Nigerian historian and Professor of African Studies, Toyin Falola, was celebrated on Sunday by his family, friends, well-wishers and mentees, among others, on his 70th birthday.
Falola, who was born on January 1, 1953, was given a virtual surprise birthday celebration after he rejected plans for a party to be organised for him.
Some of those who participated in the virtual celebration included former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, and his wife, Bisi, among others.
In an opening speech delivered by Tunji Olaopa, the professor was described as a progressive agent and an agent provocateur.
“One does not need to wonder why books after books and keynotes after lectures keep coming from the mind of the master of ideation,” he added.
In his speech, Obasanjo welcomed the professor to the septuagenarian circle and prayed that they would both be alive to celebrate him at 80.
He said, “Our existential challenges as humans and more critically as Nigerians are many, and even more so for someone like you who shoulders many responsibilities as a scholar, custodian of culture, elder in your own right, statesman, and a public global intellectual.
“I must say that I deeply appreciate your unrelenting interventions in Nigeria’s unravelling as a nation. Nigeria needs her intellectuals, professionals, and patriots, those who can quarrel with her to instigate the progress that seems to have eluded us for so long, and you have successfully situated yourself in that best tradition.”
Appreciating the professor for the knowledge he imparted, Fayemi revealed that his wife was once a student of the historian.
He said, “I consider myself an indirect student of Prof. Falola. He taught my wife, who is also part of this webinar. But I first learned from his feet when he wrote that heartbreaking book with Julius Ihonvbere, The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic. From then on, I became very fascinated by and interested in his work.”
Mrs Fayemi recalled how Falola instilled in students at the then-University of Ife the belief that they could be anything they wanted, even if they only had a certificate in history.
In his appreciation speech, Falola revealed that he refused the move by friends at the University of Ibadan, the University of Pretoria, the University of South Africa, and the University of the Free State to organise a 70th birthday party for him.
Others who were mentored by Falola also took turns appreciating him for his support and how he nurtured them up to the level of leadership.
He claimed he only found out about the virtual celebration hours before it began and was unable to avoid it due to the calibre of those expected to attend.
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