Professor O.T Olateju walked into our class on this fateful day
and after a few minutes into the class, out of the blues dropped a question on
the entire class. He asked, What’s in a name? We were dumb founded. An
enchantment like silence spell fell on the class for a few seconds. We were
taking a course on Survey not philosophy or English so the questioned seemed
irrelevant to us. After some time a few of us tried to answer his question and
failed to please him so he turned it into an assignment, “term paper” (I think
that was what he called it). We were expected to write a well written
exposition on “what is in a name” to be submitted next class. We all laughed
after the class and discussed the issue. We found it amusing.
I knew this exposition was not relevant to the class or
engineering per say but I understood what he was doing. Education really
encompasses Mathematics, science or any particular subject matter.
Educationists i.e our lecturers and teachers are meant to inspire and stir the
minds of their students and help them to be better humans. You should not only
be concerned about giving an A or an F but you should also be able to help them
to see life as a place they can thrive as noble humans .
I have always wanted to impress this brilliant man, he usually
memorized the names of students who scored highest in his tests and I thought
it would be nice for him to call my name once even though I had not scored
highest in any of his tests yet. So I took my time and composed a brilliant
essay on what’s in a name. (he did not call my name or anyone else) but I have
a good feeling he read our essays, because he reads almost every ink mark on
the papers on his table. I have often been amused about the way he read
at his age. If you went into his office there is a good chance you will meet
him reading. He never did acknowledge reading our essays but the
message had been communicated with the simple asking of “What’s in a name?” in
the middle of a survey class.
He knew a name was not just a combination of letters but what comes
to your mind when you pronounce those letters together. I would therefore like
to say what comes to my mind when I call the name Professor Olubayo Timothy
Olateju.
A resilient mind. He often told us stories of him being the only black student in
his classes in his University education abroad. One that stuck like an
arrow driven through my heart was the one where his lecturer called him out
during a class and acclaimed to the entire class that a black man had never
passed his course. That could have been embarrassing for him and would easily
have shaken any weak mind, but not his. He resolved that he would not only pass
that course but have the highest grade in it, he did. (At a time where I figure
racism was still very active). He even did better than that as he graduated his
class as best not only in his department but his faculty, not only in his
faculty but the entire school of architecture and engineering at his
university. Yes, A black man with tribal marks came out tops.
A corrupt-free man. I remember him boasting to us in class about being commissioner
in Ibadan two times and in those two (2) tenures he never embezzled any funds.
He would fondly say “The records are there, you can check it”. He would always
tell us that he might not be stinkingly wealthy but he was comfortable and had
peace . That was enough for him.
A fair man.
He also told us about how Buhari locked him up in prison for almost a year when
Buhari was head of state in the military regime. He could not witness the first
months in the life of one of his children because he was in prison. He was
later released since no corrupt allegations were found to be justified.
Nevertheless he still canvassed that we voted for Buhari in the last elections and
later told us that he and his family went to vote for him because he believed
he was the right man for the job. He would not let sentiment cloud his
judgement.
An Hardworking man. His work ratio was too impressive. He took his time to go over
every detail in any assignment submitted to him and I acknowledge it was
inspiring. Even though he sometimes over stressed this quality, like the time
he told us that if we fell sick it meant we were lazy ( I thought this
hilarious). I understand he was only trying to inspire us. He often told us
about how he was under control of his sleep like he had an internal alarm
clock. If he wanted to sleep for 2 hours and work after, he would wake up
exactly 2 hours later. That was cool.
A hustler.
He told us about how he inspired himself early on in life to give his best and
that was what saw him through life, he gave his best always. A man from a
humble Nigerian home won a scholarship co-sponsored by the Governments of
Nigeria and the United states and did his country proud by graduating as the
best. He often told us that when he took a course he was only looking at 2
grades, an A or a B , Other grades were not even an option. That was inspiring
and only comes from the mind of a struggler.
A believer. He also told us about how he was lured to stay overseas
after his education there because of his capabilities, but told them “I am
going home”. When we asked why he chose to come back after an enticing offer
was placed on his table he said he knew he had to make his home better with his
newly acquired skills. (Even if I secretly believe his wife might have been
involved J ). He believed in Nigeria
A teacher in every sense of the word. “Baba” like we fondly called him always
wanted you to prove to him that you understood a concept. It was not about a
particular formula or a particular method with him. If you could show him in
writing that you understand a problem supposed to be solved in numbers, he
would still grade you based on his judgement of your understanding of the concept.
I always looked forward to his examinations because you never knew where they
were coming from. He once gave us an English write up to correct in an
engineering examination because he felt our writing skills needed shaping. He
understood the word education to a great extent.
I could go on and on and I’m sure you would wonder how I know so
much about his life. It was because he shared, because he cared. He told us
these stories in our Engineering classes, because he knew that for us to be
exceptional engineers we primarily had to be wonderful human beings.
A brilliant mind, A family man, the man from New Jersey (A select
few would understand this joke). I would miss you and wish I still had the
opportunity to have an A in one of your courses. I strived very hard in the
last course you took me in, but I guess you felt I still deserved a B :) .
Even though you may never have memorized my name for coming tops in your
test or examination, I would always remember yours.
Rest in peace Proffesor O.T Olateju
By @KoladePelumi (For CVE class of 2016 FUNAAB)
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