Professor Ogundiran is the 'third' person from the Department of Surgery's General Surgery unit to ever deliver the University of Ibadan Inaugural Lecture in its 75-year history. Today, he gave the 526th lecture, a stunning and inspiring speech, following the late Professor Olurin (1975) and Professor Ajao (1992).
Even more impressive is his humble beginning. They say it's not how you start but how you end. Professor Ogundiran's story was different but remarkable among our College of Medicine students.
FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AND LONG ROADS:
He attended a primary school, modern school, secondary/grammar school, teacher training college, NCE, and polytechnic. He later taught for six years (to make some money) before he finally entered our College of Medicine. Even in UI (83-88), he couldn't feed himself nor buy books and was mainly supported and fed by his classmates. Yet, he persevered.
DELAYS IN PROMOTION AND SETBACKS
On merit, he was accepted into the surgical training program at UCH, where he excelled initially. His career later plateaued and became stagnant, thought to be due to his area of speciality, especially his research area.
HELP FROM ABOVE
He kept hope alive and continued to work hard, with a dedication to his family, faith, and work.
With the help of Professor Olufunmilayo Olopade, the world-renowned cancer researcher from the University of Chicago, and his immediate CoMUI/UCH surgical mentor, now Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Maryland, Professor Clement Adebamowo, he was able to collaborate with them as a breast cancer surgeon at the intersection of genetics and epidemiology in cancer research. Hurray, his career was resuscitated and revived back to life after these great mentors performed on him aggressive ACLS and BLS protocols!
Notably, he found mentors, and even more than mentorship; he found sponsorships. These mentors see more in you than yourself and are ready to lift you over their shoulders for anyone and everyone else to see you at how great you are and are prepared to guide you and vouch for you all the time, serving as a guiding light along the trail. This mentorship/sponsorship is a characteristic or a common feature of highly successful people. I'm glad you found them to steer
you in the right direction at your darkest hours.
In 2018, Professor Ogundiran became the National Academy of Science Gold Medal Price in Life Science award recipient. In 2019, he was named the distinguished WHO-Professor of Surgery, College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Connaught Hospital, Sierra Leone, West Africa.
You continue to make us proud. On behalf of the class of 1988 and the entire College of Medicine Community, local and worldwide, we congratulate you for this unique achievement of being chosen to deliver the 526th inaugural lecture at Trenchard Hall of our Premier University of Ibadan.
Once again, congratulations.
Abraham A. Ariyo, M.D., CoMUI MBBS/BDS Class of 88,
President, Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association North America (ICOMAA-NA).