Sophie Oluwole

Sophie Bosede Oluwole (12 May 1935 – 23 December 2018) was a Nigerian professor and philosopher, and was the first doctorate degree holder in philosophy in Nigeria. She was a practitioner of Yoruba philosophy, a way of thinking which stems from the ethnic group based in Nigeria. She was vocal about the role of women in philosophy, and the disproportionate representation of African thinkers in education. Quotes It would be ridiculous to raise the question as to whether or not Ọ̀rúnmìlà was religious. He was the leader of a religious cult which established a school structured like Plato's Academy, in which various themes and subjects, including religion, science, morality, mathematics, the social sciences, etc., were taught. Socrates and Ọ̀rúnmìlà: Two Patron Saints of Classical Philosophy (2014) In Africa, you share what you have. Our sense of hospitality is communal. It will be improper for me to have such an important visitor without letting her also have a sense of the environment. Prof Sophie speak about Africa in 2017. Look at Christianity and Islam. They have the Bible and the Koran. The books have ensured the continuity and spread of the religions – but, perhaps more important, the culture and tradition of the nations where the faiths originated from. Now, where is our own book on Orunmila? It is a question that should worry all rational Yoruba and African people, indeed. Prof Sophie speak on African Essence and Oral legacy in 2017. They said Africans could not think,” Oluwole told the Punch newspaper, “that we were not thinkers, that we were primitive. I felt challenged and said I was going to find out if truly we could not think. I wanted to prove them wrong They disrupted our culture Reality contains matter and non-matter There is nothing that is absolutely material. There is nothing that is absolutely non-material. And in all phenomenons in the world, the two are there together Africa is the only continent that uses foreign language as a medium of expression in institutions of learning despite the reports of many studies confirming the fact that the mother tongue is the best medium of instruction that facilitates better understanding of knowledge Sophie Oluwole: Nigerian philosopher who put Yoruba thought on the map,10 January 2019,by Christine Manby,Peyvand Khorsandi In the universities in Nigeria in those days, Philosophy was not a discipline and when I was a child, even while I was in secondary school, the word ‘philosophy’ could never have occurred to me. The University of Lagos was one of the first universities in Nigeria to start Philosophy. It was even the first. Today, Philosophy is not even taught in secondary school. So, how could I be in primary school and think of becoming something I had never heard before? That’s the greatest accident in my life. I went to the Soviet Union, but I didn’t finish. I came back home to register at the University of Lagos. For the first year, I wanted to study English, Geography and History because I could use my school certificate to do so. But when I wanted to register for English, I was scared away. I was told that Wole Soyinka was a teacher there and that among all the students that year, only one person passed. I ran away. So I was left with deciding which other course I needed to add to Geography and History. Because Philosophy had no prerequisite then at UNILAG, I was forced to go there. It wasn’t a matter of choice. So in my first year, I did Geography, History and Philosophy. I did not prove them wrong. I proved to them that Africans are more reasonable, more scientific, and it’s even on record. Yoruba Philosophy is better than Western Philosophy. Yoruba Science is better than theirs. We are better than them. I have met about 10 non-African scholars who told me themselves that Yoruba Philosophy is superior to theirs. Did you know that we are the authors of Quantum Physics? They were talking of Liquid Physics. Their own is that if physics is true, then religion is false, but we believe both of them are true and that’s the foundation of modern science. I hope it will happen. But, the greatest problem in this country is the Ministry of Education. They are still asking us to learn the wrong thing that the White man is doing. How can we understand what is happening in Africa when we are being taught in a foreign language? English Language is compulsory; French is compulsory; but Yoruba Language is not compulsory, Igbo Language is not compulsory I remember there’s a river in Ibadan called ‘Omi Majedun.’ Small girls would be selling our local gin along the river, but whenever they sighted the police, they would jump into the river to evade arrest. Why? We are from Ondo. I remember my father once told me of a town near River Niger where they used to make iron. When they brought bicycles to Nigeria in the 1920s, the people in the town made their own bicycles We should restructure our education system. Those who want to become farmers should become so. There was a boy who graduated from UNILAG sometime ago and what he did after school was planting vegetables. There is a saying in Yoruba that some people, through their ignorance, have thrown away the salient elements of their culture. It’s because we have become a dumping ground for waste. That is what our educational system is. Quotes about Sophie Oluwole I am particularly interested in what made her compare Orunmila with Socrates in her book. Juul, A dutch film scholar speak about Oluwole's book in 2017. Prof. Sophie Oluwole loved and celebrated Yoruba tradition and philosophy so much that she was nicknamed Mamalawo (female herbalist). Nigeria, the Yoruba race and all those who admire pristine traditions will sorely miss her. National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, described the deceased in 2018. Prof. Sophie Oluwole believed in and advanced the contribution of Africa to global discourse and civilisation. She confronted issues head on and made frequent appearances on television to advance the cause that she believed in. Former Deputy Vice-Chancellor and close friend of Oluwole, Prof. Duro Oni described her in 2018. She was also, to the best of my knowledge, the first and only female Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Lagos, an assignment she took on even in perilous times. Prof Oni in an interview speak about Sophie in 2018. Prof Oluwole had great respect for African traditions, in terms of fixing them into the broad spectrum of philosophical thinking across the world and showing how we could make use of them for a more advanced African civilisation. Renowned poet and culture activist, Odia Ofeimun, described Oluwole in 2018. Prof Oluwole was a teacher with a difference, a distinguished scholar with an unusual approach to teaching. She was indeed a woman of honour and distinction. Dr Fayemi speak about sophie as a woman of honour in 2018. She was a particularly interesting woman in the sense that she liked to do what was unusual. No matter how people talked about modernisation, she did it in her own way and not by following convention. Odia speak on what sophie like to do during her lifetime in 2018. She was also fairly unusual in her approach to philosophy. She did not just treat African myths and ideas as belonging to the past. She tried to make them part of the world movement of philosophies from ancient Europe to the present day. Odia speak about prof sophie approach to philosophy in 2018. She shall be remembered as a distinguished scholar who touched many lives and as a dogged fighter and a Yoruba nationalist who never joked with the things that concerned her people. Hers was a life well spent in the service of mankind. Dr Kayode Fayemi has commiserated with the family of the late Prof. Sophie in 2018. When it came to defending women’s rights, she worked it out herself without being a follower of any specific modern trend. She was a feminist with a difference. In any case, she was particularly good at stating her position without making her being a woman to disturb whatever she thought about anything. Odia in a telephone interview speak about the deceased sophie in 2018. We should pray that her work as an African philosopher should not be in vain. We should also pray that people will remember what she stood for all her life and all she taught about the importance of African languages and culture. She was an expert in Ifa literature and Yoruba culture. Seasoned filmmaker, Tunde Kelani prayed about Sophie work in 2018. She was a trail blazing academic for whom I would continue to have huge affection for, especially in her candour and quest for distinction. Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has commiserated with the family of the late Prof. Sophie Oluwole over her demise. Nigeria has indeed lost a great academic at a time when our educational system is facing a serious challenge. Dr Ezekwesili referred Sophie as a great educator of her time in 2018. Nigeria’s first female doctorate degree holder in philosophy, she truly earned her stripes. She believed in and practiced what she taught and preached. Bola Tinubu open up on Prof Sophie in 2018. It’s a big loss to the country and the university community. She was a founding member of the African philosophy community, where she spent the largest part of her life training students. Prof Falaiye describe the death of Sophie as a great loss in 2018. She was a very good woman, quite outspoken and one of the foremost African philosophers. Prof. Peju Olowu Layiwola of the Creative Arts Department, University of Lagos speak about the deceased in 2018. She contributed immensely to scholarship in African philosophy and culture and was well known for her publications and lectures. Prof Layiwola speak on sophie publications in 2018. Oluwole’s agility was something that was phenomenal. For somebody of that age, it was as if she got better with her energy, her intellectual energy grew with age and for us, it was very remarkable. Okeregbe speak on Oluwole's agility in 2018. Oluwole infused a couple of philosophy courses in the curriculum, thus exposing Mass Communication students to philosophical tools to enhance academic and professional competence. Prof Rotimi Olatunji described Sophie in 2018. She lived and fought for gender equality not women empowerment. Prof Rotimi speak about Sophie life in 2018. External links Category:1935 births Category:2018 deaths Category:Women philosophers Category:Educators from Nigeria Category:Civil servants Category:Women academics from Nigeria