- Five years of enduring legacies at LASU
Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello as the second female Vice-Chancellor of the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, leaves office as a true academic leaving the institution better than she met it. Prof. Jadesola Akande (1989 to 1993) was the first.
Olatunji-Bello’s journey in various Ivory Towers took off as an Assistant Lecturer (1988-1991), Lecturer II between 1991 and 1996, Lecturer 1 from 1996-1999, Senior Lecturer (1999-2005), Associate Professor between 2005 and October 2007 in the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Idi Araba, Lagos.
From there she became the first Professor of Physiology at the Lagos State University (LASU) College of Medicine in 2007.
Her progressive academic journey saw her being elected the first female Deputy Vice-Chancellor of LASU, after which she became the acting Vice-Chancellor (Academic) between 2010 and 2013. She was appointed the ninth substantive Vice-Chancellor of LASU on September 16, 2021.
As her five-year tenure comes to an end, her indelible footprints in the university were recently celebrated by the university Senate. Her very colourful academic journey as a Professor of Physiology amongst other qualifications saw her being honoured locally and internationally.
She has contributed to the field of physiology and education generally with her years of teaching, mentoring and as distinguished speaker at both local and international conferences. She has almost 60 publications to her credit and is a Fellow of the Physiology Society, United Kingdom, Nigeria, and was appointed a Fellow for Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Mitigation in 2019.
She has played strategic roles in her field in ways that have made her not just an academic asset but a globally valued scientist. She equally holds a post-graduate diploma in Theology from the Redeemed Christian Church of God, and attended Course 34 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos.
Her admirable versatility in both her field of academics, spiritual and social lives made it somewhat easier to achieve the successes associated with her tenure as Vice-Chancellor of LASU. The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFunD) Centre of Excellence in LASU, the promotion of 127 academics to professors, the systemic accreditation of academic programmes and strengthened quality assurance, the expansion of research in LASU, were all credited to her strong work ethic and commitment to excellence.
During her tenure, Prof Olatunji-Bello invested in infrastructural development. The Babatunde Raji Fashola Senate Building, completion of the six-storey university library, LASU Students’ Arcade, LASU Radio, LASU International School, Centre of Excellence for Entrepreneurship and Innovation – Awori House, and LASU’s largest hostel expansion in its history, are parts of her enduring legacies as she leaves the institution.
She equally leaves with some applause from staff and students as they credit her with improved institutional global image and recognition, welfare initiatives for both students and staff, and the endowment of N2.5m fund for Best Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Physiology graduates of LASU, a gesture most valued for its incentive value and reward for excellence.
In August, last year, the 550-capacity Olatunji Bello Auditorium was donated to the university by her husband, Mr. Tunji Bello, who asked his friends to contribute to the project instead of organising an elaborate 60th birthday bash for him in 2021. He had instituted an annual prize in five disciplines dedicated exclusively to brilliant but indigent students of Lagos State origin in the university, in 2011, when he turned 50 years, so they would not be denied access to education on account of their parents’ inability to sponsor them. Bello is the current executive vice-chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) honoured Prof. Olatunji-Bello for her, “exemplary leadership in higher education, commitment to academic excellence and described her as an “accomplished, resilient and outstanding academic administrator with a transformative touch”. All these accolades bore fruits during her five-year tenure, with a calmer learning and teaching environment that saw more than 20,000 students graduating between 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 convocation seasons, with almost 500 first class honours and best graduating students.
Her tenure increased LASU’s global sustainability and recognition, retaining the UI GreenMetric National and Regional Coordinatorship and got elevated to co-chairmanship of key sessions for 2026/2027. Her contributions recently earned her an award from the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Epe branch.
If, as the saying goes, “the voice of the people is the voice of God”, then Professor Olatunji-Bello has not just achieved excellence, she has, through her education, impacted not just her field of Physiology but given back not just to the education sector but to humanity, with the lasting legacies that have trailed her journey of service and patriotism.
We commend her commitment to her field of education, but more so her general sense of patriotism and sense of service. In her periods of service, she could have been lured to pursue the proverbial ‘greener pastures’ as a highly qualified professional abroad but she stayed back to invest her energy and education in grooming the next generation of Nigerians.
She did all these while raising her own three kids. Professor Olatunji-Bello is a beacon of what the strength of an empowered and educated woman can do. Her legacies are commendable and an example of individual’s determination to excel.
