TRIBUTE: The Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali (1957 – 2026) I knew

With heavy hearts but with total submission to the Supreme Will of Almighty Allah, we, at the University of Ilorin, mourn the passing of our former Vice Chancellor, Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali (OON), who departed this world on Saturday, 6 June 2026, at the age of 68.

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Prof. Ambali, who served as the University’s president between 2012 and 2017, was more than an administrator. He was a visionary leader who believed in the power of ideas, discipline, and service. During his tenure as Vice Chancellor, he sustained the glowing legacies bequeathed to him by some of his illustrious predecessors. He also championed academic excellence, nurtured young minds, and created a conducive environment for all-round institutional growth.

During his tenure, he was widely regarded as a visionary and transformational leader who prioritised academic excellence, institutional growth, and student development.

We remember him as a leader who understood that a university is not just lecture halls and laboratories, but also character, community, and voice. He gave the University room to train, to mentor, and to tell some of the glorious stories we proudly tell today. Many of the ex-students now making waves across Nigeria are products of the enabling environment he helped create.

Under his leadership, the University recorded significant milestones in infrastructure, research, and national reputation.

Beyond policies and projects, colleagues and students remember him for his accessibility, his calm demeanour, infectious wisdom, and his belief in nurturing the next generation.

Born on 29 November 1957, to the family of Ambali Gidado and Husseina Angulu, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali hailed from the Idi Agbede axis of Okeleru Quarters, Ilorin.

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After his primary education at Pakata Primary School, Ilorin, he proceeded to McBride Secondary School, Jalingo, (now Government Secondary School, Jalingo), Taraba State. Thereafter, he attended Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, from where he graduated with the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in 1981. He was also at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, for his Master of Veterinary Science (M.V. Sc.) (1984), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Veterinary Medicine (1989).

The erudite Veterinarian also attended the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, UK, for his Animal License Certificates. He is a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow.

Immediately after his national service in 1982, the young AbdulGaniyu Ambali joined the University of Maiduguri as an Assistant Lecturer. By dint of hard work and academic excellence, he became a Professor in 1995.

Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali was a two-time Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Maiduguri before joining the University of Ilorin, where he became the pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in October 2010.

The erudite scholar served on national assignments in various capacities at different times, among them Collation Officer for the 2015 Presidential Election in Niger State, Returning Officer for the 2015 Governorship Election in Niger State, and Returning Officer for the 2017 Governorship Election in Ondo State.

With the impending expiration of the tenure of Prof. Is-haq Oloyede and the advertisement of the vacancy for the position of Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin in April 2012, the consummate veterinarian showed interest in the job. Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali was one of the 14 eminent professors who turned in their application letters.

After a rigorous interview, Prof. Ambali was adjudged the most suitable and recommended by the Council/Senate Selection Board for appointment. The University Council, thereafter, ratified the Selection Board’s recommendation on 25 July 2012.

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The erudite scholar, who was still engaged in active teaching at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ilorin, after his vice chancellorship tenure, was, until his death, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete.

The late Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali understood that a great university is built on both scholarship and character.

At 68, his work here is done, but his legacy will live on. The policies he signed, the staff he mentored, and the students he inspired would continue to speak for him.

Adieu, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali. There goes a great Unilorite, an embodiment of hard work, an epitome of humility, and a quintessential humanist.

May Allah accept his return, forgive his shortcomings, comfort the family he left behind, and make Aljannah Fridaous his perpetual abode.

Kunle Akogun is the Director, Corporate Affairs, University of Ilorin