Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali, the former vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), has been declared dead.
The professor, who was a renowned veterinary medicine scholar and university administrator, reportedly died on Saturday, June 6, at his residence in Oloje Estate, Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.
His death was confirmed in a statement by the director of corporate affairs of the institution, Kunle Akogun, who said that the UNILORIN vice-chancellor, Prof. Wahab Olalepo Egbewole, announced the death of his predecessor.
According to The Punch, Prof. Ambali was the ninth vice-chancellor of the institution. He was the head of the university between 2012 and 2017. He died after a brief illness at the age of 68. Before his death, the late professor served as the chairman and pro-chancellor of the Kwara State University. He was appointed to the position immediately after his tenure as the vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin.
Reacting to the demise of the late former vice-chancellor, Folorunso Fatai Adisa, an alumnus of the university and political commentator, recounted his experience with the professor during his undergraduate years and prayed for his repose.
Adisa, in a Facebook post, wrote: “At the inaugural lecture of Professor T.A Ande, the distinguished zoologist playfully teased veterinary doctors. With a smile, he described zoologists as the “parents” of animals and suggested that they should not leave their wards entirely in the hands of “house helps”, the veterinary doctors, lest the animals suffer neglect. The hall erupted in laughter. “When it was his turn to respond, Professor Ambali (a veterinarian) displayed the wit and grace for which he was known. He observed that the phrase “house help” contains the word house for a reason.
Veterinary doctors, he quipped, owned the house in which they cared for the animals, while also helping the zoologists to look after them. The audience laughed again, but beneath the humour was the unmistakable brilliance of a man whose intellect was matched by his warmth.
