With the demise of Professor Emeritus,Ladipo Ayodeji Banjo, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, at the age of 90, Nigeria and indeed the academic community have lost one of their most eminent and erudite professors of English. He was without any string of doubt a Nigerian educational administrator till the very end.

Prof. Banjo had a long and distinguished career as a teacher and was highly revered and regarded as a man of remarkable brilliance. That he was an outstanding intellectual in many fields and shades is an undisputed fact.Banjo was not only an extraordinary academic and erudite scholar,he was also a patriotic Nigerian very committed to the ideal of a better society through education. He sought for himself the unfettered freedom for stagnating bureaucracy and a clear-headed understanding which rigorous scholarship confers.

Indeed, Prof Banjo was not just an intellectual colossus, but a man whose urbanity and quiet sophistication, a trademark that revealed his impeccable character and gentlemanly traits, he had the right balance between standing up for principles in pursuance of excellence, a combination of intellect and character that made him truly anOmoluwabi.

He was born on May 2, 1934 in modern day Oyo State, but then known as a protectorate of Nigeria. He attended St Andrews Anglican Primary School and the Christ Cathedral Primary School in Lagos. He was further educated at Igbobi College in Lagos for his secondary education between 1947 and 1952. He won the American State Department Scholarship award for a Master of Art (MA) degree in Linguistics at the University of California. His love for the country and the desire to impact knowledge made him to return to Nigeria.

First, on return, he proceeded to the Government College, Ughelli as English teacher where he did not only show such keen interest, frankness and presence of mind towards teaching English, but was enthusiastic to establish identity with the English language. Despite the fact that English was a second language to him, Prof Banjo was not only good atit, but assertive. His scholarship was salient, quick and without pretensions. No doubt, the University of California had a tremendous influence on him. He believed there was somewhere to get to, and he worked hard to achieve this. Such determination later saw him to the University of Ibadan as a lecturer at the Department of English, where he later bagged a Doctorate degree (PhD) in 1969.

No doubt, Prof Banjo’s contributions to Nigerian education were immense, however, he was as much at home in his native language as he was in the classroom, writing, or giving public lecture in English language. It, therefore, was not a surprise that he was part of a group of intellectuals who played pivotal role in shaping the English language curriculum and championed the recognition of Nigerian varieties of English.

He belonged to a generation of charismatic and visionary intellectuals devoted to academic excellence which they pursued rigorously. Hence, his outstanding leadership as chairman of the Nigerian Universities Commission further solidified his unparalleled professionalism. He has several impressive academic works in his name, including Effective Use of English: A developmental language course for colleges and universities (1976), Developmental English (1985), Making a virtue of necessity (1996), In the saddle (1997),andThe wages of obsessive materialism (2008).But by far the most outstanding of his works that generated much comments and applause wasThe deteriorating use of English in Nigeria: 1st English language clinic lecture delivered at the University of Ibadan on Monday April 23, 2012.

Banjo was a man whose academic cap was dotted with colourful achievements that would forever remain evergreen. He was the 12th and longest serving Vice Chancellor of the Premier, University of Ibadan (1984-1991).

He was a visiting professor at the University of West Indies at Cave Hill, Northern Ireland as well as visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge, England between 1993 and 1994. Even at his old age, Banjo continued to serve the university system which produced his moral and intellectual status. He was appointed pro-chancellor, University of Port-Harcourt (2000-2004). Shortly after his sojourn in Port-Harcourt, he was made pro-chancellor at University of Ilorin (2005-2007), and also served as the Pro-Chancellor of Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State. Aside the academia, Prof. Banjo severed for over a decade as Chairman, Advisory Board of Nigerian Prize for Literature, sponsored by the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG).

He also played a formidable role in efforts to set up a Gas Department in Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port-Harcourt. In all these roles, he did not only pursue excellence, he brought professionalism to play in the governance and strategic direction of the various schools.

Banjo was a recipient of the Justice of Peace (JP), Oyo State, Commander of the Order of Niger (CON) 2001, Nigeria National Order of Merit (NNOM) 2009, among others. Indeed, Banjo was one of the few intellectual giants that served as reference points by which we can measure the past with the present intellectuals within the university community. He would be sorely missed for his selfless service to humanity.