Abdulgafar Oyeweso, pro-chancellor and chairman of the governing council of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has died after a brief illness. He was 64.
Gatekeepers News reports that his brother, Olawale Oyeweso, confirmed his death in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the late scholar would be buried later today in his hometown of Ede, Osun state, at 4:00 pm.
A respected historian and prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Oyeweso’s passing has drawn tributes from across academic and political circles.
In a post on X, Olalekan Badmus, special assistant on digital media to Governor Ademola Adeleke, described the death as a shocking and painful loss to Osun state.
“Rest in power, Prof. Siyan Oyeweso. An illustrious son of Ede, Osun State, and Nigeria,” he wrote.
“What a sad loss.”
Born on February 1, 1961, into a Muslim family at Ita Idi-Omo, Oja’ba, Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo state, Oyeweso hailed from Ile Olojo, Ede Mapo Arogun, in Ede, Osun state.
He completed his secondary education in 1978 with a distinction and went on to study history at the University of Ife (now OAU) between 1978 and 1982, graduating with a second-class upper division.
He later earned an M.A. and a PhD in Intellectual History from the same university.
Oyeweso joined the Lagos State University (LASU) as an assistant lecturer in 1985 and rose steadily through the ranks, becoming a professor in 2004.
Until his death, he served as the pro-chancellor of OAU and the executive director of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Abere, Osun state.
He is survived by his wife, children, and extended family.
