The last beat for Pa Oyewole, teacher extraordinaire

Chief Dotun Oyewole, the astute teacher and seasoned teacher of teachers, who bowed gallantly out of life on February 28, 2016, would be laid to rest on Tuesday, April 5.

Oyewole, who would have clocked 94 years on June 5, together with his identical twin brother, Chief Dr. Femi Oyewole, were the famous Oyewole twins of Abeokuta, who were the media’s delight, reporting the exploits of the twins and unraveling the mysteries about them, particularly in the 1970s and the 1980s.

They did practically everything together and very few things separated them. Indeed, only their jobs in their latter years did. Even at that, there was still a similarity – one retired as the Deputy Registrar at the West African Examination Council, Yaba, Lagos and the other as Deputy Registrar at the University of Lagos.

However, death, the inevitable scourge of humanity, did separate them. In 2006, Femi, passed on at the age of 84. Ten years later, Dotun has answered the call to rest eternally in peace.

The twins attended primary school at St. John’s School, Igbein, Abeokuta from 1928 to 1933 and secondary school at Abeokuta Grammar School, Abeokuta from 1934 to 1940, where they also began their teaching careers in 1941 as pupil teachers.

Though untrained, they successfully taught Latin and Mathematics and also performed some administrative duties. They attended science preparatory classes at Yaba College in 1942 and between 1946 and 1947, Dotun taught physics and mathematics at Abeokuta Grammar School while Femi taught chemistry and biology.

In February 2016, the Femi and Dotun Oyewole Model School, Kobape, Ogun State, was established in honour of the twins’ contribution to education.

In appreciation of his valuable contribution to science and education, Chief Oyewole received the following honours: Fellow of the Science Teacher Association of Nigeria (FSTAN) in 1980 and Distinguished Sustained Service to Science of Education (DSSE) in 1997; Ogun State University Development Foundation Presidential Merit Award for Distinguished Contribution to the University and Educational Development in Nigeria in 1998; UNAAB Alumni Award for Contribution to the Development of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta as Pioneer Council Member; and the Fellowship of the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta 1999.

In 2013, he was honoured with the This Day Award for his contribution to education, presented by President Bill Clinton during a visit to Nigeria.