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On Wednesday, November 4, 2026, Professor Adebowale Omole was at Rutam House, Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Lagos, to chair the Editorial Board meeting of The Guardian, which marked his 5,605th day as chairman of the board or the 801st time he had chaired the board before he departed to the world beyond on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
Before he was announced as the Chairman of the Editorial Board in 2011, after Dr. Reuben Abati left to serve in Goodluck Jonathan’s government, Prof Omole had served as Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) between 1991 and 1999, a period the institution said formed a significant chapter in its pursuit of academic excellence, institutional development, and the preservation of its reputation as one of Nigeria’s foremost centres of higher learning.
When The Guardian visited his home in GRA, Lagos, yesterday, his driver, Abdulmalik Atanda, described him as a family and people’s lover with a good heart, and a personality whose home was a regular place for all.
He said he would miss his selflessness and his preaching of contentment.
“I always told him that I wished I were his child. His no was a no, and his yes, a yes. He helped so many people, and if he didn’t have anything at the moment, he would promise the person, and surely, he fulfilled it,” he said.
While people keep paying tribute to the prince from the Biladu Ruling House of Ijesaland, Osun State, one word remains constant: “he was a builder,” meaning that Prof. Omole never left an institution or person without impartation.
In the condolence register opened in his house, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye wrote: “We have lost a scholar, intellectual, amiable gentleman, and friend. May his soul rest in peace.”
Veteran journalist Dare Babarinsa, who titled his tribute A Giant Flies Away, said Professor Wale Omole was a good man and that his passage on Wednesday, November 11, fills one with nostalgia.
“He was a substantial part of the story of Great Ife, where he ran the shop for almost eight years as the first alumnus to become the Vice-Chancellor. He changed the Obafemi Awolowo University, and the institution changed him too. At 38, he became a Professor, and he became VC ten years later. His unceremonious exit, following student protests, affected him. Yet, he remained a social force in Yorubaland and Nigeria, playing key roles in Ijesaland, where he was born in 1942, and at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja, where we worshipped together.
“A few years ago, his wife died, and this weighed heavily on him. Cerebral and relentless, he found purpose as the chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian. He was a giant among men. We will miss him. May his valiant soul rest in peace.”
The Òràngún of Òkè-Ìlá, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, said, “A Builder Has Gone Home.”
“The last time I saw Prof. Wale Omole was at Ilesa. I had gone on a courtesy visit to the newly enthroned Owa of Ijesaland, His Imperial Majesty, Owa Clement Adesuyi Haastrup, Ajimoko III, Owa Obokun Adimula and Paramount Ruler of Ijesaland, and there we met.
“We relived, briefly, the years in Ife, not the years when he was Vice-Chancellor. No. We spoke of the mid-70s to the mid-80s when my generation looked up to them as builders of our great university, the University of Ife.
“Those were the years of foundation, the years when men gave their youth, their intellect, and their strength, not for reward, but for a vision bigger than themselves.”
He added: “Prof. Omole was very fond of Great Ife, as an alumnus should be. He loved it deeply, not with words alone, but with work. He built it selflessly, with other greats, brick by brick, idea by idea, sacrifice by sacrifice. He believed in Ife. He believed that a university could shape a nation, and he gave himself to that belief.
“His demise at 84 is another attestation to a simple, sobering truth: life itself is extremely short.
“84 years may sound long, but to those who knew him, it feels like a brief visit a short season to plant, to build, to love, and to leave. And that is why we must crave legacy, not luxury. We must build, not just live.
“What endures is not what we gather, but what we build for others; not the titles we hold, but the institutions we strengthen; not the wealth we keep, but the lives we lift.
“Prof. Omole built. He built a university. He built men and women. He built a legacy that will outlive us all. When the history of Great Ife is told, his name will be there, not as a footnote, but as one of the builders.
“May his soul rest in perfect peace. May his family be comforted. And may Great Ife never forget her own. Adieu, Prof. Wale Omole. A builder. An alumnus. A legend.”
Also, the 12th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Idowu Olayinka, said: “He was one of us. He was of the finest stuff our school has ever produced since its establishment in February 1934.
“I had not heard from him for a very long time, which I considered unsatisfactory. The only WhatsApp number I had for him wasn’t going through. As a last resort, I had to contact his nephew, Dare, son of the late Broda Segun, Professor Segun Omole (1950 to 2008) of the Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Ibadan. .
“I finally got Professor Wale Omole on the phone on Thursday last week, November 5, 2026. We spoke for about four minutes. I told him I had asked after him from the Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Ibru, when we met recently. Immediately after our call, he called me back saying he would come to look for me very soon. We spoke for another four minutes. To now imagine he passed on to eternity barely six days after what has now turned out to be our last conversation hurts very deeply.
“You sent your wife, now of blessed memory (Mama Ronke), to represent the Omole Dynasty at my Inaugural Lecture in February 2010. You personally attended my Inauguration Ceremony as the 12th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan at the Chapel of the Resurrection in December 2015. This is just to underscore the fact that you took me as your favourite kid brother. Needless to add, it was a duty for me to honour many of your invitations at our ancestral home in Ilesa, in Ibadan, and at Ikeja, where you lived after retirement from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
“You were one of the earliest old students of Ilesa Grammar School to become a Vice-Chancellor, after the legendary Professor Hezekiah Adedunmola Oluwasanmi, who was promoted to Professor in 1958, elected the first Nigerian Dean of Agriculture at the University of Ibadan, and served with distinction as the second Vice-Chancellor at Ile-Ife from 1966 to 1975. It was he who moved the new university from its temporary site in Ibadan to the permanent site at Ile-Ife. After you, came Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe at the University of Lagos, Professor Rotimi Tayo at Caleb University, Imota, Professor Adebisi Balogun at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Professor Isaac Adewole and Idowu Olayinka at the University of Ibadan, Professor Olasebikan Fakolujo at Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, Professor Oladiran Famurewa at King’s University, Ode Omu, and some others, including those in the diaspora.
“Condolences to the entire family you left behind to mourn you. Your services to ILEGRAMS are indelible, and all Omoluwabis owe you a debt of gratitude. I pray for the repose of your gentle soul. Good night, great scholar, community leader, mentor. Adieu, Sir.”
Speaking on his demise, former Managing Director of The Guardian, Martins Oloja, said: “Professor Omole was significant to the building and rebuilding of the paper. He was not just the Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian; he was also a director of significance in the company. As a former Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University and not just a former Vice-Chancellor, he was a significant, impactful, and consequential Vice-Chancellor, he contributed immensely.
“I attended some board meetings with him, and he was also a leader on the board who shaped board decisions a great deal. The Alex Ibru family respected him for that and for his contributions.
“Prof. Omole was part of the board meeting that confirmed me as Editor of The Guardian after only 21 days in office as Acting Editor in 2012. He was also there when I was confirmed as Editor-in-Chief, and he was also there when I became the Managing Director. He was part of my growth process at The Guardian. He was one of the critical factors in the rebuilding of The Guardian. He was a passionate and knowledgeable person.”
Speaking also, a neighbour of the late professor, Opeyemi Akindele, said: “Baba was our landlord. My office is the building next to his house. He was a nice, cool, and calm man. He was always ready to resolve issues and defend people against unjust treatment.
“Prof. was a builder who was always bringing people closer to him. I’ve known him for close to four years, and he never once gave us any issues. He was happy to be part of our activities in the office.”
In her tribute, Chief Funmilayo Oyinlola Okuku wrote: “Wale, you came, you saw, and you conquered. Rest in perfect peace. Amen.”
Francis Abayomi of The Guardian Editorial Board wrote: “Rest in peace, dear Prof. You were a great teacher and builder of the nation. You did your best for humanity.”
In a letter of condolence signed by its chairman, Chief Dr. Oluyomi Finnih, the Residents Association, Sanni Sonoiki Estate, stated: “We wish to express our sincere condolences on the transition of our beloved pioneer member, father, brother, and elder statesman, Professor Adebowale Omole. His shocking demise at this time is a significant loss to the family, the community, the Body of Christ, educational
institutions, and the entire nation.
“The news of his passing is shocking and still very difficult to comprehend. He was an excellent lecturer of unwavering integrity and a dependable Christian.
“While we deeply commiserate with the entire family during this trying period, we pray that the Almighty, who understands every situation, grants the family the fortitude to bear his departure.”
