Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, has announced the death of one of its former Vice-Chancellors, Professor Wale Omole, describing his passing as a painful loss to the institution and Nigeria’s academic community.
The university disclosed that Omole died on Tuesday evening, November 10, 2026.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olarewaju, the university said the late professor made significant contributions to scholarship, university administration and the development of higher education in Nigeria.
Omole served as Vice-Chancellor of the university between 1991 and 1999, a period the institution described as an important chapter in its history and its pursuit of academic excellence and institutional development.
The university noted that his leadership formed part of the distinguished succession of administrators whose contributions helped shape the identity, traditions and aspirations of the Great Ife community.
It described him as an accomplished scholar and distinguished university administrator whose legacy would remain an enduring part of the institution’s history.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebayo Simeon Bamire, who conveyed the university’s condolences on behalf of the Governing Council, Management, Senate, staff, students, alumni and the entire university community, sympathised with the deceased’s immediate family, friends and associates.
Bamire said although Omole’s earthly journey had come to an end, his contributions to the university and the wider academic community would continue to be remembered.
He also prayed that God would grant the bereaved family the strength to bear the loss and give the deceased eternal rest.
“Professor Wale Omole may have taken his final bow, but his place in the history of Great Ife remains indelible,” the statement added.
