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Daura, Katsina, Nigeria, 13 April 2015: President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, has expressed condolences with the family of Professor Tekene Tamuno, a historian and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, who passed away on April 11, 2015, at the age of 83.
In a statement released on Monday, April 13, General Buhari described Professor Tamuno as an irreplaceable national asset with an unrivaled knowledge and understanding of Nigeria’s history, which the late professor showcased in a number of books published over the past decades since Nigeria’s independence.
“Professor Tamuno was a remarkable historian, who combined a career as a seasoned educationist with that of effective administration,” General Buhari said.
The late professor, who hails from Okrika, Rivers State, studied history at the University of Ibadan before leaving the country in 1960 to continue his studies at the University of London, and Columbia University. In 1962 he joined the Department of History at the University of Ibadan where he remained, until his death, as Professor Emeritus. He was also a former president of the distinguished Nigerian Academy of Letters.
General Buhari further described Professor Tamuno’s death as a great loss to Nigeria, but added that the late academic had left a worthy part of himself behind.
“Thankfully, we will continue to have with us, the several books which Professor Tamuno authored,” General Buhari said. “He may have passed on but the fruits of his exceptional life remain behind for generations of Nigerians to benefit from.”
Signed:
Garba Shehu
Daura, Katsina
Nigeria
13 April 2015