Muhammed Mustapha Akanbi’s demise: A depletion in the net worth of a network

BY ABDULWAHEED MUSA

“Your network is your net worth” — Professor Muhammed Mustapha Akanbi SAN, ACIarb (1971 – 2022)

Born January 24, 1971, to the family of late Honourable Justice Mustapha Akanbi and late Hajia Munfa’atu Aduke Akanbi, Professor Muhammed Mustapha Akanbi SAN sojourned this life for a period of 51 productive, worthy, impactful and fulfilling years. He came, he saw and he conquered. He reached the peak of his dual careers in two worlds at a very young age becoming a professor at 41 and a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) at 47. He was appointed as vice chancellor (VC) of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete at 49 and served for two and a half years before his painful demise on Sunday, November 20, 2022.

In over five decades of his life on earth, he built a strong and formidable network with an amazing and blessed net worth. This gathering is a classical demonstration of one of his popular quotes: “Your network is your net worth”.

I had concluded every necessary arrangement to lead the KWASU contingent to a capacity development workshop on Artificial Intelligence for Females in STEM (AI4FS). The workshop was one of the activities of the Higher Education Partnerships in sub-Saharan Africa (HEP SSA) grant funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, United Kingdom, with KWASU as a leading spoke university. It was one of such grants we won with our late VC’s encouragement and support. My team and I planned to leave Ilorin very early on Monday, November 21, 2022. So, I slept rather early on that unforgettable black Sunday, November 20, 2022. I woke up to several calls and messages with the sad news of my VC’s death already permeating the social space. Of course, I immediately cancelled the trip. His demise has left me utterly shocked, pained and emotionally devastated. The certainty and inevitability of death make me wonder about life and its futility!

Professor Akanbi evoked strong emotions in us, both positive and negative, even as I am convinced like many others that the positive overweigh the negative. He was the epitome of courage and excellence as proven in his personal and dual professional lives. He was a visionary young academic icon, a legal luminary of repute and an astute administrator who, no doubt, lived an exemplary life. Cognizant that I work at KWASU, a very senior academic had called me to find out if the news of the appointment of Professor Mustapha Akanbi as vice chancellor of KWASU on April 1, 2020, was not “April Fool”. I confirmed to the professor that the source of the news, an announcement signed by Hajiya Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu, the then honourable Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, lent credence to the authenticity of the news and veracity of the appointment.

However, the Mustapha Akanbi that most of us knew had died in June 2018 (two years before the VC’s appointment) and he was neither a professor nor a SAN, but a retired Justice and pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). Could the announcement be a gaffe or faux pas of the government appointing a dead person as we had in the past? Such thoughts did not last a minute as I quickly conjectured that Professor M. M. Akanbi is the son of Justice M. M. Akanbi. I later found out that Justice Akanbi, the first Wakili of Ilorin, was blessed with six children, four of whom are lawyers including our own M. M. who became a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor of Law and Vice Chancellor of KWASU.

The announcement, thought to be an April Fool prank, launched the late Professor M. M. Akanbi into my world and signalled the beginning of what would later become a memorable and inspiring relationship. Many must have thought that we’d known each other for many years. I only knew him for a few short years, 2.5 years, but that was enough time to realise how amazing he was. I’m glad that I had the pleasure of knowing someone as wonderful, great, fantastic, incredible, awesome, sound and goodly as my Oga. Alhamdulillah! Few months after his resumption to office, albeit during the COVID-19 pandemic, and without ever meeting me but relying perhaps heavily on the recommendations of some of his very close aides, he appointed me as deputy director of the Centre for Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (CTVET), first among several other ensuing appointments into boards and committees. I would later meet him at his Sango Office (KWASU Contact Office, Ilorin) for an interactive session, where I shared with him what I considered a useful stratagem for a new VC. I will never forget that first meeting for a couple of reasons, including his being warmly receptive, pleasantly cordial, affable and very friendly. He enjoyed our interaction so much that he delayed a high-level meeting to give me rapt and captivating attention. We became brothers and friends from that very first moment.

Many lessons could be derived from the life and times of our brother and friend. He was one of the most supportive people that I have met. He was always there when needed, offering support for anything and everything, no matter how big or small. He was constantly there to encourage everyone around him. In 2021 and before I completed
writing my second book on Kwara state, ‘Kwara Icons’, I was fortunate to have interacted with him and he shared with me interesting perspectives that enhanced the book. The book is an audacious attempt at collating and documenting Kwara leaders and influencers who have impacted the state at different levels.

Because Kwara state is a pride of the legal profession in Nigeria and only a few states can boast of Kwara’s feats in the judiciary, a chapter of the book was dedicated to legal professionals and prominent jurists made up of lawyers and judges. There were many admissible grounds that qualified M. M. to make the list of such Kwarans. As of 2021, only the duo of Professor Abiodun Amuda-Kannike (SAN) and Professor Muhammad Mustapha Akanbi (SAN) were Kwarans who were SANs and equally sat on professorial chairs. While the former became a SAN (in 2014) before he was appointed a professor, the latter became a SAN (in 2018), six years after his appointment as a professor in 2012. These were in addition to being my vice-chancellor.

I had relied on a document on protocol and order of precedence, i.e. a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance, which placed a justice of the Supreme Court and a president of the Court of Appeal equal, as well as my leaning to the Akanbi family to list late Hon. Justice Mohammed Mustapha Akanbi CFR (former President of the Court of Appeal
and pioneer Chairman of the ICPC) before the late Hon. Justice Saidu Kawu CON (former Supreme Court Justice and pioneer Chief Judge of Kwara state) in the arrangement. Despite the arrangement favouring his dad, the late M. M. insisted that Justice Kawu must come before Justice Akanbi. According to him, the Kwara legal professional family regarded Justice Kawu as their leader. Such was the depth of MM’s unbiasedness. He was eminently fair, objective, just, impartial, dispassionate, and free from favouritism and prejudice; attributes he shared with his dad who was nationally adjudged as an incorruptible judge.

He was very supportive and dependable. I had earlier visited a “big man” to invite him to the book presentation. I was surprised when he showed me his phone conversation with my VC already inviting him to my programme. The man added: “Your VC already invited me”. In preparation for the 2021 convocation, the First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, who was to receive an honorary award had summoned the VC to Aso Rock Presidential Villa. The VC opted for the last flight from Ilorin so that he could attend my book presentation before leaving for Abuja. For me, that was humility, sacrifice, devotion, friendship, loyalty and reliability; which I will forever savour. He would publicly refer to me as his friend and brother, even when he was supposed to be bossy. After I complained, his response was: “are you not my friend?”

Always thirsty for touching the lives of others and lifting them to a higher status. He volunteered for several charities and founded the MMGIVIT Charity Initiative in 2015, a platform for sharing materials among the poor. What a lofty Sadaqatu Jariyah (a long-term kindness that accrues continuous reward from Allah)! To emulate and celebrate M.
M., his MMGIVIT must not die with him. The impact that our friend had upon those who knew him was undeniably proven during his Janazah (the funeral right and prayer). I overheard some people saying: “Iku ye MM”. “Even his dad did not command this number of sympathisers, despite being a national figure,” they added.

The unique, wonderful and inspiring attributes and positive features of M. M. which have made him earn my admiration and respect cannot be exhausted in this space. But this tribute is incomplete without highlighting some of his net worth in KWASU.

A brilliant academic and astute administrator, he set a tall agenda and embarked on far-reaching reforms of taking KWASU to an enviable height immediately after he assumed office as the VC. Little did we know that he was only going to be with us, but briefly. During his indelible two and half years stint in KWASU as the chief executive and academic officer, he broadened academic activities and advanced learning. He got the National Universities Commission (NUC) accreditations for several new and old courses including the commencement of a medical degree programme. He engineered the production of the 2022–2027 Strategic Plan by organising a management staff retreat with ‘The Making of a World Class University’ as the theme and started the gradual implementation of the plan. He standardised the administrative set-up of the council, management and faculty, including the appointment of substantive deputy vice-chancellors and sub-deans having changed from a collegiate system to a more efficient and effective faculty system. He superintended over a world-class convocation ceremony and decisiveness of the inaugural lectures series.

He was a reformer and standard bearer. He redefined, in theory, and in practice, KWASU’s motto to “the Green University for Community Development and Entrepreneurship”, having initiated the green campus concept and restructured the CTVET and emphasised entrepreneurship as a peculiar area of focus, context peculiarity and characteristic of the university. Under his competent leadership, the CTVET made an impact, producing self-reliant graduates and job creators. The centre remains the first of its kind and a model to other universities, with the NUC’s endorsement of its training model for 21st-century Nigerian students as reflected in the newly launched Core-Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) which has replaced the old Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS).

Our vice-chancellor was a motivator and servant leader who always emphasised the quality of KWASU’s academic manpower. “KWASU is blessed with highly talented, experienced and committed academic staff,” he often boasted about his staff. He was a goal-getter and talent-hunter. He joked about how the people he talent spotted and brought to work with him were usually “snatched” from him. Mrs Rebecca Okojie, former Director of Administration and Operational Services, Vice Chancellor’s Office, was appointed Registrar of the Federal University Lokoja. While on sabbatical in KWASU, Mr Kassim Babamale, also became Registrar of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila
Orangun, Osun state. Ditto, Mr Omotosho Yaqub ESQ, former Director of Legal Service, left KWASU after his appointment by the state government.

M. M. was a comrade par excellence. It is on record that he mediated, reconciled, harmonised and ensured the consolidation of the factionalised Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). He equally supported other trade unions. As a comrade, I recall how he called for the restoration of government subvention to KWASU during the
convocation ceremony with the governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, in attendance. Also, Comrade M. M. reformed the lyrics of KWASU anthem becoming touching, moving, cheering and soul-stirring. You needed to see him sing the anthem with a powerful gesticulation.

He loved the students and was always passionate about their welfare. Inspired by the captivating Dubai Water Fountain, he set up Students Park and planned the establishment of a smart city to keep as many students as possible on the campus. His dream was to have a world-class mega hostel with recreational activities, security and modern facilities to accommodate the students. While assiduously working for the students, he never hesitated to punish the erring ones. He suspended and expelled those proven to be involved in examination malpractice, drug abuse, internet fraud, robbery or other social vices. He had zero tolerance for indiscipline and misconduct. A peace lover and bridge builder, he set up a community relations committee to take care of the host community’s interests and ensure harmonious coexistence. He deployed some of his academic staff in education as ancillary teachers in Primary School at Malete. The above are in addition to many infrastructural developments he initiated. No doubt, his marks during his brief spell in KWASU as the VC are ingrained and indelible.

Meanwhile, M. M. had his LL.B. from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, in 1993. He attended the Nigerian Law School and was called to Bar in 1995. During his youth service between 1995 and 1996, he served in the legal unit of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lagos. Between March 1996 and 1998, he practised as a junior in some law firms both in Lagos and Ilorin. M. M. obtained LLM in 1998 and PhD in 2006 from the University of Lagos and King’s College, London, respectively.

In August 1998, he joined the service of the University of Ilorin as Lecturer II where he rose through the ranks and was appointed a professor in October 2012. Professor M. M. Akanbi held different administrative positions, including head of the Department of Business Law, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Deputy Director of the Centre for Research Development and In-House Training (CREDIT) and Director of the School of Preliminary Studies.

He was appointed an adjunct professor of law at the Kings University College, Accra, for a period of one year in 2014. He was nominated by the US government to attend the International Visitor’s Leadership Programme (IVLP) held in the USA in 2016. He was the lead researcher of a project commissioned by the Open Society Justice Initiatives, New York, involving six countries, namely: the USA, Mexico, South Africa, Ukraine, Poland and Nigeria, between 2016 and 2017. He belonged to many professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK and Nigeria, and served as chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin branch from 2007 to 2009.

His death, a great loss, is excruciatingly painful. While it is my hope that this tribute will bring succour to the depleted net worth of a network, I reiterate that M. M.’s network will continue to miss the net worth.

Professor M. M. Akanbi SAN married Hajia Shakirat Folake Akanbi who is also a lawyer, and they are blessed with children. My heart goes out to the wife, the children and the entire family at this difficult and trying time. While condoling her and the children, the Akanbi family and Friends of M. M., KWASU and Malete community, the Gambari and Ilorin Emirate, Kwara state and beyond, let us all take solace in the fact that “we are all from Allah and unto Him is our return” and the fact that “a decade full of accomplishments is better than a century in anonymity”. It is not how far, but how well. Certainly, Professor Akanbi’s 51 years on earth and 30 months in KWASU as the vice chancellor were very impactful and already stamped on the sand of time.

His academic eminence, Professor Muhammed Mustapha Olaroungbe Aremu Akanbi, SAN, the second VC and Chief Academic Officer of KWASU, Malete, my dear brother, my good friend and my amazing boss, may Allah forgive your shortcomings and admit you to Al-Jannatul Firdaus as you journey to the Great Beyond. Amin!

Musa (PhD) Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria