… As CMUL celebrates professor’s research, mentorship, institution-building
By Chioma Obinna
After 44 years in academic medicine, Professor Olugbenga Abayomi Okanlawon is retiring from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, CMUL, with colleagues describing his greatest legacy as the generations of scholars he trained and mentored.
Okanlawon, who retires on September 16, began his journey in Anatomy as a medical student before becoming a professor, researcher, academic administrator and mentor whose influence extended beyond the lecture room and laboratory.
At his valedictory lecture, titled “Beyond Anatomy: Custodian of Memory, Maker of Scholars, Builder of Institutions,” the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, University of Lagos, Professor Abraham Osinubi, said Okanlawon’s career demonstrated that academic success should be measured not only by publications, citations or positions, but by what remains after a scholar leaves.
Osinubi, who supervised Okanlawon’s master’s and doctoral degrees, said: “The greatest supervisor is the one who eventually becomes unnecessary because the goal of supervision is intellectual independence.”
He described Okanlawon’s legacy through his “4M Legacy Model” — memory, mentorship, multiplication and mission — stressing the importance of preserving institutional knowledge, developing people and ensuring that knowledge and values are passed to succeeding generations.
“Legacy is not just about buildings. Legacy is more about building people. How many people have you lifted up?” Osinubi asked.
He added: “A position is what you occupy; a legacy is what you build. A title gives you authority. What you develop gives you influence. A building can carry your name, but only people can carry your values.”
Okanlawon’s academic journey began with a distinction in Anatomy in 1977, one of only two students to achieve the feat. The following year, he became a student demonstrator, teaching junior students at a time when the department faced a shortage of lecturers. He taught students from the third to fifth year, earning six naira per hour.
After his medical training and NYSC, he joined the Department of Anatomy in 1982 and became Professor of Anatomy in 2003.
His research has focused on reproductive biology and endocrinology, including androgen regulation, spermatogenesis, testicular function, reproductive toxicology, environmental toxins, herbs, drugs and reproductive health. He has published over 60 scholarly papers and supervised more than 15 PhD candidates.
Head of Anatomy, Professor Olufunke Dosumu, described him as an academic father and mentor, recalling that he guided her as a young postgraduate student and helped her produce her first publication.
She said Okanlawon’s contribution to reproductive biology and endocrinology helped develop the field, while his work in stereology created another area of research strength for the department.
Also speaking, Professor Stella Gbotolorun also described him as a mentor who deliberately groomed young researchers and a repository of UNILAG’s institutional history.
Okanlawon’s commitment to preserving that history culminated in a three-volume book, “Discovering the University of Lagos: One Day at a Time.” The work, produced after nine years of weekly documentation, chronicles UNILAG from its establishment in 1962, including its administrations, landmark events, crises, personalities and major developments. The volumes were unveiled on September 1.
The Vice-Chancellor, UNILAG, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, described him as a “historian anatomist” and urged him to continue writing beyond retirement.
“If not UNILAG, then Nigeria,” she said.
Professor Ademola Ayodele-Oremosu, Provost of CMUL, said the College would miss Okanlawon’s institutional knowledge, experience, mentorship, teaching, research and contribution to postgraduate training.
“You cannot buy experience in the market,” he said.
For Okanlawon, mentorship is a responsibility inherited from his own mentor, Professor Oladapo Ashiru.
“I had people who mentored me, so I can mentor others,” he said. “Once you experience help, it is your duty to make sure that you help others too. And once you do that, the cycle continues from one generation to another.”
As he bows out, colleagues say that cycle, scholars trained, knowledge multiplied and institutional memory preserved — may prove to be Okanlawon’s most enduring contribution to medicine and academia.
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