Imam in sleuth’s clothing

Ordinarily, a tribute to Professor Is-haq Olarewaju Oloyede, Registrar of Nigeria’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, should have waited till the end of his tenure, which must be presumed to be glorious―because the morning of today has shown the forthcoming day. But a landmark 70th birthday is too significant to ignore.

Just by being true to the requirements of his practice of the Islamic faith, Oloyede strikes you as an Imam, a leader of men, and a teacher, who is also firm, upright, truthful, dignified, honourable, and exceedingly innovative.

Whenever you meet Oloyede, you may not readily see the “Big Man” in him. He has an exceedingly simple mien and carriage, that neither carries the power nor the grandeur of the office of the JAMB Registrar on his shoulders or his sleeves.

As Secretary General of Nigeria’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, led by His Eminence, Sultan Abubakar Sa’ad of Sokoto, Oloyede is also a spiritual leader of Muslims.  He has successfully blended both roles of a secular leader as Registrar of JAMB with that of an Islamic leader in a most honourable fashion.
From his first days on the job as Registrar of JAMB, he has worked like a super-sleuth, a gumshoe, with an uncanny talent to detect, trail, and foil examination malpractices perpetrated by wayward candidates, writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, and their criminally indulgent guardians.

He is in his best element when he begins to describe his many encounters with the “bad boys,” and explaining in the most extreme details, the gadgets, processes, and protocols that he employs to outwit the criminals. He is equally unsparing of administrators of universities and other tertiary institutions who act below expectation.

Those who wonder why or how a scholar of Arabic and Islamic studies developed the incredible ability to deploy digital technology to trail and defeat examination cheats have no idea of the workings of the mind of the upright and pious.
The mind of the pious works in a linear path that is faithful to the ethical guardrails that have been inculcated into their moral DNA from when they were students of clerics, who instilled the most noble of values in them.

Prof Oloyede’s mastery and ability to navigate the world of digital technology is astonishing, to the extent that anyone who does not know his academic background would readily conclude that he studied a computer science-related course. By sheer force of personality, he has redefined the job of the JAMB Registrar, and whoever will take over from him must be tech-savvy.

Prof Oloyede was born in Abeokuta on 10th October 1954. After his elementary school, he attended Progressive Institute, Agege, in Lagos State, for his secondary school education. He then studied Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Arabic Training Centre, Markaz, Abeokuta, founded in 1952 by legendary Moslem scholar, late Shaykh Adam Al-Ilory, at Agege.

He later obtained a certificate in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Ibadan. Later at the University of Ilorin, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Arabic. In 1982, he joined the Department of Religions of the university as an Assistant Lecturer after which he eventually got his PhD in Islamic Studies.

As a student, Oloyede won several scholarships and awards, some of which are the Arab League Prize for best final year certificate in Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Ibadan. Also, at the University of Ilorin, he won the Federal Government undergraduate merit award, the Department of Religions Award, and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Award.

He was promoted to the rank of professor in 1995 before he was appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin in 2007. This appointment gave him the pedestal for election as Chairman of the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities.

He later became President of the Association of African Universities, Deputy Chairman, Governing Board of the International Association of Universities, Secretary General of the Association of West African Universities and Pro-Chancellors, and Chairman of Council of Fountain University.
President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him as Co-Secretary of the National Political Reform Conference, after which he became a consultant to the National Universities Commission on Educational Reform in Nigeria, and Executive Secretary of the National Inter-Religious Council, before he became Secretary General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.

Ironically, Oloyede’s deep and extensive scholarship in Arabic and Islamic studies and exposure to the administration of Islamic religious matters did not turn him into a religious bigot with a closed mind. He is open-minded enough to realise that many Nigerians make the mistake of forsaking hard work, and hoping that they will get ahead only by praying.

In 2016, the government of former President Muhammadu Buhari found him worthy to be appointed Registrar of JAMB, and his appointment has been regarded as one of the best and wisest decisions of that administration. One of the most significant developments in JAMB has been his ability to remit nearly N40 billion to the government within the first five years of his tenure.

Sometime in January 2024, after barely eight months in office, Vice President Kashim Shettima was so impressed to the extent that he was compelled to openly acknowledge that Oloyede is the first JAMB Registrar to remit more than N50 billion to the Federal Government in one year.

Whereas between 2010 and 2016, a period of 7 years, only a total of N50.7 million was reportedly remitted. In the past, Nigerians heard fantastic stories of snakes “swallowing” huge sums of money in the vaults of JAMB across the nation.

When his first term ended in 2021, he was neither presumptuous nor did he display a sense of entitlement that was wont of many who got government appointments, which they regarded as sinecures and not an opportunity to contribute to the progress of Nigeria.

Prof Oloyede promptly folded up his administration, handed over to the officer next in rank to him, vacated the office of the Registrar, thanked President Buhari for the opportunity given him to serve his country, and went back home.
There are too few Nigerians who would readily give up public appointments after the expiration of their tenures. They would rather go running around the corridors of power, lobbying for an unlawful extension of their tenures. Not Oloyede.

Not too surprisingly, he was recalled by President Buhari to resume duties for the second term as JAMB Registrar. It would have been a grave mistake if he was not recalled to complete the good job he had started.

Seest though a man who has been the most diligent, dedicated, dignified, and honest in the discharge of his duties to his fatherland, through his service in the 46-year-old JAMB, he shall be counted worthy of the honour, accolade, and appreciation of the people of Nigeria.

A festschrift, a collection of scholarly essays, titled “Islamics, Scholarship, and Service to Society,” has been compiled and will be launched on his birthday, October 10th, 2024, at the Main Auditorium of the University of Ilorin, in honour of a scholar and man of God who is deeply drawn to the service of God and humanity. A man shall be honoured at home.

Regrettably, it looks as if God didn’t make many like him for these times. Happy Birthday, Prof Ishaq Oloyede.

X:@lekansote1, lekansote.com