pannigeriannews 
Copyright Paula L. Mercer
By Adewuyi Adegbite
I heard about the passing of my lecturer, Dr. A S Adebola through a post on the social media. Adebola reportedly died on Saturday, July 12, 2025. Dr A. S. Adebola taught me at the History Department, University of Ilorin in the early 90s. He was a versatile teacher. In the department, then, were juggernauts like Ade Obayemi (of Obayemi stops death at National Museum fame), Dr. and later Professor A. O. Danmole, Professor R. O. Lasisi, Professor Z. O. Apata, , Dr. R. A. Olaoye, Yemi Akinwumi, P. F. Adebayo, ( both professors today) and many others too numerous to mention.
These are teachers one can vouch for, for their academic credentials and impeccable character. Adebola trilled us by his retentive memory when he began to teach us. He would never come to class with a note but just a chalk. The most astonishing thing about him is that he would begin his lecture where he ended the previous class and would actually say the last words or sentence he closed with to the charging of all. He taught us Southern African history especially South Africa, the coming of the Europeans to the Cape of Good Hope in 1832/36?, and opened our eyes to the evil of apartheid, the exploits of the great Shaka the Zulu, the Great Trek, the Sharpvile Massacre, Anglo- Boer war of 1802/1804?, the beginning of the anti-apartheid struggle with the rise of figures like Albert Luthuli, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo popularly known as O. T, and many others. The beginning of armed insurrection, the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe M K, or Spear of the Nation , the jailing of Mandela and his colleagues.
He also taught about the East African struggle against colonialism, the rise of Mau Mau and Maji Maji resistance. His area included Tanganyika and Zanzibar from where Republic of Tanzania was formed. Omani empire relationship with Zansibar, the coming of colonial officer like H. M. Stanley to East Africa and his meeting with king of Zansibar, Kabala Mutesa and Mutesa Mwanga, how Mutesa met Stanley which was taught under the topic Stanley meets Mutesa.
The relish with which he poured these out offhandedly would show readers that he really taught well. Those were the days when lecturers taught students to imbibe and not to write exams and throw the knowledge into the dustbin. These lecturers could not do less because many of them, including Adebola, were Ibadan School of History trained under the tutelage of great minds like K. O. Dike, J. F. Ade Ajayi, Tekena Tamuno, Ommer Cooper, and many others. They drank from the fountain of these juggernauts as we drank from theirs, too. Adebola was a contemporary of our own Ogbomoso’s Saka Balogun, Balogun of Ogbomoso designate, Tajudeen Gbadamosi, G. A. Akintola, M. A.p Mojuetan, R. O. Lasisi, A. O. Danmole, Omoniyi Adewoye, Akinjide Osuntokun. These were erudite historians in their own right. I think Adebola did not think of becoming a professor or was contented with just being a Doctor, if not , compare to what we have today, he was one already, ditto for my lecturers like G. A. Akintola and M. A. Mojuetan, the two men standing in my days at the famous Ibadan School of History.
One mistake I think our lecturers made when we were under their tutelage was their failure to encourage and guide brilliant students to follow their footpaths. Many students then rushed to the university without knowing career to take. It behooves today’s lecturers to correct this anomaly. If they did as I said or suggested, many among our colleagues would have been brilliant professors or academics today and the culture would endure. I pray to God Almighty to repose the souls of our teachers who showed us the light and be with not only their families but also their lineages forever. They have shown us the light and the light would never depart their generations.
Adieu, Dr. S. A. Adebola.
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