Bolanle Awe

“Secondly, while destroying this myth of the African past, African historians have also the responsibility of undertaking the scientific investigation of human development in Africa; the reconstruction of the African past with the attendant problems of writing the history of non-literate peoples posed for them a particular challenge. For this purpose, many African states, on becoming independent, established Institutes and Centres of African Studies which adopted a multidisciplinary approach to the study of African history and culture.”

“First, African historians have the uphill task of eradicating the prejudices and misconceptions about the African past which have been perpetuated by many western writers, such as G. W. H. Hegel, Reginald Coupland, C. G. Seligman, Hugh Trevor Roper, and others who have claimed that Africa and Africans had no past to speak of, and that the only viable African history is the history of the invaders of Africa, notably, the Europeans.”

“The writing of women into the history of Nigeria, indeed into African history, has hardly begun. Compared with the history of many other parts of the world, the writing of the history of Africa itself is a fairly recent development. Efforts in this direction have had to contend with two difficult problems which are bound up with Africa’s historical experience.”

“I will suggest to ASUU to come together and fight for its members. You know things have changed. When we were there, ASUU members would decide whom they wanted as president, and that would be final. Then, once you become president, you have a responsibility because you are now the spokesperson and you speak with one voice, and the powers that be will respect you and listen to you regularly.”

“I think it is unfortunate that ASUU should be proscribed because my own belief is that ASUU is the spokesperson for academics. They should be the ones who should be regarded as the spokesman and be respected for that purpose. There should be one ASUU. It is unfortunate if ASUU itself has a problem of being divided into three or four or being proscribed.”

“I think the VC is a potential person who could be an asset. He has to be an asset in the university. He ought to be somebody that will be respected by all within the university, not only because he has got to the top, but also because he is honest, truthful and he is able to speak out when he needs to speak out. He is not looking for anything. He must not be partial.”

“Appointing a VC is not necessarily the responsibility of the people in the university alone. The people who are in charge of university system, the ministers and so on also have a say. They also have a responsibility to see that there is law and order and ensure they themselves appoint responsible people.”

“Some people will go around looking for people to support them, and promising heaven and earth when they become the vice chancellor, but that is not the idea.”

“I do not know what has happened that people are struggling to become vice chancellors. It looks as if law and order are no longer there. It looks like the respect is no longer there. People struggle to gain this high position not necessarily because of what they have achieved, but because they also want to be there to be able to call the shot and so on.”

“We are celebrating a female activist. Sometimes Mama was chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) here in UI. She was also a champion of women rights. To so many of us, she has touched our lives. She practically mentored many of us. Even in old age, she has continued to publish.”

“"Professor Bolanle Awe is the quintessential ‘Omoluabi’ whose name, character and conduct has been nothing less than extraordinary.””

““She is an acclaimed scholar, author, teacher, development specialist, administrator, leader, and mentor. The list of her achievements is endless, and she has a solid legacy of excellence as evidenced in everything she has been involved in throughout her illustrious career,””

“With her focus on women, women’s rights, and women’s capacities, Professor Awe led the nation, the continent, and the world at large to an altar of enlightenment about the meaning of gender justice and gender equity.”

“On the intellectual front, she corrected the erroneous notions that Africans did not have recordable history, projected by a chain of European generations who even manipulated scientific evidence to substantiate their racist claim. by Toyin Falola.”

““At the time when she was born, Africans still suffered the stigma that they were intellectually inferior to the extent that they were considered subhuman and could not understand the gravity of intellectualism, much less talk of contributing to the debate,” by Toyin Falola”

“Women have always been an exclusive part of the African civilisations, representing themselves and the larger society in moderate percentage, making great economic strides that helped solidify their place in the society, taking a very important position in their societies to the extent that they are indispensable, etc.”

“African history, to this extent, has nothing to fear, for it can survive situations as long as humans, who are the preservatory instruments, survive. In fact, instead of them to express fear, Africans should accept that their history itself is a force that had the power to survive difficult times, and the fact that it survived every layer of inordinate machinations of the past means that it would survive the future no matter what happens in it.”

“The primacy of development is that humans can retain their intellectual properties and coordinate their activities as long as they exist in their world. This means that it is a fact that humans exist and that their history also would survive with them.”

“Africa is a geographical landscape, and Africans are the human resources deposited into it. Meanwhile, the digital community and preferences are technology, and technology is a tool. This suggests that African essentialism is not only powered by the existence of technology.”

“African traditions are kept and archived in oral medium, and since they are used to that system of historic preservation, the documentation of their existence, history, and accomplishments in that format continued for generations.”