Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Professor Wole Soyinka, Dr Lasisi Olagunju, and other prominent Nigerians on Wednesday said the impacts of a former Governor of Oyo State, the late Doctor Omololu Olunloyo will continue to reverberate in the country.
They said Olunloyo’s contributions to the traditional institution; political landscape, and the socio-economic growth of the country were legendary.
The stakeholders, in their different presentations at a “A Requiem Symposium, Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo, A legacy of uncommon Brilliance”, organised by the Initiative for Information, Arts and Culture Development in Ibadan submitted that impacts Olunloyo cut across various disciplines of human endeavours.
Olunloyo, according to them, stood tall among his contemporaries as his contributions as a genius would outlive him. Obasanjo, in his presentation, noted that the contribution of Olunloyo, then as the Commissioner in the old Western region to the enthronement of the Late Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111 would go down memory lane.
The former president observed that Olunloyo’s ingenuity in administration was brought to the fore when the kingmakers selected Oba Lamidi Adeyemi as the successor to his father, who was sent on exile.
Obasanjo stated that the onus of approval of Oba Adeyemi as successor to the throne of the Alaafin of Oyo rested upon the shoulders of Olunloyo, then as the Commissioner in the old Western State.
According to him, “There was a time Olunloyo came to my office as an Area Commander in charge of security to inform me of the decision of the Oyomesi to install Oba Lamidi Adeyemi as the next Alaafin of Oyo.
“He (Olunloyo) came to my office this morning, sat down and took a piece of paper and said ‘you know I have a problem and I said Victor, I never knew you to have a problem. The problem is that the kingmakers have selected the son of Alaafin that Chief Awolowo sent on exile’.
“I said, why don’t you go to the Ooni of Ife to inform him of your problem. This is a problem that Kabiyesi can help you to solve. Whatever he said will be the way you will go.
“He went to see Baba as advised. Baba advised that they should enthrone the children of the lineage that had ruled in the past. These are the people who would not mess up the throne.
“I asked what he could make out of the advice. He said that is why he is back. I told him to go and meet Chief Adegbenro. That was how the matter was resolved.
On his academic competence, Obasanjo said, “Olunloyo is more than a scholar, brilliant man, and author of many books but a genius. Olunloyo’s exceptional intelligence is beyond ordinary.
“With Omololu, anything he touched, he did with ease , almost too easily. He studied engineering and ended up excelling as a mathematician. It all came naturally to him like play.
“You cannot talk about Omololu without mentioning a part of his life that some referred to as political rascality or seeming unseriousness. I used to enjoy that part of him. Because every time we met and we met many times, he was always appeared unserious at first. But what would eventually come out of him was deep, profound, and very serious. Every time we were together, I learned something new about him.
“Of course, our paths crossed more deeply in 1965 when I came here, and we served in the same government of the old Western Region under my senior, General Adebayo. Our cabinet was evenly split—twelve members: six from Awolowo’s side, six from Akintola’s.
“The head of government was neutral, and I believe I was neutral too. But there was one man in that group whose allegiance you could not pin down was he with Awolowo or with Akintola? That man was Omololu Olunloyo. I think, in truth, he was on both sides.
“Whether he was discussing policy, joking, or just in casual conversation, Omololu was different. He was a very, very serious man wrapped in layers of brilliance, wit, and intellect that only few could truly understand”.
In his remark, Prof. Soyinka described Olunloyo as a mathematical genius while alive, whose legacy would never be forgotten.
The professor said the impact of Olunloyo in academics and politics could not be overemphasised.
While speaking on Olunloyo”s Mathematical Journalism, a multiple award-winning columnist and Editor of Saturday Tribune, Dr. Lasisi Olagunju, lauded Olunloyo”s Mathematical analysis of Nigeria’s problem.
According to him, Olunloyo’s analysis of the nation’s political problems is still relevant today.
Also, the Global President, Government College, Ibadan (GCI) Old Boys’ Association, Dr. Wale Babalakin, where Olunloyo was an alumnus, said Olunloyo was a genius among geniuses.
“The school is proud of him as one of its alumni”, Babalakin said.
Dignitaries at the event included the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) President-General, Niyi Ajewole; Sen. Kola Balogun, and former Chief of Staff to Governor Seyi Makinde, Chief Bisi Ilaka , and a host of others.
