It was a beautiful day on Monday, July 8, 1946. The sun rose over the horizon as usual, and hope hung in the morning air as people trooped out to their daily grind. Everything in the little community of Ilutitun, Ondo State, followed its normal course, and soon the day was tired and was hurrying to its bed. But before the sun finally dimmed its rays for its nocturnal rest, the hope that serenaded that day had turned to joy. Great joy. There was great rejoicing in the family of the Reverend Canon and Mrs A. S. O. Iwayemi of Ilutitun in Ondo State, where the Lord had blessed them with a baby boy. In a primary community of that era, whatever good happened to a family was regarded as a community achievement. Thus, the whole of Ilutitun rejoiced with the Iwayemi family over the birth of their son. To God’s glory, eight days later, the boy was christened Akinbolaji Philip Iwayemi, a name that would later travel the ends of the world on its life mission to accomplish.
The young Akin Iwayemi lived up to the prophetic destiny of his name. He obtained his Secondary School Certificate from Manuwa Memorial Grammar School, Iju Odo, Ondo State, and Higher School Certificate from Government College, Ughelli, now in Delta State.
In October 1966, he gained admission to the University of Ibadan (UI). He graduated four years later with a First-Class Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, the second student ever to earn a First-Class degree in the Department. Thereafter, he proceeded to Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, where he completed his PhD in 1975 under the supervision of the renowned Professor of Economics, Bela Balassa. He was 29. Armed with this highest degree in Economics, Professor Akin Iwayemi returned to Nigeria immediately and joined the Department of Economics of the nation’s Premier University as a lecturer the same year. As a thoroughbred academic, he climbed all the academic ladders in the system, starting with his appointment as Lecturer II (1975-1978), rising to Lecturer I (1978-1982), and Senior Lecturer (1983-1993). He became a Professor of Economics in 1993.
During his academic career, he traversed many institutions within and outside the country, but with the University of Ibadan always serving as his base. No doubt, he is qualified to be called a native of the University of Ibadan!
I was a postgraduate student in the Department of Economics in the 1980s when my path first crossed that of Dr Iwayemi, as he was known then. He had freshly returned from a tour of duty at the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and was assigned as the Seminar Chair, where I was to present my PhD proposal to the Department. He engaged perfectly with knotty queries raised about the sufficiency of the work for a PhD thesis. He said he had worked on the type of the modelling I used while he was at OPEC. At the end of the seminar, it was clear to all that he understood the specialty under discussion more than anyone else in the Department. And that was how he became my PhD supervisor.
This was to be the beginning of a lasting relationship. The supervisee-supervisor relationship extended beyond having access to cartons of books, journals, and other materials that he brought back from OPEC to being accommodated in his boys’ quarters (BQ) when I had a problem in securing accommodation on campus. My supervisor corrects in love. I have never seen him raise his voice against anyone. He always believes the best of other people. However, he has his boundaries, and once you cross that line, he will give you a piece of his mind. Yet he bears no grudges. He is not afraid to stand alone on any issue once he is convinced.
At the University of Ibadan, where he did most of his life’s work, Professor Iwayemi has left his footprints in the sand of time. First, as a teacher, many generations of economists have passed through him; thus, he has touched many lives positively in the course of his meritorious service of teaching them Economic theory, Energy Economics, Environmental and Development Economics, and the application of game theory to Political Economy issues. In recognition of Professor Iwayemi’s impact, his students, mentors, and associates published a book of over 800 pages entitled The Quest for Development: Essays in Honour of Professor Akin Iwayemi at 70 in 2016.
Second, he has supervised many students at various levels (BSc., MSc. and PhD, including the professional students in the erstwhile MSc. Banking and Finance and MBA programme), in the Department of Economics as well as at the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL). Even after his formal retirement from the services of the University, Professor Iwayemi has continued to serve. In recognition of Professor Iwayemi’s relentless contributions to the development of CPEEL, the Centre has instituted a distinguished personality lecture in his honour. The third of this lecture series, which focused on “Nigeria’s Transition to Competitive Energy Markets: Lessons from Reform and the Road Ahead,” was held on his 80th birthday on July 8, 2026.
In community service, Professor Iwayemi served as Head, Department of Economics from 2000 to 2003. His services to the University of Ibadan also extended to committee headships and memberships at the Faculty, Senate and Governing Council levels. He served as a member of the University of Ibadan Governing Council from1999 to 2003 and chaired the Finance Sub-Committee of the University Vision Committee.
At the Centre for Economic and Allied Research (CEAR), University of Ibadan, Professor Iwayemi served in various capacities such as Senior Research Fellow (1989-1992), Deputy Director(1992-1998), and Director (1998-2000). In 2011, he co-founded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, where he is currently a Principal Investigator.
Beyond the University of Ibadan, Professor Iwayemi has served in other national and international institutions.He was head-hunted in 1993 by OPEC and served a five-year stint as Petroleum Industry Analyst at the OPEC headquarters in Vienna from 1983 to 1988. He has served as the pioneer President of Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE), President of Nigerian Economics Society (NES), and President of African Econometrics Society. As President of the Nigerian Economic Society, Professor Iwayemi served as a member of the Economic Management Team of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 2011 and 2013. In recognition of his scholarship, institutional contribution to policy design and capacity building, the Nigerian Economic Society formally inaugurated Professor Iwayemi as a Fellow of the Nigerian Economic Society during its 57th Annual Conference in 2016.
Professor Iwayemi’s areas of specialisation are Energy, Environment, Infrastructure, and Development Economics, and he has published extensively in all these areas in reputable international and local journals. Also, he has undertaken consultancies in petroleum, electricity, infrastructure, and general economic development and environmental issues in Nigeria and the African region in the past forty years. Also, he has participated in the application of quantitative methods and models to policy design and perspective planning in Nigeria and Africa. During my tenure as the Head of Department (2017-2021), the Department of Economics turned 60.To celebrate this landmark, Professor Iwayemi graciously gave a lecture on “Economics at Ibadan: A Journey of 60 Years”, where he provided a rare illumination of the Department’s history, its establishment, evolution, and recent developments, before offering a ten-point agenda for its future growth. I am using this opportunity to thank him again for the honour.
A tribute to Professor Akin. P. Iwayemi is incomplete without reference to his absolute faith in God and family life. Professor Iwayemi is a devout and practising Christian. He is a member of the Chapel of the Resurrection, University of Ibadan. He has served the Chaplain in various capacities but chiefly as the Chairman of the Chapel between May 2004 and May 2008. He is a member of the Chapel Choir and one of the Bible Study Teachers. It was during his tenure as Chairman of the Chapel that the book History of the Chapel of the Resurrection, University of Ibadan, edited by Professor Tekena N. Tamuno, was published.
Professor Iwayemi is married to his heartthrob of over five decades. Mrs H. Y. Iwayemi is a helpmeet indeed and a devoted wife always by the side of her husband. I am also using this medium to appreciate her for her generosity towards me throughout my career and for “adopting” me when I truly needed adoption! My hearty congratulations to my aburos: Ola, Lanre, Biodun and Bolaji, and the grandchildren.
For me, I am happy to be associated with this wonderful man called Professor Akin P. Iwayemi and his family. I like to use this opportunity to thank him for his love towards me and my family. I join all other well-wishers to wish him a wonderful birthday and many more years in good health and prosperity.
Emmanuel Olawale Ogunkola, a Professor of Economics, writes via ([email protected])
