to the midst of top-class universities in Nigeria where academic excellence does not thrive by words but by actions. From being the Head, Department of English and Literary Studies to Head, Department of Theatre Arts, to Director of General Studies, and finally to becoming the Provost, College of Postgraduate Studies, Professor Ibileye’s dedication to the growth and excellence of FUL is quite rewarding and gratifying, displaying both academic and administrative skills needed for FUL to stand tall as a world-class university.
Just few days after the inauguration of Professor Gbenga Solomon Ibileye as the 4th substantive vice chancellor, Federal University Lokoja, the institution feels the touch of a new hand, Lokoja experiences the warmth of a fresh beginning and Nigeria swells with the promises of a better future. When the right person is chosen to paddle the affairs of any institution, confidence grows, expectations deepen and excellence becomes a universal language.
Communication is absolutely vital in human existence. It embodies discovery, preserves memory and amplifies awareness. Every technological breakthrough, every scientific innovation and every mathematical discovery is hinged not only on intellect but on effective communication. What cannot be communicated cannot be known. And what is known needs communication to endure. How would we know about the popularity of Artificial Intelligence (AI) if it were not communicated? As a communications expert, all of these and many others inform the decision of Professor Ibileye to establish the Directorate of Strategic Communication and Corporate Documentation to get the world apprised about day-to-day happenings in Federal University Lokoja. The expansion of academic disciplines, infrastructural development and scientific advancement are incomplete if they are not well communicated to the audience. Thus, Directorate of Strategic Communication and Corporate Documentation does not merely bridge the communication gap between the institution and the general public; it therefore confirms the innovative thinking of Professor Gbenga Solomon Ibileye as a seasoned communications specialist.
It is therefore not surprising that today, Professor Ibileye stands tall as the first internally appointed Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Lokoja not because luck finds him but because he reaps what he tirelessly and selflessly sows. His life is a powerful reminder that acts of selflessness never go wrong if the intention of the doer is immaculately clean. From his rigorous service in Ahmadu Bello University to his honest patriotism to see Federal University Lokoja grow in leaps and bounds, Professor Gbenga Solomon Ibileye remains not just a linguistic icon but an administrator extraordinaire whose legacy will forever be honoured. May your tenure remain exemplary for up-and-coming successors to recount and relive.
