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Prof. TOYIN FALOLA On Life At 71
It was an interesting evening on Monday 18th December, 2023, when City People got a call from the Great historian, Prof. Toyin Falola asking if we could join him at 5pm for dinner with another great Nigerian, Farooq Kperogi Phd, Professor of Communication, at the School of Communication & Media, Kennesaw State University.
The appointment was scheduled for Prof. Toyin Falola’s lovely house in Lagos. He has been in the country for various academic engagements since October and that evening, he was in Lagos. Kperogi too was going to be in town also that evening, flying in from Abuja and Prof. thought it won’t be a bad idea for all of us to converge at his Lagos home for dinner.
Of course, we quickly seized that rare opportunity to be with this world renowned academic who is well respected. We had an unfinished business. Since 7th October 2023 we had been on his trail, wanting to interview him. It was difficult for us to track him down because he had a tight schedule, back-to-back. He was moving from Abuja to Lagos, Ilorin, Ibadan, Ilishan, Benue, delivering lectures and receiving awards in different places. So, we agreed to send him the list of Questions. But on second thought, we realised that meeting him in flesh would be better. And we told him. He didn’t mind. He promised to fix us into his schedule. Hence came the fulfilment of that promise that Monday evening. As we drove into his compound, Prof. was waiting at the door to receive the City People crew. All of us were in awe of this great Nigerian, Toyin Falana who is a Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin where he holds numerous prestigious positions, including the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town and an Extraordinary Professor of Human Rights at the University of the Free State. Falola’s significant roles include serving as the General Secretary of the Historical Society of Nigeria, President of the African Studies Association, and Vice President of the UNESCO Slave Route Project. He has held the Kluge Chair of the Countries of the South at the Library of Congress and is a member fo the Scholars Council at the Kluge Center. With over thirty lifetime career awards and sixteen honorary doctorates, Falola is a prolific author and editor, having contributed to over 150 books on Africa and the African Diaspora. He is recognised globally, having spoken in more than sixty countries, and is celebrated as a preeminent historian and influential intellectual.
That was the great man we encountered that evening. He had also invited some other great men to join him for dinner with Kperogi, but his flight from Abuja was delayed by a few hours. That was a blessing in disguise as we took that waiting time to do an interview with this great man who has not changed one bit from the committed intellectual he has always been. He was dressed in an ankara Buba & Sokoto looking very rustic. He has always been a rural Ibadan man.
But today he has become a celebrated scholar who has trained many other scholars. Last year was a great year for him as he got invited by so many Universities who wanted to draw from his well of wisdom. Last October, he was busy all through. It continued throughout November into December 2023 as he travelled round Nigeria.
Lets give you a peep into his schedule last October.
October 7, 2023-Visitation University of Abuja, Nigeria
October 10-14-2023: Keynote Address: International Conference on Ile-Ife and Yoruba Civilisation-Topic: “The Royal Dynasty of Ile-Ife Ancient Rule and Contemporary Influence”
October 16, 2023-Lecture Lagos State University (LASU) Annual Faculty of Arts Lecture Series-Topic: Values and Reformative Leadership”
October 17, 2023-Keynote Address: The Postgraduate School, Lead City University-Topic: “Innovation Research and Quality Education for Sustainable Development in Nigeria”
October 18, 2023-(Attending) The First Year Memorial Lecture of Professor Akin Mabogunje
October 20,2023: Convocation Lecture: University of Ilorin-Topic: “Modernity, Modernisation, and Values”
October 22, 2023-PhD Thesis Examination-Venue: Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State.
October 23, 2023-Visitation to His Imperial Majesty, Oba Dr. Victor Adesimbo Kiladejo CFR, The Osemawe and Praramount Ruler of Ondo Kingdom, Ondo.
October 24, 2023-Lecture: First Dstinguished Lecture, Maranatha University, Lagos-Topic: “Technologies and African Cultures”
October 26, 2023-Lecture: Benue State University at 30-Topic: “Transformational Values”
October 27-28, 2023-Convocation Lecture: 5th Combined Convocation Ceremony, University of Mkar, Benue State- Topic “Religion and Values”
October 30, 3023-Convocation Lecture: 5th Convocation Ceremony of Chrisland University, Ogun State-Topic “Sceince and Values”.
So, the last 3 months have been extremely busy for him. He is also a prolofic writer and author of many books. How does he cope? How does he juggle all these roles? “People have asked me that question many times about how I cope. I dont know. I just take each day as it comes. I am committed to my craft. Let me tell you that, one, at the age of 17, I chose not to look for power, deliberately, as a process of self-discovery and 2nd, I chose not to look for wealth. That is also deliberate.
The reason for that are connected to the history of my dad who sought both, and died before he was 16. So, I said, I wasn’t going to go through that route and I decided that I would only do 2 jobs-either to go and teach or to work for the Anglican Church Communion. And then became a school teacher. The bottom line is, if you choose this path, for many people, it won’t lead to the kind of glory, they have been blessed with.
Outside the search for power, outside the search for money is one of the first big fulfilments that I have. Secondly, Providence has used meto present an alternative face, that here is a person who is just committed to teaching and doing researches and who is very prominent.
Some of the things I said I wanted to avoid at 17 like Power & Money, I got some of them, interms of intellectual power, different from political power, but it is considerable power. For instance, I have on my telephone contacts, the direct phones for over 20 Presidents. But that is my intellectual power, not because of money or some other kind of things that I don’t want to mention.”
In the last few months, he has been travelling round the world, Nigeria inclusive, receiving awards and delivering lectures, how does he juggle all this engagements.
“I thank God for this. Let me first shock you. I had Stroke in February of last year. Yes. It was a very bad one. I was in the hospital. Preceeding that Stroke, when I turned 70, I wrote a Philosophical essay, which was very widely circulated, saying Transition to Nothingness, because at 70 I don’t want to look for anything again.
So, the Stroke came, and on May 29, the Canadian-African Studies Association, invited me to give their Keynote address, and gave me a Distinguished Lifetime Award. By this last December, when I went to Summit University to give their convocation lecture, it was my No 21 Lecture that I gave. So in October I gave a Convocation Lecture at Mkar, I gave a Convocation lecture at Chrisland University, Benue State University, then I went to Abuja University. So, these are all very significant.
But in terms of what you call award, my Lifetime career award is now over 40. As of last December when I got an Honorary doctorate, I had rejected 7 honorary doctorates, I am getting another honorary doctorate award. In January which I won’t tell you about now.”
When he suffered Stroke, last year what went through his mind? How did he feel? “Point of correction. First of all, you don’t have a mind because you are dying. So, it is when you begin the recovery process, that you begin the recovery process, that you begin to have a mind. When you have a Stroke, it is what people tell you after that you will know. But when I began to recover, I changed my entire plan, in terms of what I have been planning to do. So, but I have finished my 3rd instalment of my memoirs. But for that Stroke I would not have thought about it have finished it because you will be thinking okay, you still have time, let that one wait till age 75. But that one has been done.
–Seye Kehinde
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