Egbewole salutes Emir of Ilorin on 86th birthday
By Abubakar Imam
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, has congratulated the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman of the Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR, on the occasion of his 86th birthday, which came up last Wednesday (April 22, 2026).
Prof. Egbewole, in a statement issued by the University’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, described the Emir as a unifying leader and a remarkable statesman whose reign has brought innumerable positive developments to the Emirate and Kwara State at large.
The Vice Chancellor, who is also the Secretary-General of the Association of West Africa Universities (AWAU), said that the Emir has made several significant marks in regional and national development and particularly in the realm of jurisprudence as a legal luminary and a former Justice of the Court of Appeal before his historic emergence as the 11th Emir of Ilorin in August, 1995.
Prof. Egbewole was particularly grateful to the Emir for being a father to all, saying that the Monarch’s dispositions to non-indigenes living or doing businesses in his domain has been very fascinating and devoid of any form of discrimination whatsoever.
The Vice Chancellor, who is also the Vice President (West Africa), Association of African Universities (AAU), added that these fantastic dispositions, more than any other factor, has contributed significantly to making Ilorin one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
Prof. Egbewole specifically thanked Alhaji Sulu-Gambari, who is also the Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, and Muhammad Kamalud-Deen University, Ilorin, for the consistent fatherly roles he has been extending to the University before and since his ascension to the stool of his illustrious forebears.
The Vice Chancellor, who is equally the Chairman of the Consortium of Kwara Universities (KU8+), said that the prevailing peace being enjoyed by the University and its sister institutions within the Emirate cannot be divorced from the peace-building efforts of the Emir and his people, pointing out that the University is peaceful because its host community epitomises harmony.
Prof. Egbewole reiterated the fact that the Centre for Ilorin Studies (CILS) at the University was specifically established to promote and preserve the intellectual, spiritual, cultural and material heritage of the people of the Ilorin Emirate and their neighbours and to cement the existing cordial relationship between the University and its host community.
The renowned Professor of Jurisprudence and International Law assured the Emir that the University would continue to support other developmental aspirations of its host community as he called on the leaders and people of the community to reciprocate the gesture by also supporting the University to continuously achieve its visions and missions.
The Vice Chancellor wished the foremost traditional ruler a very fruitful birthday and more years of rewarding services to Allah and humanity.
