Faborode@70: Salute to Dogged, Principled and Ever-Smiling Mentor

By Prof. M. K. Othman

I first met Prof. Michael Oladimeji Faborode in September 1999 at the annual conference of the Nigerian Society of Agricultural Engineers (NSAE) at Federal Polytechnic Bauchi, where I served as an academic staff member for over eight years. I left in 1998 to join Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Although I was no longer working in Bauchi, I still had significant influence at the conference, having served as the pioneer local chapter ASUP chairman and the first National Financial Secretary of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) under the leadership of Mallam Hadi Auwal, of blessed memory.
At the end of the conference, there was an AGM and elections for new NSAE officers, during which two candidates competed keenly for the National President position: Prof. Faborode and Dr. Yiljeph, of blessed memory.

Their campaign almost split the conference attendees into two opposing camps, potentially weakening NSAE. I served as a campaign manager for Dr. Yiljeph, who came from the same university and workplace as me, and thus mobilized massive support for him. We narrowly lost to Prof. Faborode by a few insignificant votes, raising serious concerns about how to navigate leadership to face the arduous task of managing NSAE.

Faborode swung into action by appealing to the electoral committee and voters to allow Dr. Yiljeph to become his National Vice President and join his working team. The appeal drew a thunderous ovation as we all accepted this novel initiative as a veritable backbone for uniting NSAE at its trying time. Thus, we all left Bauchi as a united family of NSAE and contented with its leadership.

Prof. Faborode’s first task as National President of NSAE was to dispel misconceptions among some of our professional colleagues (Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineers) and the general public, who viewed agricultural engineers as mere tractor engineers or as agriculturalists rather than engineers, despite their robust and versatile academic curricula. He thus championed the amalgamation of the Nigerian Society of Agricultural Engineers with the Nigerian Society of Engineers. Faborode and his team faced steep opposition to the merger from the so-called old engineering professions, but, being a dogged warrior with an affable smile, he used reasonable and intellectual arguments that the opposition could not but accept, namely that an agricultural engineer is at par with any other engineering professional after passing the basic engineering courses: Strength of Materials, Thermodynamics, Structures, Mechanic of Machines, and engineering drawing and design.

Thus, two years into Prof. Faborode’s tenure, NSAE metamorphosed into the Nigerian Institute of Agricultural Engineers (NIAE), under the umbrella of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) as one of its numerous divisions. All NSAE fellows, corporate members, and graduate and student members automatically became fellows and members of NSE, with all privileges and rights of the profession.

This excellent achievement by Faborode paved the way for agricultural engineers to actively participate in NSE’s affairs, with Engr Ademola Olorufemi becoming the first agricultural engineer to serve as its National President from 2014 to 2015. Today, we have the first Agricultural Engineer, Prof. Sadiq Z. Abubakar, serving as the President of the Council of Registered Engineers (COREN).

This is thanks to the marvelous performance of Prof. Faborode and the resilient and outperforming agricultural engineers nationwide.
From the 1999 Bauchi conference to date, I have had opportunities to work with and observe Prof. Faborode’s roles in mentoring young engineers, promoting research for development, upholding professional ethics, advancing the frontiers of knowledge, and championing the enhancement of intellectual capacity in agricultural engineering without borders. You cannot be an agricultural engineer of substance with over a decade of professional experience in Nigeria and Africa without coming into contact with the name Prof. M. O. Faborode.

Today, Prof. Faborode is a Fellow of several global and national engineering professional bodies, including the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE), the African Engineering Association (FAEEA), the International Academy of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FiAABE), the Pan African Society for Agricultural Engineering (PASAE), the NSE, and the NIAE.

He is completely detribalized, focused, and zealous about achieving a goal in a timely and efficient manner. In 2021, he graciously extended his partnership from OAU Ile-Ife to me at ABU Zaria for a grant-winning research proposal titled: “Framework for uptake and commercialization of drying and dehydration technologies for agricultural products in Nigeria,” which we accomplished in record time. This is one of several initiatives by Faborode to mobilize, unite, and partner professionals for the common good and to mentor young professionals. No wonder that when Prof. Alonge Folarin of the University of Uyo created a WhatsApp group to raise funds to support the 70th Birthday and Valedictory Lecture in his honor, marking his 70th birthday and retirement from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) on September 22, 2026, the responses from across Nigeria were marvelous and inordinate. I saw how professionals from the three major and minority tribes, as well as those from outside Nigeria, donated their widow’s mites as a testament to the integrity, respect, love, and greatness of Prof. Faborode.

The latest count of donors as of today, August 23, 2026, recorded 45 professors, several PhD holders, and Engineers; counting continues until a few days before September 22. It is not the quantum of money donated but the love from friends, students, mentees, and the general public.

What an exemplary professional career!
Prof. Faborode’s excellence extends beyond the engineering profession; he is an accomplished, astute, and technocratic administrator. I was among a few invited to the 2009 NIAE international conference at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, where he presented his midterm performance as vice-chancellor of his alma mater. This well-packaged document reengineered and rebranded OAU. We went around the campus and were highly impressed by his outstanding achievements.

By the time he completed his tenure as the ninth vice-chancellor of OAU (2006-2011), Faborode’s performance was unprecedented, marked by several completed projects. In addition to normal and special government interventions, Faborode’s ability to attract private-sector contributions was highly gratifying. Among the private-sector projects accomplished during his tenure were a 500-seater lecture theater donated by First Bank of Nigeria, PLC; a mini-computer assembly plant donated by Nigerian Deposit Insurance Ltd; a bottled water plant/refinery donated by Mr. Demola Aladekumo, an OAU alumnus; and the construction of a permanent building of Postgraduate College donated by Bar. Jimo Ibrahim, a multibillionaire OAU alumnus. He also completed several abandoned projects, many dating back to the 1980s, across the entire university campus. Faborode gave the OAU campus a new look with completed and ongoing projects, all of which were completed in the early period of his successor, Prof. Bamitale Idowu. After his tenure as VC, he earned tremendous respect from his colleagues, the Vice Chancellors, who unanimously appointed him Executive Secretary of the Committee of Vice Chancellors, affording him another opportunity to make a positive impact on the Nigerian university system. What a marvelous service.

Who is Prof. Michael Faborode?
Michael Oladimeji Faborode was born on September 22, 1956, in Supare, Ondo State. He graduated from OAU with a BSc. (Agric Engineering) with First Class Honors in 1978, an MSc. (Agric Engineering) in 1983, and a PhD (Agric Engineering) in 1986. He became a professor in 1996 through hard work and dedication. He became a Registered Engineer with the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) in 1984.

As an academic par excellence, Faborode is credited with 146 academic publications and technical reports (Google Scholar Metrics: Citations – 1594, h-index – 20, i10-index – 30), a feat that is herculean for many of us.
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nMX9iCIAAAAJ&hl=en

A grand salute to Faborode@70, a Professor of Agricultural Engineering, an indefatigable administrator, and a principled, ever-smiling mentor who has made remarkable contributions to teaching, research, mentorship, and the growth of our university education, not only at OAU and in Nigeria but also across the continent and globally.

May God continue to bless him with wisdom and skillful leadership to serve humanity, and may some of us follow in his footsteps in project completion, mentorship, and service. Amen.