BY TOPE ABIOLA, Ph.D
It was, indeed, a day of glory for a glorious academic, environmentalist and community leaders. It was Saturday, 13th April when renowned educationist and an illustrious daughter of Ilare-Ijesa, Professor (Mrs.) Olubukola Monisola Oyawoye, was honoured with the chieftaincy title of Erelu of Ere-Ijesa in Oriade Local Government Area of Osun State. It was double celebrations, as her husband, Chief Professor Enoch Oyawoye, was also honoured with the title of Baba Atuluse of Ere-Ijesa.
At the chieftaincy event which was attended by the crème-de-la-crème of the society, the traditional ruler of Ere-Ijesa, the Elere-Ijesa, Oba Augustine Alowolodu extolled the virtues of the chieftaincy receivers, maintained that the couple, particularly, Professor (Mrs.) Oyawoye, had dedicated their lives to the service of humanity.
Professor (Mrs.) Oyawoye, one-time Commissioner for Environment in Osun State, is not a woman of little means. Her performance as a Commissioner under the Rauf Aregbesola-led government in Osun State has remained a reference point in the state. Thus, when the news filtered into town that she would be installed as the Erelu of Ere-Ijesa, the people of the state did not show any surprise.
He said the philanthropic gestures of the edu-scientist has remained on matched, “let alone the way she served Osun State meritoriously as Commissioner for Environment.”
The installation took place at the Palace of the Monarch amidst the presence of the Elere in Council and Representatives of the Owalare of Ilare-Ijesa, Oba Adejoro Otebolaku JP Ogidan III, Olori Elu Eka-Osun, his Chiefs and Oloris. The installation was indeed an exhibition of African Culture and Tradition. The monarch charged the recepients of the Chieftain titles not to relent in their service to humanity and community development. The Kabiyesi averred that it was a call to duty to join hands with the community to further develop the Ere-Ijesa in it’s socio-cultural and infrastructural development. He noted that “as Professors of repute, you should continue to ensure that education of our children is giving utmost priority, let them be admitted into universities and get employment after their studentship. All these, you have been doing before, but I am charging you not to relent”, the monarch charged.
After many of the dignitaries had felicitated Professor Oyawoye, the celebration moved to a Thanksgiving Service at the Anglican Church in Ere-Ijesa, where Canon Adeyemo Adebayo Michael, in his homily, enjoined other Nigerians, especially indigenes of Osun State to hold the care for their people as sacrosanct. He said every good deed done by any person who found himself or herself in a position of power would not go unnoticed; hence, the honour done to Professor Oyawoye and her husband by the Elere of Ere-Ijesa, adding that people got their rewards from earth before getting more in heaven.
A reception was later held in honour of the Ilare-Ijesa-born professor of Microbiology
Prof. Monisola Oyawoye, FNSM, FSETPOM, MSFM, MBSN, FICWLS was born in 1967 to the family of the late Chief David Adejuyigbe Akinyemi, a renowned educationist of Ilare-Ijesa who hails from Ede, Osun State. She obtained a B.Sc. (Hons) in Microbiology from Ogun State University in 1987, M.Sc. in Microbiology from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1991 and Ph.D. in Microbiology from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi in 2000.
The new Erelu of Ere-Ijesa, who always is always in thirst for educational prowess, also holds Post-Graduate Diplomas (PGDs) in Education and Food Management from ATBU and Hebrew University of Agriculture, Rehovot, Israel in 2005 and 2007 respectively.
Little wonder she was found worthy to serve as commissioner for environment in Osun State during the tenure of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as governor. Her academic honours include British Council Travel Fellowship to the University of Wales College of Cardiff, UK in 1997 for her Ph.D. research work and Award of Third World Academy of Science in 1999 for the preparation and completion of her Ph.D. thesis in Microbiology
She also received an award to study for her post-graduate diploma in food management in the University of Agriculture, Rehovot, Israel. She is a Fellow, Nigerian Society of Microbiology and member, Biotechnology Society of Nigeria, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, American Society for Microbiology and Society for Applied Microbiology, London.
She is also a Fellow of the International Chartered World Learned Society, USA (Chartered File Number: 5705811), having received the award as ‘Salute Notable and Top Distinguished Professor of the 21st Century by the honorable and erudite Society in the US.
She was also simultaneously accorded the title of the ‘Life Fellow of the International Chartered World Learned Society’ by a United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Council (UNESCO) Laureate.
Professor (Mrs.) Olubukola Oyawoye was honoured with a Golden Award as “The Most Notable Professor of the 21st Century” by the International Chartered World Learned Society, a USA-based international organisation. The global award was based on her advocacy in the area of use of water, water sanitation, use of Moringa oleifera in water treatment, breast milk, weaning food and others.
It also included but was not limited to her vast researches and scientific breakthroughs in the field of Microbiology, Nutrition, Biotechnology and global partnership with the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), governments and international organisations worldwide.
Among the achievements of the new Erelu of Ere-Ijesa, Professor Oyawoye are; over 30 years of teaching, research and administrative experience during her lengthy career and as a Professor of Microbiology. She has graduated over
20 PhDs and MScs and 300 B.Sc. students in the areas of Microbiology, Biotechnology research, Public Health, Crop Science and Ecology. She has well over 50 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and proceedings.
Furthermore, she is actively involved in researching the molecular epidemiology of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, having published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and granted various interviews in local and international media outlets. She, in conjunction with Dr. Kolawole Oladipo of Helix Biogen Consult and Professor J. K. Oloke of Precious Cornerstone University, actively worked on the production of a vaccine suitable for the COVID-19 virus, having got to the animal trial stage of the research.
She has contributed in various administrative capacities to the development of universities in states and nations.
As observed earlier, notable positions she had occupied are commissioner for environment and sanitation, Osun State and member, Osun State Executive Council between 2011 and 2014; Dean, Faculty of Science, Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State; Acting Vice Chancellor, Adeleke University, Ede (January to February) 2016; Acting Provost, College of Post-Graduate Studies, Head of Department (HOD), Biological Sciences Programme and Chairperson, Medical and Hospital Board, ATBU, Bauchi, among others.
She consults for UNICEF on nutrition in D zone of 10 Northern states on nutrition; and she is a member of Committee for Federal Ministry of Water Resources on Draft Water Law for Nigeria. She has also participated or served as a trainer at various United Nations Climate Change meetings, such as United Nations Climate Change meetings at the regional level at Ghana and at Rio, Cop 19, Brazil; United Nations Meeting on Climate Change (COP 17), Durbar City, South Africa in 2011.
Also, she has participated in a number of women empowerment workshops by African American Institute (AAI) and International Federation of University Women (IFUW). She has participated in over 20 workshops and conferences as advocate in water use, water sanitation, use of Moringa Olifera in water treatment, breast milk, weaning food in Nigeria and overseas between 1991 and 2018 for UNICEF, ATBU, Adeleke University at academic conferences. She was at Pittsburg California severally to facilitate government-to-government relationships for Osun State.
Her contributions to the sustainability of the environment have earned her several awards, such as O’Clean Marshal by Osun Waste Management Agency in 2014 and Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lifetime Achievement Award on Environmental Sanitation in 2014.
Professor Oyawoye became a Fellow of Society for Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Mitigation (SETPOM) in 2016 and a Fellow of Nigerian Society of Microbiology in 2017, a Fellow of the Society for Multidisciplinary and Advanced Research Techniques (SMART) in 2019 and also obtained the award of excellence in recognition of outstanding leadership, excellence and motivation in the field of Microbiology in 2017.
She got the prestigious Achievers Award from Biotechnology Society of Nigeria on 10th August, 2018 alongside the Precious Cornerstone University Meritorious Award in Biotechnology.
Her academic achievements include the discovery of nobel genes in the research of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria deposited in world Bank for genes named after her. She is a visiting professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Texas Southern University, Houston and Adeleke University, Osun State.
Currently, she is the Director of Advancement, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE).
She is happily married to Professor Enoch Olayiwola Oyawoye and the marriage is blessed with children.
A number of Ilare-Ijesa indigenes who spoke about the amazon maintained that she had been a blessing to not only Ilare, but also the entire Ijesaland. She is reported to have facilitated work placement for many from her town and state, apart from awarding scholarships to many more.
*The Author is Tope Abiola, Ph.D, the Odole-Owa of Ilare-Ijesa.
Objective & Accurate 