{REVIEW] Profile: Professor Adebisi Afolayan: A Man Of Talent, Passion, And An Inexhaustible Fountain Of Knowledge
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- An Insight by Kola Omotunde-Young
My impression of my interactions with Professor Adebisi Afolayan is that, he is a man of exceptional talent and passion for his craft and Yoruba language (even though age has taken its toll and has limited his ability to achieve the mega-vision he has always had).
Consistent with many with such talent and passion, he exhibited idiosyncrasies that required understanding and accommodation to be able to draw extensively from the fountain of knowledge in which he is endowed.
As with many things and many of such people, our society did not provide the right environment and adequate support for society to derive the most benefit from his exceptional talent.
I found in his library, a rich body of works on Yoruba language development that he had personally prepared and/or gathered over the years that should be given life and widely circulated.
I came into a close relationship with Prof Adebisi Afolayan at his relatively advanced age. When it appeared, it was becoming quite challenging for him to articulate his vision most lucidly. That was in 2017, when I had the rare opportunity to contribute to the development of education in Osun under Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
Aregbesola had made plans before he became Governor, to have elementary schools in Osun, use Yoruba for the first six years of education, to implement the Mother Tongue Education Policy, which had been in the National Policy of Education for many years but was ignored.
Knowing Prof Adebisi Afolayan’s involvement with the Six Year Primary Project in the Use of Yoruba as the medium of primary education, Aregbesola, on the assumption of office as Governor wanted Prof. Afolayan to coordinate the project and introduced him to the then Deputy Governor, whose portfolio included education, and he interacted with some of those in charge at the Osun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Ministry of Education.
For some reasons that appear to include bureaucratic bottlenecks and breakdowns in communication, not much had been done on it by 2017. Our attempt to revive it with the hope that the succeeding government would adopt and implement the program was also unsuccessful.
My interaction however with Prof Afolayan convinced me, that he has in his head and custody, a rich body of work he has personally undertaken and reference materials that will be very useful to the continued development of Yoruba and its use in the Mother Tongue Education of our children.
Efforts must be made to ensure that the society, even if unable to benefit directly from Prof Afolayan’s continuous involvement due to old age, should not let the rich bodies of work remain on the shelves without deriving the greatest benefits from them. This to me will be the appropriate legacy of Professor Adebisi Afolayan.
- Kola Omotunde-Young is the Former Commissioner for Education in the State of Osun
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not represent the opinions or views of OSUN DEFENDER.
