Ambali, an angel in ascension
The eerie news of the death of the ninth Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Abdul Ganiyu Ambali, OON, dazed and devastated me when it broke in the early hours of June 6, 2026. I had to wipe my eyes to ensure that they were not blurry as the newsfeed jolted me from sleep. As mere mortals helpless in utter submission to the unalterable will of Allah, it was another moment of the epigrammatic ‘Inna liLlaahiwainaailayhiraaji’un’ (From Allah we come and to Him we shall return).
Being a Vice Chancellor that I was fortunate to work closely with, I aver that the late Prof. Ambali was a paragon of virtues, a complete gentleman and an amiable personality to the core. A canvass of many shades, he was deep, diligent and disciplined;he was simple, strategic and straightforward;he was kind, committed and considerate; andHe was also reflective, pro-active and responsive.
One of his virtues as an administrator was his immense ability to listen, a feature and principle of servant leadership. A fine team player, he would listen to divergent voices while betraying no emotion. When he took his decision, it wasn’t that he didn’t listen to you but it was your argument or opinion that might have been weak in the final analysis. His simplicity was ingenious, his humility was magisterial and his dependability was impressive.
It is to his credit that his administrative philosophy of sustainable development paid off shortly after he assumed office and the University of Ilorin became the toast of candidates, the first choice of admission applicants in West Africa, a feat that was sustained till the current administration – more than a decade afterwards. That was remarkable as he was also the President of the Association of West Africa Universities (AWAU). The university witnessed massive infrastructural development under his leadership and there was a notable expansion of academic programmes.
I served under Prof. Ambali as ag Director of the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies (CPSS) and I did my bit to his utmost satisfaction.He made me the longest serving Director of the Centre till date as he insisted we would leave office together after pestering him for some time that my tenure was over.
He was fascinated thatapart from reviving the dormant MOU with the State Security Services on training, we signed a landmark MOU with the Nigerian Army which facilitated the training of senior military officers at the Centre. The University hosted the secretariat of the African Peace Research and Education Association (AFPREA) and two of us from the Centre were elected to the Governing Council of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA). We additionally won a multi-million dollar research project from the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)that took us to some African countries and resulted in an award-winning book. These, among others, which included starting the commemoration of the International Peace Day, projected the university worldwide as the epicentre of peace research and peaceful academic development.
Studying him at work, as I had acknowledged in aPunch interview some years ago, contributed to my training as a Vice Chancellor because as a keen observer, I admired his amiable mien and administrative philosophy of sustainability. I am also a graduate of his School of Leadership and Simplicity as he mentored me in many ways the extent of which he might not have realised.
As cream always rises to the top and a golden bell needs no herald, Prof. Ambali’sexcellence would soon be a national sensation. So, it was not surprising that while he was in office, the Federal Government of Nigeria honoured him with the coveted national award of the Officer ofthe Order of Niger (OON). Not long after his rousingly applauded tenure at the University of Ilorin, the Kwara State Government appointed him the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malate.Under his watch, the University continued to ascend higher heights and make more impacts on humanity.
Born on November 29, 1957 in Ilorin, Abdul Ganiyu Ambali had his primary education at Pakata Primary School, Ilorin. He was further educated at McBride Secondary School, Jalingo, before proceeding to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1981. His quest for further training and advanced scholarship took him to the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom where he earned his Master and Ph.D. in 1984 and 1989 respectively. A Welcome Trust Research Fellow, his academic career began in 1982 when he joined the services of the University of Maiduguri, where he served in different capacities before and after attaining his professorship in 1995. He served as the pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Ilorin and was the university’s visionary Vice Chancellor between October 2012 and October 2017.
My last physical meeting with the angelicAmbali, who has now ascended to his Creator, was at the University of Ilorin when we sat together at a luncheon at the Dam Site after the inaugural Is-haqOloyede Faculty of Arts Lecture last October. He just had to honour the host with his presence though he was voluntarily fasting. Such was his devotion!
I commiserate with his wife and distinguished scholar, Prof. (Mrs) Taiwo Ambali, his entire family and friends, the Vice Chancellor and the University of Ilorin, the Emir and the entire Ilorin Emirate on the transition of this academic leader and illustrious personality, Prof. Abdul Ganiyu Ambali, OON. I felt privileged to be in the holy city of Mecca when the news broke and I solemnly circumambulated the Ka’abain supplication for his repose in AljannahFirdaos, an honour he richly deserved.
May humanity be blessed with more of his kind.
Prof. Adedimeji is a distinguished ambassador of the University of Ilorin and Vice Chancellor of the African School of Economics (The Pan-African University of Excellence), Abuja
