Bidding Bye To The Father Of Geography And Map Reading, Prof Akin Mabogunje
The Oasis Reporters
August 9, 2022
When you call for a ride hailing service and the driver looks you up on Google map to determine your pinpoint position especially in a city like Ibadan, South West corner of Nigeria, it may seem very convenient and stress free, there’s someone who deserves top kudos as a pioneer Nigerian geographer, Emeritus professor, Akinlawon Ladipo Mabogunje.
In 1967, the year a civil war broke out in Nigeria, Akinlawon (or Akin for short) Mabogunje had collaborated with Emeritus Professor (Mrs.) Bolanle Awe and Peter Cutt Lloyd to edit this book:
Awe, B., Lloyd, P. C. and Mabogunje, A. L. (eds) (1967) The City of Ibadan Cambridge University Press, 1967
Mrs. Bolanle Awe is a renowned Professor of oral history very well versed in the history of especially her home region which is the South West of Nigeria teeming up with Mabogunje the geography professor probably did not envision how the work they collaborated with P.C. Lloyd would form part of the bedrock that has given rise to the digital form of transportation today.
Well, the heartbreaking news is that Akin Mabogunje whose geography textbooks were a delight to read by secondary school students since the sixties has passed on at the age of 90, in his sleep.
Prof Akinlawon Ladipo Mabogunje was instrumental to planning and mapping of FCT in 1975. He was the head of the task force approved by FG not Murtala Mohammed. Buhari was a Lt.Col then. Where were you in 1975?
— Woye (@woye1) August 8, 2022
At the University of Ibadan 70th Foundation Day ceremonies, The Oasis Reporters crew was there to record the sights and sounds of the occasion which also saw the honorary awards presented to iconic women, Prof Bolanle Awe, Professor Grace Allele Williams, Prof.Olufunmilayo Olopade, OON, Professor Akin Mabogunje, and Sir Bode Akindele, CFR and others like Gen. Yakubu Gowon and President Muhammadu Buhari.
At the notable event, Professor Akinlawon Ladipo Mabogunje became an honoree of the Doctor of Science(D.Sc.) award is the easily well known There’s hardly any school boy or girl who studied Geography in secondary school that did not know Mabogunje’s books.
award winning Professor of medicine Olufunmilayo Olopade, OON. A hematology oncologist in University of Chicago (middle), Emeritus professor Grace Alele-Williams (right).
Strength of character saw them through. They were recently honoured by University of Ibadan in November 2018.
Photo credit: Sholloms studio.
Akinlawon Ladipo “Akin” Mabogunje was the first African president of the International Geographical Union. In 1999, he was the first African to be elected as a Foreign Associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences.
Born: 18 October 1931, Kano
Died: 4 August 2022 in Lagos.
Here are a few highlights of Akin Mabogunje’s distinguished life.
He had his elementary education at the Holy Trinity School and the United Native African Church School in Kano (1935-1941) and Central School Mapo Ibadan in 1942. His secondary education was at the famous Ibadan Grammar School (1943-1948)
His University education began in 1949 at the then University College, Ibadan where he earned a B.A General degree in Geography in 1953 before proceeding to the University of London where he earned a B.A (Hons.) degree in 1956; a Master’s and a Ph.D degree in Geography in 1958 and 1961 respectively.
Professor Mabogunje (ALM) started his professional career as a lecturer at the University of Ibadan in 1958. He became a senior lecturer in 1964 and a professor of Geography in 1965. Thus, at the tender age of 34 years and within seven years of joining the University staff, he had reached the highest level of his profession. This is a record which has been impossible to equal or break not only in the Department of Geography, in particular, anywhere in Africa, but also in the Social Sciences in general.
Professor Akinlawon Mabogunje had served as a Visiting Professor to about a dozen top-rated Universities all over the world. Among these are the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and London; Universities of Durham, Goteborg and Lund; Northwestern University in the USA; McGill University in Canada and as a Visiting Scholar to the Chinese University of Hongkong.
Professor Mabogunje has ably demonstrated his administrative expertise and competence in many spheres at the University level, national and international levels.
At the University of Ibadan, he was Head of Department of Geography (1972-1975); Dean Faculty of the Social Sciences (1968-1970) and Director, Planning Studies Programme (1972-1981). He was a member of the Senate (1965-1981) and Chairman of many Senate and Council Committees where his contributions to the development of the University of Ibadan were enormous.
At the professional level, Professor Mabogunje was Editor of the Nigerian Geographical Journal (1962-65); Editor, Oxford University Press series on studies on the Development of African Resources; President, Nigeria Geographical Association (1972-1982); Vice-President, Nigerian Ecological Society (1973-79); President, National Council Population Activities (1986-1992); and Executive Chairman, Development Policy Centre, Ibadan (1996-2000).
At the National level, he had served in various capacities both in the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy. He was a member of the Western Nigerian Economic Advisory Council (1967-71); Member, Federal Public Service Review Commission (1972-74); Consultant, National Census Board (1973-74); Chairman, Nigerian Council for Management Development (1976-79); Consultant, Federal Capital Development Authority (1976-84); Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Ogun State University, Ago-Iwoye (1982-91); Member, Board of Directorate of DFRRI (1986-1993); Member, Board of Trustees Nigerian National Merit Award Endowment Fund (1983-1989) later Chairman of the Fund (1989-94) and Executive Chairman of the National Board for Community Banks (1991-94).
His C.V records 25 major books wither through single or multiple authorship and more than 100 journal article and chapters of books. Some of his most notable and enduring publications include such books as Yoruba Towns (1962); Urbanization in Nigeria (1968); Cities and Social Order (19740; Shelter Provision in Developing Countries (1978); the Development Process: A Spatial Perspective 1st and 2nd Edition (1980 and 1989 respectively); Geography and the Dilemma of Rural Development in Africa (1981) and State of the Earth: Contemporary Geographic Perspectives (1997).
As for journal articles or book chapters one cannot but mention a few as System Approach to Rural-Urban Migration (1970); Manufacturing and the Geography of Development in Tropical Africa (1973); Towards an Urban Policy for Nigeria (1975); Growth Poles and Growth Centres in Regional Development of Nigerian (1978); The Dilemma of Rural Development in Africa (1981); A New Paradigm for Urban Development (1992); The Environmental Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa (1995); and Preparing African Cities for the Bond Market (1998).
With respect to Consultancy Services, Professor Mabogunje has also distinguished himself. He has consulted for all levels of government in Nigeria, the Local, State and Federal levels on diverse topics of development. At the international level, his contributions are all notable having consulted for such varied organizations as the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development in Geneva; International Council for Scientific Unions; the International Labour Organization (ILO); the Population Council, New York; the African Studies Association; UNCHS; UNDP and UNESCO, among others.
It is on this doyen in the field of Social Sciences, a worthy ambassador of all that the Social Sciences stand for, a motivator in the academic field and a renowned national and international scholar, that the Social ScienceAcademy of Nigeria finds worthy of being awarded this well-earned Fellowship.
Additional reporting:
Hallmarks Of Labour
