Former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, and a university don, Prof. Kamaldeen Balogun, have charged the newly elevated Professor Habibat Oladosu-Uthman to regard her professorship as a responsibility to humanity rather than a privilege or status symbol.

Habibat Oladosu-Uthman was recently elevated to the rank of Professor at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan.

Oloyede and Balogun gave the charge during a reception and thanksgiving of Prof. Habībat Oladosu-Uthmān on her professional milestone at the University of Ibadan Central Mosque, Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria.

The celebrations brought together members of the academic community, Muslim scholars, family members, friends and associates to mark the academic milestone and honour her contributions to scholarship.

They urged the new professor to deploy her scholarship, knowledge and experience to advance humanity, mentor younger scholars and contribute meaningfully to society.

Oloyede, who chaired the ceremony celebrating her elevation, described professorship as the formal recognition of years of intellectual labour, disciplined scholarship, teaching, mentorship and service, stressing that the rank also comes with greater responsibility.

He said: “An occasion such as this is much more than a celebration of a new title. It is the formal recognition of sustained intellectual labour, disciplined scholarship, teaching, mentorship, service and contribution to knowledge. It is, at the same time, the beginning of a heavier responsibility.”

The former JAMB boss lauded Oladosu-Uthman’s academic journey and scholarly contributions, noting her specialisation in Islamic thought and civilisation, gender, comparative religion, Christian-Muslim relations, cultural criticism, Islam in West Africa and interreligious and intercultural dialogue.

He urged her to continue to mentor younger academics, stressing that the true measure of a professor should include the ability to produce other scholars.

According to him, “A Professor must produce other scholars. A Professor who publishes extensively but produces no intellectual successors has achieved only part of the assignment.”

Oloyede also commended the achievement of Oladosu-Uthman as a Muslim woman attaining the highest academic rank, noting that Islamic history provides ample evidence of women making significant contributions to scholarship.

He said the question should not be whether women are capable of attaining the highest level of scholarship, adding that history had already provided the answer.

The former JAMB registrar also urged the new professor to use her scholarship to promote interreligious and intercultural understanding, stressing that religious scholarship should contribute to truth, justice, compassion and human dignity.

On his part, Prof. Balogun, who delivered the thanksgiving lecture at the reception, cautioned her against allowing her new status to create a distance between her and others.

He urged her to remain humble, receptive to corrections and conscious of the limitations of human knowledge.

Balogun said: “Remember always that the Professor does not know everything. A student may ask a question that the Professor cannot answer.”

He added: “Remember also that humility is the glory of mortals. Humility affects how we respond to corrections, supervise our students, relate with our colleagues and lead our research teams.”

Balogun also reminded Oladosu-Uthman that academic titles and appointments were not permanent, urging her to focus on the impact she would make through her new position.

He said: “No condition is permanent. Appointments end. Titles change. People will always remember how you treated them and what they were able to achieve through you now that you are a Professor.”

The don also urged her to see humanity as her constituency, regardless of her academic achievements.

He said: “No matter how high you rise in academia, remain human. Consider the entire humanity as your constituency.”

Balogun described knowledge as an amanah, or trust, saying scholars had a responsibility to ensure that knowledge was deployed for the good of society.

He also paid tribute to pioneers of Arabic and Islamic scholarship, including Musa Oladipupo Ajilogba Abdul and Ismail Ayinla Babatunde Balogun, as well as other scholars whose contributions helped shape the development of Islamic studies in Nigerian universities.