Ayodele Oluwatuminu Awojobi (12
March 1937 – 23 September 1984), also known by the nicknames "Dead
Easy", "The Akoka Giant", and "Macbeth", was
a Nigerian academic, author, inventor,
social crusader and activist. He was considered a scholarly genius by his
teachers and peers alike. He quickly advanced in his field to become the
youngest professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos,
Nigeria in 1974.
Earlier the same year, he became the first
African to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Science (DSc) in Mechanical
Engineering at the then Imperial College of Science and Technology, London
(now Imperial College
London) – a degree only exceptionally and rarely
awarded to a scholar under the age of 40.
His research papers, particularly in the field of vibration, are still cited by international
research fellows in Engineering as lately as the year 2011, and are
archived by such publishers as the Royal Society.
Early
Life
Born in Oshodi, Lagos State, Awojobi's father, Chief Daniel
Adekoya Awojobi, was a stationmaster at the Nigerian
Railway Corporation who hailed from Ikorodu in Lagos State. His
mother, Comfort Bamidele Awojobi (née Adetunji), was a petty trader who hailed
from Modakeke, Ile-Ife, Osun State. Between
1942 and 1947, he attended St. Peter's Primary School, Faji, Lagos.
It was while at his secondary school, the CMS Grammar
School, Lagos, that his academic traits began to manifest. Not only
was he seen to be gifted in mathematics and the sciences, he was comfortable
also in the arts, becoming a member of the school's
literary and debating society.
It was during this period that
he earned the nickname, "Macbeth": William Shakespeare's
famous play, Macbeth, was to be staged
in the school. The lead actor took ill a week before, and so Ayodele was called
upon to play the lead role in his stead. It is said that not only did Ayodele
master his lines as lead actor, but also the entire play, such that he was able
to prompt the cast whenever they forgot their lines.
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