The University of Lagos Management rolled out the drums on Thursday, March 13, 2025 to celebrate the wife of the 3rd (third) Vice-Chancellor of the University, Chief Mrs. Christie Ade. Ajayi as she turned 95.
The celebrant led other members of the Ade. Ajayi family to UNILAG where they were received by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, and other principal officers of the University.
The ceremony was held at the J.F. Ade. Ajayi Auditorium, the University’s Main Auditorium named after Professor Jacob Festus Adeniyi Ajayi, third Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG (1972 – 1979) and husband of the celebrant.
While appreciating the celebrant, Chief Mrs. Christie Ade-Ajayi, for being a beckon of warmth, hope, inspiration and counsel while she was in UNILAG, Professor Ogunsola noted that the event was an avenue to further celebrate the legacies of late Professor J.F. Ade Ajayi whom she described as an intellectual titan, distinguished academician, steadfast nation builder and inspiring enigma.
She showered glowing tributes on the Late Professor J.F. Ade Ajayi, adjudging his tenure as Vice-Chancellor as an era filled with a rare display of intellectual acumen, administrative insights and academic excellence, a feat which birthed huge transformational milestones in UNILAG.
The Vice-Chancellor also saluted the late Historian for being an epitome of brilliance, moral clarity, gentle firmness, substance and depth while modelling a unique class of leadership which harped on growth and decolonization of knowledge.
While commending the partnership and strength which the Prof. J.F. Ade Ajayi family offered UNILAG, Prof. Ogunsola stressed the need for a culture that promotes critical thoughtfulness and affirmation of truth especially in view of technological advancement which encourages the proliferation of information.
She also advocated a system which protects scholarship, focuses on what is good and supports the grooming of intellectual giants like the late Prof. J.F. Ade-Ajayi whose vision and intellectual strides were all targeted at achieving a continent that thinks for herself.
The event featured remarks by the former Registrar who is currently serving as Director of Office of Advancement and President of UNILAG Women Society (ULWS), Dr. Taiwo Ipaye and Head of Department, History and Strategic Studies (UNILAG), Professor Justin Onyekpe.
They both congratulated Chief Mrs. Christie Ade. Ajayi for the longevity of life which she has enjoyed so far, and prayed her continued strength and good health to celebrate more years as the matriarch of the Late Professor Jacob Festus Adeniyi Ajayi family.
Professor Onyekpe spoke of the Late Professor J.F. Ade Ajayi’s intellectual milestones in addressing what he called the wild Eurocentric perception of African history while Dr. Ipaye recalled the visionary leadership of the celebrant which birthed the first temporary building of the ULWS Nursery School.
The highlight of the event included the unveiling of a portrait of the Late Professor J.F. Ade. Ajayi mounted in the Main Auditorium; presentation of a publication titled History and the Nation, a J.F. Ade Ajayi monogram, to students of the Department of History and Strategic Studies as well as a presentation of a Biography titled J.F. Ade Ajayi, His Life and Career.
In her remarks, the celebrant, Chief Mrs. Christie Ade. Ajayi expressed gratitude to the University for the recognition and honor accorded her and the entire family over the decades.
Similarly, daughter of the celebrant, Mrs. Funlayo Ogunlesi, who spoke on behalf of the family, appreciated UNILAG for the love, honor and support towards the Late Professor Jacob Festus Adeniyi Ajayi family, a relationship which she assured, would be sustained for mutual purpose of promoting the growth and development of education.
Born on May 26, 1929, the Late Professor Jacob Festus Adeniyi Ajayi was a Nigerian historian and scholar who committed to championing the African perspectives to Africa’s history, focusing on the internal historical forces that shaped African lives.
Prof. J.F. Ade. Ajayi was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, from 1972 to 1978. He died on the 9th of August, 2014 at the age of 85 and was buried in his native Ikole Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Report: Gbenga Gbelee
Photograph: Ayomide Oloyede
