Amazing Grace Alele-Williams, 1st Woman VC Who Made UNIBEN Leading Research Varsity, Departs In A Blaze Of Glory
The Oasis Reporters
March 26, 2022
University of Ibadan at it’s 70th FOUNDATION DAY celebration in 2018, The Oasis Reporters was there and here are some of the iconic photographs of the event.
By Greg Abolo
When you learn that despite disruptions of strikes and other hiccups that mar academic stability in Nigeria, and that premier South South University, University of Benin had pioneered the blood purification and transfusion invention to clean up a patient’s blood and reinject it without rejection, a breakthrough that could lead to making blood donations obsolete, you would have Professor Grace Alele-Williams to thank, for the sweeping groundwork that made it all possible.
University of Benin, Benin City in the South South of Nigeria belongs to the ivy league of ‘top tier-1’ Nigerian Universities, being number six after Ibadan varsity, UNN, Unilag, Ife, ABU and Uniben. All six of them remain first generation Universities.
But the University in Benin City had a peculiar problem. Cultism was rife, holding the elite university down and it was severely choking. The general indiscipline permeated all facets of it’s overall life.
Then Military president, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida dreamt of a plan at a time that the prerogative of appointing any University Vice Chancellor rested solely with the Visitor.
Therefore as Visitor, Babangida handpicked a mathematics Professor, Grace Alele-Williams from the University of Lagos to proceed to her home state, then known as Bendel State ( now Edo and Delta States) as head of Uniben.
She was vicariously resisted by many Professors there because she was a woman coming in from the outside to head them. They didn’t like the novel idea. It was so stiff that Babangida gave her the carte blanche to do the needful and restore sanity. A leading Professor of constitutional law who incidentally was from her own ethnic group, Itsekiri had to be shown the door.
Next, she tackled the crippling problem of cultism to make the institution breathe the breath of life.
Hear Deji Toye at NNP:
“Grace Alele- Williams was known as the iron lady.
She fought both student and lecturer activists with ruthless efficiency in Benin. Nigeria’s second woman VC, Jadesola Akande of LASU, lacked Alele-Williams-type iron will. She resigned her appointment before the end of her term”.
Here are some more views of those that have passed through UNIBEN:
Bubay Babundo Omordia:
“She was called ‘Mamangida’. I went to the VC Lodge once or twice when she was VC or immediately after. It was quite a massive edifice she built there.
“One of my friends liked Orode, her daughter. I don’t think she vacated immediately. The former VC, Professor Adamu Baikie used to live off-campus at the junction of Aigobasimwin and I believe Ikpokpan in GRA.
” I entered Uniben the year or next after Professor Grace Alele-Williams left. I sat next to her at a wedding in Church of the Assumption like 16 years ago. She looked so regal, beautiful and distinguished. She still has that aura and glow. She looked like a goddess before my eyes. I almost bowed in worship, lol.
- In my 3rd-5th year many students that she rusticated started coming back. She practically decimated the Maphite group in UNIBEN after they were busted at their party in New Langer Hotel in GRA. I saw some people I knew on NTA news. Only the few that didn’t attend survived. Many were rusticated. Some went abroad, some started afresh in Ekpoma (EDSU) and few came back 3-5 years later”.
Chibuzor Otakpor-Anoje:
“My dad, who was her colleague, still speaks of her with great respect. I grew up on the University Campus and vividly remember one of the student’s riots that started because students were disgruntled with her. She was indeed an IRON LADY but very loving too, there were always Christmas parties for all the staff’s children at her place during Christmas”.
Amanda Okoye writes that “Grace Alele-Williams (born December 16, 1932) obtained her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago.
She was the first Nigerian woman to receive a doctorate degree and she also made history as the first Nigerian woman to become the Vice-chancellor of a Nigerian university, the University of Benin.”
Alele-Williams changed inumerable traditions at Uniben. One of them, whoever failed just a course, would be deemed to have failed at all. In other words, there would be no carry-over courses. The option was to repeat the year. If it happened a second time, withdrawal from the University was to immediately follow. No pleas.
As draconian as that rule was, students sat up. They studied. And they excelled.
Did you know that previously incurable sickle cell anaemia disease has been tackled at the University of Benin?
Yes.
The groundbreaking research was conducted there. Therefore a blood donor with higher grade cell level can donate to a sickle cell anemia disease sufferer and he’d live to old age.
The self infusing blood purification and transfusion cycle earlier mentioned was invented by army doctor, General Ovedhe. He’s a medical doctor from the University of Benin.
All thanks to Grace Alele-Williams for introducing the uncommon discipline and zeal that made Uniben excel.
When University of Ibadan, where Alele-Williams started out from was celebrating it’s 70th Anniversary in 2018, The Oasis Reporters was there to capture it’s sights and sounds as iconic emeritus professors like Alele-Williams, Bolanle Awe and a few others were bestowed with honorary doctorate degrees.
The goddess looking regal woman, beautiful and distinguished, with aura and glow has joined her ancestors. Warri, Itsekiri, Delta and Edo mourn. Nigeria also mourns
