By Banji Ayoola
Renowned Professor of Geology, and a passionate promoter of African and Yoruba spirituality, Prof Idowu Odeyemi, has retired from the service of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, after 48 years in academics, 37 of which he spent meritoriously at the institution.
He bowed out on Monday, July 27, 2020 at the statutory retirement age of 70.
Born on July 27, 1950, he attended St John’s Primary School, Ilawe- Ekiti between 1956- and 1961, and Notre Dame College Usi-Ekiti, between 1963 and 1967.
He taught briefly at the newly established Corpus Christi College, Ilawe- Ekiti in 1968 before proceeding to study for the Bachelor of Science degree in Geology at the prestigious University of Ibadan between 1968 and 1972, emerging top six in a Class of 54.
He was invited back by the University to study for his doctorate degree in 1973 which he completed in 1977 at a young age of 27 years. He started his academic career in October of the same year at the University of Ibadan.
With the creation of seven new Federal Universities of Technology in 1982, he transferred his services to FUTA on January 1, 1984 and was appointed the pioneer Head of the Department of Applied Geology, where he rose through the ranks to become a Professor of Applied Geology.
With his feet firmly rooted in his Ilawe-Ekiti country home, Odeyemi sojourned ceaselessly across the oceans, without for once losing sight of his modest place of birth.
In 1979, he proceeded to the International Centre for Aerospace Science in the Netherlands for a Post-Doctoral Diploma in Geological Survey under a Dutch Technical Fellowship. Thereafter, he proceeded to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Space Facility in Flagstaff, Arizona for a Post-doctoral Certificate in Remote Sensing and Satellite Imagery in 1982 under a UNDP Fellowship.
In 1987, he received a UNESCO/TWAS Fellowship for a Post-Doctoral Certificate in Remote Sensing and Resource Exploration at the ICTP, Trieste, Italy. There, the Third World Association for Remote Sensing (TWAS) was established and he was elected as the Pioneer Executive Secretary in 1987 and he served till 1994. In 1989, he organised the first International Conference of TWARS in Beijing, China.
Odeyemi is not only a well known international figure but also a recognised and respected the pcholar. He was Pioneer Head, Department of Geology; Pioneer Director, Centre for Research and Development (CERAD), FUTA; Member, International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP) of UNESCO; Member Presidential Task force on Open University of Nigeria; Member, Bitumen Project Implementation Committee (BPIC); Fellow, Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society; COMEG-registered Geoscientist.
In 2009, the Federal Government appointed him as the Pioneer Provost/CEO of the World Bank-funded Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences, NIMG, in Jos. As an Exploration Geologist, he discovered and/or mapped 12 marble deposits and one Gold deposit in Igarra area of Edo State, two gemstone deposits in Ijero- Ekiti area, two feldspar deposits in Ijero and Aramoko- Ekiti, and one Kaolin deposit at Isan- Ekiti.
He participated in numerous local and international Conferences, Workshops and Seminars, in the United Kingdom, Germany, USA, Brazil, Canada, Spain, China, Venezuela, Trinidad & Tobago, Ghana, Ivory Coast Burkina Faso and South Africa among others.
Since 1977, he has supervised many students’ Masters and PhD Theses, some of who have since become Professors on their own. He was the Dean, School of Earth and Mineral Sciences at the Federal University of Technology, Akure from 2014 to 2018.
He established the International Council for IFA Religion in 1999 and was its President for 15 years. He is currently the Founder of the International Institute for IFA Studies, dedicated towards the teaching and research into all aspects of IFA and Yoruba spirituality.
He is happily married to Professor (Mrs) Olusola Olasumbo Odeyemi, who is also an internationally renowned academic, with whom he has bonded for 44 years.
Imbued with a shared passion to develop Ilawe-Ekiti and brighten its social landscape, Odeyemi and his wife decided to establish Lakeview Resort, Ilawe-Ekiti on the 30th of July, 2016. The Resort now provides recreational and hospitality services to the people of Ilawe-Ekiti and neighbouring towns.
They live by the maxim that “to whom much is given, much is also expected” and that having their historical and cultural roots fastened to the town, it is important to give something back to the land of their birth.
