The remains of the former Director of Physical Planning, University of Ilorin,  late Engr. Ademola Adesiyun, were committed to mother earth in Offa last Saturday (August 19, 2022).

       The late Engr. Adesiyun died in Lagos on July 20, 2022 at the age of 69 years.

        In his tribute to the deceased, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin,

Prof. .Sulyman Age Abdulkareem,  described the late Engr Adesiyun as a professional Engineer that embodied hard work, service excellence and integrity, attributes that marked him out throughout his long tenure as the University’s Director of Physical Planning.

       Also, at a special tribute session held via zoom and organised by Tunde And Friends Foundation, a non-governmental organisation chaired by Engr. Adesiyun until his death, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin and Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, was full of praise for the late Engr Ademola Adesiyun at the global night of tributes organised in memory of the former Director of the Physical Planning Unit, University of Ilorin.

       Describing the deceased as a man who was contented to a fault, Prof. Oloyede said that he had confidence in Engr. Adesiyun, while he was the Vice-Chancellor. He added that he was an honest and competent man of honour.

       “I regret that I didn’t get to tell him while he was alive the respect I have for him and how highly I regarded his person and work. He was indeed a true Christian, ” the JAMB Registrar said.

       He said that the University, the country, the Christian community and the entire world have lost a gem of incalculable value.

       In his tribute, Prof. Ademola Popoola, who is also a member of the Board of the Tunde And Friends Foundation, submitted that Engr Adesiyun gave exceptional leadership, seasoned with forthrightness, insightfulness, compassion, love, generosity, and faith.

        Prof. Popoola also said that the late Adesiyun related excellently well with those who were younger and those who were older than him.

       The don said, “He served the Chapel of the Light at the University of Ilorin with his professional and spiritual callings, all for free. During the extension works at the Main Campus Chapel he was always available to guide in the big project with a novice, a medical doctor, as the building committee chairman. He helped the Chapel source professionals who helped with the project.”

       Another former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Shamsudeen Amali, noted that his memory of Engr Adesiyun is a thorough professional that related well with everyone.

       Prof. Amali expressed his gratitude to God for the time he worked with Engr Adesiyun, and prayed to God to comfort his family and the entire University community.

       A former Provost of the College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, Prof  W. R. Johnson, in his tribute, opined that the workforce of the University of Ilorin has lost an astute and devoted retired professional engineer, who was not only honest to a fault but unarguably a highly principled gentleman.

       Prof. Johnson recalled, “During that difficult phase of moving our Faculty of Clinical Sciences/College of Health Sciences (including the students’ hostel facilities), from the mini-campus to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital location, he was uncompromising on standards, sometimes even in situations when the overall accounting officer wanted some functional facilities at the cheapest costs.”

       The former Provost prayed to the Almighty God to grant the entire Adesiyun extended family, the nuclear family of Engr. Ademola Adesiyun, as well as his close associates and mentees, the fortitude to bear the loss of a beloved gentleman and a devoted family man.

       The late Engr  Adesiyun was born in Lagos on October 16,1952 into the family of Hon. Justice James Moradeyo and Chief Mrs Felicia Adeola Adesiyun of the famous Ile Olomi, Offa, Kwara State.

       After his foreign studies, he returned to Nigeria in 1977 to start his career as an Engineer with the Department of Works, University of Ilorin. He rose through the ranks to become the Director of the Physical Planning Unit of the University.

He died on Friday July 20, 2022 and buried in Offa, on August 19, 2022.

       On Thursday  August 18, 2022, a commendation service was held in his honour at the United Missionary Church of Africa Chapel, Tanke, Ilorin, which was attended by family members, friends, and colleagues.