Toyin falola biography samples

Transitioning into adulthood up to old age is a goal that everyone desires to accomplish in their lifetime. While many people do not have this opportunity, the few that do sometimes do not have results commensurate with that age bracket. Meanwhile, the attainment of desirable height in old age transcends building houses or accumulating material things; any development that does not facilitate human and personnel growth is anathema to its foundational essence.

The attainment of old age, which perhaps begins by getting to 71 years of age, is a rare opportunity available to humans, and it is worth the effort when people who achieve the feat are celebrated and appreciated. Toyin Falola has arrived at 71, and all his associates and friends are happy and joyous, and each of us makes recognizable efforts to outdo one another in that engagement.

Extremely shy of receiving praise and recognition, it is even a stroke of luck if TF reads this piece! At 71, he has more energy than a graduate student and an Assistant Professor looking for tenure. Now recognized as a genius, anyone who tries to be like Falola is inviting a sudden death. The celebration of Falola, I believe, is best done by reflecting on the incredible account of his efforts, which he has instituted as his signature in the community of human relationships and existence from the beginning to the present time.

Toyin falola biography samples

But then, we can reflect on what Falola represents as an individual, a philosophical paradigm and a phenomenon himself. Falola represents a pure and productive personality to the human world. For one, it should be stated clearly that this enigma of a human has given selfless service to humanity. He epitomizes humaneness. Throughout the stages of his academic history and career progress, he has continuously advanced the courses of people through his philanthropic disposition to people with whom he has no genetic or communal ties.

Falola believes tenaciously that the growth of another individual has never been an impediment to others, and for that reason, he is a committed investor in the progress of others in ways that cannot be overemphasized. Falola has worked tirelessly in collaboration with responsible and responsive non-governmental organizations to secure funding opportunities for the defenceless people whose careers were on autopilot because of the foggy atmosphere occasioned by the lack of financial opportunities.

Numerous is the number of people who are beneficiaries of the largesse of this outstanding scholar, thereby improving their existence through the access that they have to the help he provides. One would think that for a man who has reached the pinnacle of his career, having an interest in what concerns others would have been his turnoff. But this enigma has pulled great strides that defy the gravity of shortsightedness by continually dedicating himself to the concerns and aspirations of others in order that they would become not only valuable for themselves but also exceedingly useful for the generality of the human family.

Falola it was that has continued to offer requisite mentorship for fledgling academics in Africa and even beyond his understanding that the next generations of people have the right to be exposed to quality thinking, the one useful and necessary for the transformation of the world generally. His commitment to the improvement of the human condition is illustrated by the scholarship opportunities provided for the needy, the helpless or those without the necessary connections to access resources needed for their growth.

It should be emphasized that all the activities of Falola in Africa outpace and even outshine many others who are domiciled in the continent. As much as he provides selfless services to people at his primary place of work, he has never let the in-house Africans feel his absence in some ways. Repeatedly, this sage has organized numerous academic undertakings that would benefit the people and the government, irrespective of the positions that they hold.

For clarity, many of his efforts have necessitated policy adjustments, all of which are bringing desirable transformation to the continent. It is because of sharing his thoughts and ideas for the development of Africa and the world that Falola responds to calls and pleas in every place of the world. Risking his health, the man has dared an unimaginable number of challenges to ensure that he offers the best for humanity.

Will it not surprise you that even during COVID-induced distancing, he was able to integrate online activities to continue helping humanity progress? I have the honour to mention that Toyin Falola is a distinguished scholar and a doyen of academic excellence. Books [ edit ]. TOFAC [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. African Studies Association. Department of History, College of Liberal Arts.

The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 8 October Retrieved 16 May Premium Times. Retrieved 22 October New Revision. Contemporary Authors. Archived from the original on 28 January Retrieved 20 May Nigerian Tribune. Retrieved 29 May — via Issuu. Retrieved 11 August Library of Congress. Retrieved 29 May Retrieved 21 April The FeesMustFall student protest movement that grew out of the University of Cape Town as part of an attack on the legacy of the arch-colonialist Cecil John Rhodes became a nation-wide campaign.

European colonialism had a devastating impact on the African continent. Slavery, colonial rule and neocolonialismwhich is a covert and often non-violent form of ongoing colonialism, had a similar impact on all African communities. Indeed what these harmful encounters did to the African self was to toyin falola biography samples a schism or disconnect within it, which has resulted in many forms of identity crisis — what the US sociologist W.

Simply put, colonial belief systems, morals and culture were imposed on traditional African belief systems, causing this tension. In this book, Falola attempts to heal the broken African self by bypassing colonial archival sources. In this book, oral narratives and personal viewpoints merge in creating an authentic African knowledge system.

The most recent major book by Falola is African Memoirs and Cultural Representationsreleased in In this work, Falola analyses the memoirs of grossly under-studied west African writers who worked largely in the traditional vein — that is, within the perspectives of precolonial west African thinking. In this manner, African perspectives, beliefs and norms are recuperated as a way of furthering a decolonial project.

In addition, the book highlights the nature and purity of the African voice beyond the colonial framework. In other words, what it means to hear African voices outside the strictures or filters of colonial thought systems. Such is the scope of this African scholar.