Ex-UNIFE VC Prof Wale Omole Is Dead, 6 Years After Wife
Six years after losing his wife, the former Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Wale Omole, has passed away.
His death was announced in a Wednesday statement by the President of Ijesa Society, Lateef Bakare. Omole was a senior member of the society.
Omole’s demise comes six years after he lost his wife, Mrs Afolasade Adenola Omole (nee Onakoya), who was aged 66, and transited on July 15 after an illness.
She was a former Deputy Registrar and an Assistant Lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
“With gratitude to God for an impactful life and on behalf of the Omole family and Biladu Ruling House of Ijesaland, I regret to announce the passage to eternity of our father, brother, friend and compatriot, Professor Adebowale Omole, MON,” Bakare wrote in announcing the demise.
“Professor ‘Wale Omole died peacefully at home early this morning, November 11, 2026. He celebrated his 84th birthday on August 13, 2026. He was a committed Ijesa man, a steadfast member of our Society until the recent past. Funeral arrangements will be announced when the family completes this.
“On behalf of His Imperial Majesty, Owa Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, Ajimoko III, I wish to commiserate with all of us on the demise of one of Ijesaland’s greatest human capital. I enjoin all members to please remember the family in prayers at this critical time. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace,” Mr Bakare wrote.
After Ife, Omole became Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian for many years, where late President Muhammadu Buhari would later acknowledge his worthy perspective on national discourse.
“At the Editorial Board, he will be remembered for his punctuality to meetings, contributions to debates and fearlessness in pursuance of truth and justice,” The Guardian said of its former Editorial Board Chairman.
The deceased was a Nigerian animal scientist, university administrator, editorial board chairman and advocate for Yoruba cultural renewal.
He was the first alumnus of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), to become its Vice-Chancellor, serving from 1991 to 1999, when he was unceremoniously removed following students’ protests that blamed him for a cult attack on the university’s students that led to the death of five students.
Omole attended Ilesa Grammar School from 1956 to 1962. After his secondary school, he worked at the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Ibadan.
At OAU, Omole rose from assistant lecturer to Professor of Animal Science in 1980, and in 1983, he became the first alumnus to serve as Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, a position he held until 1985.
Omole was also the chair of the Editorial Board of The Guardian Newspaper and established a foundation devoted to education, community development and Yoruba ethics.
In August 2024, he launched the Wale Omole Foundation for Virtues and Ethics in Yoruba Culture in Lagos, and grounded its mission in the Yoruba ideal of Omọlúàbí, emphasising good character and ethical conduct in public and private life.
Born to Pa Emmanuel Adedeji Omole and Mama Beatrice Aarinola Omole, young Adebowale Omole attended Ilesa Grammar School from 1956 to 1962.
After secondary school, he worked as a civil servant at the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Ibadan, doing menial jobs to survive, including working as a disc jockey and playing guitar with a live band in Mokola, and modelling for corporate organisations to pay his tuition, buy books and feed himself.
That hustle took him to OAU, the same institution that would later define his life.
He studied Agriculture, left for Canada for his PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, between 1971 and 1973, returned, and rose rapidly.
He became Professor in 1980 at age 38, and in 1983, made history as the first alumnus Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture.
His inaugural lecture in January 1983, titled “Waste recycling in the food chain –Turning thrash to cash,” was prophetic.
Decades before waste-to-wealth became government policy, he argued that Nigeria’s agricultural waste could drive industrialisation.
He served as Chairman of the Council of two universities, served on the Board of Trustees of Chrisland University, and was appointed Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in 2013.
