ABEOKUTA – Dr. Adeola Odedina, a distinguished agricultural expert and former Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State, Nigeria, has shared his experience of winning the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Wolverhampton, UK.
In a Facebook post, Dr. Odedina recounts the surprise and honour of being nominated for the award, and the thrill of attending the ceremony with his family.
He described the event as “glorious,” with a large turnout of Nigerian community members and friends in attendance.
Dr. Odedina reflects on the citation, which highlighted his work in cassava value chain development in Africa and promoting profitable agricultural ventures among young people.
He expressed gratitude and dedicated the award to his wife and daughter.
The award was a testament to Dr. Odedina’s dedication to agriculture and his contributions to the field.
He said his achievement serves as an inspiration to Nigerians and African students and professionals, showcasing the impact of hard work and perseverance.
Read the full text below:
“The Quiet Ones: A Story of Unspoken Support”
The University of Wolverhampton Alumni Honour Award is like the Oscar or an Olympic medal; a nomination for honour among over 100,000 alumni worldwide is considered a significant achievement. When I got wind of my nomination for the Lifetime Achievement Award, it was first a pleasant surprise, and secondly, I agreed with the advice for all nominees to celebrate their nomination in their respective social media handles with suggested templates from the University; I did so passionately, thinking it would end there. I published it on all my social media walls for my friends and over 300,000 stakeholders in the sector I was born into and am still thriving in. I also sent it personally to individuals who had, over the years, encouraged and mentored me, some of whose shoe laces I cannot tie, who see me as a brother and son, whom any little achievement and visibility excites, and whom the whole world sees as a light to humanity. His Excellency, Former President, Baba Olusegun Obasanjo, His Excellency, Former President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, and His Excellency, Former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, congratulated me and sent congratulatory messages to me and my family. Other notable personalities, groups, and organisations I have worked with in the past and their leadership sent encouraging words; some, as to be envisaged and normal, kept mute. I thereafter considered the matter closed. In my mind, I had celebrated my nomination, and I would attend the event with my family to celebrate the eventual winner.
I arrived in England one week before the event with my family and decided to stay in Coventry, a close distance to Wolverhampton, to mingle with long-term friends and associates who had earlier planned to storm the event with me as a nominee. When I looked at the size of my entourage as a nominee, I joked with my friend, Dr. Mustapha Salawu Bello, whom I did NYSC with 36 years ago (we shared the same flat) and who is now UK-based, that if a nominee has this jumbo-size entourage, the winner would need a stadium for his guests. Each nominee was given three invitations, and seats were already taken by my wife and daughter; others would pitch tent outside the main hall, winning and dining with music supplied by sporadic thunder-like applause from the hall. The Nigerian community in Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Coventry, ably coordinated by Chief Akiinpelu under the aegis of the Committee of Friends, came en masse to honour one of their own; I hold an honorary membership of the Committee of Friends in West Midlands.
In my category of Lifetime Achievement Award, there were two other nominees who graduated over 30 years ago. The two others are well-respected in the UK; one has been recognised nationally as a Member of the British Empire (MBE), and the other has a similar honour. When I read their profiles, I told myself to forget it. I also told my huge crowd that we were there as proud nominees. We were seated at the same table as the other two nominees. The two other nominees were already seated before I stepped in with my wife and daughter. On sighting us, they all stood, ushered us to the table, and started engaging us. They had read about me and were thoroughly impressed by what I have been able to do in Nigeria and global agriculture over the years. Other people, including Sir Alan Edwards, Chair of Wolverhampton University Council, whom I’ve never met, who also shared my story and our pictures on his personal social media handles and other University Council members, came to us and demanded photo opportunities; it was glorious.
When the citations were read, mine was last, and it was met with a roaring applause, especially regarding my work with cassava value chain development in Africa and my work with the Swiss Government in promoting profitable agricultural ventures in Africa amongst young people to discourage needless migration to Western countries. The University was proud that someone who started his postgraduate career at their University 36 years ago is at the centre of this. At the point where the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award was announced and supposed to climb the stage immediately and make a speech, I was nowhere to be found in mind and preparedness. It was my wife telling my daughter, ‘Tap your Dad; it’s him.’ The voice of my daughter saying, ‘Dad, it’s you,’ woke me up from my engrossment with my phone and the wine in front of me. In my speech, which was not prepared, I made it clear that I had read the profiles of the two other nominees and had ruled myself out, and my mission that day was to celebrate my nomination with my family and friends and also to show my wife and daughter that I went to a good school despite my strong, die-hard Egbaland attribute. The applause and laughter that greeted that statement nearly pulled the hall down. It was an event that boosted the morale of current Nigerian students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, and lecturers who were Nigerian, as well as African students and teachers; they were all proud of me, took my phone number, email address, and social media links; we took photographs in an exciting evening. At the after-party in Coventry, organised and funded by the Committee of Friends in West Midlands, the musician didn’t disappoint. As the celebrant, I was banned and prevented from seizing the microphone to dish out my number.
Dr. Adeola Odedina is the Former Provost, Federal College of Agriculture Akure, and the Former Rector, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta, and the Immediate Former Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture in Ogun State, Nigeria.
