Praises as Obasanjo, Fayemi, Osuntokun and others celebrate Toyin Falola at 70

It was the perfect time to celebrate excellence and relive old memories on Sunday when scholars, associates, friends and accomplished professionals converged in honor of the famous historian, Toyin Falola.

The occasion was an evening of tributes attended by academics, politicians, university administrators, technocrats, editors, associates, friends, family and mentees of Mr. Falola who recorded 70 points on Sunday.

The virtual event, broadcast on various social media platforms including Zoom and YouTube, featured tributes from prominent Nigerians including former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, Dosumu Awolowo, Richard Joseph, Kayode Fayemi, Bisi Fayemi, Michael Vickers, among others.< /p>

Born in Ibadan in 1953, Mr. Falola is an internationally renowned historian and professor of African studies. He received his BA and PhD (1981) in History from the University of Ife, Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in Nigeria. He is a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has taught since 1991.

Among young researchers, Dr. Falola is widely regarded as an outstanding mentor committed to nurturing young researchers by facilitating their professional viability and growth.

He has received several awards for his commitment to teaching African Studies, including the 2010 Outstanding Higher Education Award, the Jean Holloway Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Texas Exes Teaching Award.

"Septuagenarian Induction"

Speaking at the event, Mr. Obasanjo, who was a special guest of honor, inducted Mr. Falola into the "septuagenarian circle".

The former president, known for his exploits as a writer, explained that he struggled to choose the best way to deliver his speech before settling for writing letters.

"As someone who preceded you in the timeline, allow me to welcome you to the septuagenarian circle," Mr. Obasanjo said.

"I sincerely thank God for granting you the grace and favor to come this far. Coming to this biblical age is not an easy journey. Our existential challenges as humans, and more particularly as than Nigerians, are many, and even more so for someone like you who bears many responsibilities as a scholar, guardian of culture, elder in his own right, statesman and a public intellectual.

"I must say that I deeply appreciate your relentless interventions in Nigeria's collapse as a nation. Nigeria needs her intellectuals, professionals and patriots; those who can quarrel with her to bring about the progress that seems to have eluded us for so long. And you've managed to place yourself in that best tradition of patriotic questioning."

Mr. Obasanjo, who described 70 as the age of judgment, explained that Nigeria meant a lot to him, on a level that most people still don't understand. He added that it is clear to him from Mr. Falola's series of interventions that the nation also means a lot to the famous historian.

He said, "I know it takes courage to step into the churning waters of national discourse in this great country of ours. It also takes a lot of wisdom to be able to fully understand and unravel skillfully the thorny issues we have been wrestling with for many years.

"Thank you for making the decision not to remain silent and bask in the glory of your well-deserved accomplishments as a world scholar and celebrated intellectual. You stand in cold or hot water ."

Mr. Obasanjo noted that Mr. Falola has reached the stage where, in cultural and spiritual terms, the white head becomes an example of values. “We are both at a point where our socio-cultural values ​​frameworks are becoming almost a relic in the context of the reassessment of values ​​that this generation is championing,” he said.