Unilag VC to preside at the launch of a collection of learned essays to honour Prof Emeritus, Esther Olufunmilayo Adegbite
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Professor Olufunmilayo Esther Adegbite (Mrs) to be honoured with Book of Readings, Festschrift
** To Preside over the book launch slated for Friday, 4th April 2025, is Professor Folashade Tolulope Ogunsola, the Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos
** Chief Launcher: Dr. Kola Adesina, Managing Director, Sahara Group & Chairman Ikeja Electric.
** Chief Host: Professor Adebola. A. Sulaimon, Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences.
** Chairman Organizing Committee: Dr Olalekan. E. Obademi
** The Venue of the book unveiling is Tayo Aderinokun Hall, University of Lagos.
** DATE: Friday, 4th April 2025,
** Take-off time is 10 AM.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, DVC, (Development Services), University of Lagos, Professor Ayo Atsenuwa, once described Professor Olufunmilayo Esther Adegbite as “an institution within the University”.
According to a report in the official news bulletin of Unilag, the DVC was quoted as congratulating “the retired member of the Senate for her illustrious service to the University, and contributions to the body of knowledge”.
Also, the scholarly articles will add to the body of knowledge in the realm of public finance, financial management, radical thoughts on how to make banks in the developing economy environment such as Nigeria, contribute to poverty alleviation, and in the real terms be impactful in growing the legions of small, medium and micro enterprises thus contributing largely to creating wealth for these criticial arm of the economy.
Professor Folashade Tolulope Ogunsola, the First Female Vice Chancellor, University of LagosHence, the Department of Finance, in the faculty of management sciences, University of Lagos, Akoka, has concluded plans to make a public presentation of scholarly essays in a book form to honour the emeritus professor, Olufunmilayo Esther Adegbite, nee Kola Akinlade.
Professor Adegbite whose late father, Elijah Kolade Akinlade, a distinguished detective writer and a renowned author of numerous Yoruba literature in poetry, drama, and prose, left behind over eighty (80) published books, will herself also be honoured by her colleagues and lieutenants, with a BOOK OF READINGS, a Festschrift.
According to Wikipedia, “In academia, a Festschrift is a book honoring a respected person,, especially an academic, and presented during his, or her lifetime. A Festschrift contains original contributions by the honored academic’s close colleagues, often including their former doctoral students”.
Ostensibly, the launch of the Book of Readings, known better still as a Festschrift, will be a rare tribute of a lifetime for a lifetime career in academia.
As the dictum says, what goes around comes around. And the other, which says whatever you sow is what you will reap, cannot be truer as witnessed in the good fruit from numerous good seeds sown by Prof Adegbite for the 40 years she served in the faculty of Management Sciences and in particular, the Finance department.
The leadership of her former department, Finance, decided they will not allow the distinguished economist and professor of banking and finance, Esther Olufunmilayo Adegbite, who cut her teeth in sound research and development of plausible theoretical frameworks in building solid financial institutions from scholars like Professor Green Nwakwo, succeeded in distilling those body of knowledge for the benefit of her students and fellow lecturers and researchers.
The book of readings in her honour will tomorrow, Friday, 4th April 2025, be unveiled to the general public. No doubt, one of a very rare reward bestowed on academicians found deserving in their lifetime.
The academic literature is titled Book of Readings on Contemporary Issues in International Finance, Economics and other Management Sciences in Emerging Economies
Abridged Profile of Prof Olufunmilayo Esther Adegbite
The erudite Professor of banking and finance, Oluwafunmilayo Esther Adegbite, nee Kola Akinlade, was born in Ilaro, in the then Egbado Divisional Council, now Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State, on the 16th of August 1954.
She was the second child and still is, of late Pa Elijah Kolade Alamu Akinlade, a distinguished author with over eighty published books and an accomplished Yoruba detective novelist. Young Oluwafunmilayo’s mother was late Mrs Agbeke Elizabeth Kola Akinlade. A woman of immeasurable virtues and a stickler for all that is fair, just, and humane.
The young scholar gained admission to the prestigious Queens School Ede, now Osun state in 1966, for her secondary education. She had grade 1 (one) in her West African Schools Certificate Examination, WASC, Ordinary Level, O/L, which she completed in 1970. She immediately proceeded for her Higher School Certificate, HSC, in the same school, which had then relocated to Moore Plantation, Apata Ganga, Ibadan.
She successfully completed the HSC course. She scored the highest grade/the best result in the entire Western State of Nigeria.
Hence, she bagged an automatic scholarship which neither her parents nor the student applied for. But the sane system then in existence automatically awarded her the scholarship exclusively on merit.
The scholarship saw her through the first degree program she started in 1973 at the University of Ibadan.
Professor Adegbite graduated with a Second Class Upper degree, 2.1 in 1976. Immediately after the one-year national youth service, NYSC, in Kano, she enrolled for her Master’s Degree, also in Economics, at the University of Ibadan in 1978. She completed the program in 1979. She again won the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) award, which led to the commencement of her PhD program in 1991, which she completed in 1994.
Mummy Adegbite as she is fondly called by students and admirers, started her teaching and research career as an Assistant Lecturer in the University of Lagos in 1982, and rose through the ranks to become a Professor in 2010.
She had served the University in various capacities, including as Chairperson of UNILAG Ventures and UNILAG Anti-Sexual Harassment Committee, among others.
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