By Ajayi, Temitope Micheal, PhD
It is no gain-saying the fact that the name Is-haq Olanrewaju OLOYEDE remains iconic in the national trajectory of Nigeria, especially in the country’s educational sector. The man, apart from earning so many academic laurels, including a First-Class honours degree to his credit, he has creditably and transformatively served as Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, and Registrar, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. Incidentally, it was in the course of his stint in the latter capacity that I had the privilege of working directly with him.
Prior to my resumption at the JAMB National Headquarters, Abuja on an accumulated leave, I had heard several stories about this academic and administrative enigma, especially projecting him as a religious fanatic and a fundamentalist. Hence, at the time of submitting my application for consideration in the Board, I had concluded in my mind that since my name reads ‘Michael’, I might not stand a chance of being considered. Alas, I was wrong! My letter came. No need to pressure him; no need to lobby. Here, the preconceived notion number got one knocked off!
Upon settling down for the job, I immediately could sense why many people and perhaps within the JAMB system might not like him: Prof is just too strict with assignments, deadlines and tasks. He would naturally give you a task that should take you like three weeks a week to deliver. And being on that task does not exempt you from additional tasks if the situation demands. So, if you are lazy or naturally laid-back, you might continually have issues with him. His work ethics is very profound. At his age (over 71), send any document to Prof as a response to any assignment given to you, you can be sure in two or three days, your report is sent back to you with red marks here and there. My colleague (from UNILORIN) and I were thus very meticulous whenever we were given specific tasks to carry out, knowing that we would not be spared if we performed below expectation. And indeed, we were highly commended for that!
Administratively, Prof Oloyede does not discriminate with respect to the people to work with, especially in piloting the affairs of JAMB. In fact, he would insist on national spread whenever he was setting up a committee or committees for administrative engagements and responsibilities. And it does not matter whether you are a Muslim or a Christian (or perhaps a Traditionalist). This, I could unequivocally attest to, as I had to serve on different committees, and was handsomely rewarded too. Once Prof is convinced about something, he gives the whole of his strength and energy to it. Perhaps this is why many feel he is ‘too self-opinionated’. For you to convince Prof to change his position on anything, you must present a very sound counter-argument, backed with data presented with convincing eloquence. If not, what you hear is ‘look look look, my friend, it is not so…’. He does not have patience for incompetence, shenanigans and ineptitude.
As a mark of his uncommon strength and passion to ensure JAMB remains the most credible examinations body in Nigeria, Prof would, during UTME, be pacing up and down the Situation Room, asking questions, calling for updates, and would wonder if there are no problems, given the quietness of the Room, even when many of us would feel everything is set for the successful conduct of the examination. Prof would tell you, a single case of glitch would mar the entire process, hence we cannot afford to take chances.
On personal relationship, even when I could pass for his grandson, Professor Oloyede would never address me using the non-honorifc Yoruba pronoun ‘O’; he constantly addressed me using the honorific pronoun ‘E’. And that immediately tells me this man is courteous, sensitive and culturally sound, having the understanding of how being culturally polite by an elderly person can boost the morale of a younger person, particularly in a corporate establishment like JAMB.
It was from Prof I learnt that the politics of the Civil Service context is different from that of academia. He taught me how to believe in your dreams and follow it with passion even when/if everyone around you seems passive or not-to-supportive. This particularly speaks to the unbelievable transformation he has brought to the process of application and conduct of the JAMB UTME. With his pragmatic recruitment of a strong ICT Team, he has greatly technologised the process of sales of forms, checking of results, and raising of complaints, among others, hence there are not going to be many cases of ‘snakes swallowing money’ in the trajectory of the operations of JAMB. Through the CAPS (Central Admissions Processing System) ensured by his able leadership, cases of admission fraud, back-door admissions, manipulation of result, result forgery and admission letter have greatly reduced. This tells me that, with the power of technology; backed by the right mindset and unalloyed sense of dedication, we can fight corruption to a stand-still in Nigeria.
With all of this, did (do) I agree with all Prof. Oloyede’s positions regarding every issue? The answer is NO! But, all my reservations pale into insignificance when I weigh them side-by-side the virtues inherent in the Oloyede that I know!
Congratulations as you bow out of JAMB. Working with you has been one of the greatest career achievements of my life so far.
Ajayi, Temitope Michael, PhD
Senior Lecturer (and Visiting Scholar with JAMB),
Department of Linguistics and African Languages,
University of Ibadan, Ibadan
