Toyin Falola
I have been summoned to report for the celebration of the event marking the 80th birthday of my good friend, the one and only Irunmole of the universe, on August 29th, 2026. If the Amotekun don’t enforce the order with batons, the Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole will do so with kanako, afeeri, and arinako. I can become a bird and fly there! Emi ni o!
Here is my prepared speech to grace the occasion, before I attack the iyan and egusi to sure ju. Around the globe, several generations of scholars have existed at different periods; Professor Segun Ogungbemi represents a generation of African scholars with an academic focus on philosophy. His career has spanned several decades across Africa (Nigeria and Kenya) and the United States of America. This career was built on his sustained engagement with discourses centered around ethics, religion, culture, African experience, and human existence. His journey in the intellectual realm reveals the kind of quality that results from scholarship developed on rigorous philosophical inquiry and a concern for society.
He had his humble roots in Ibadan, at the prestigious University of Ibadan, where he earned a Diploma in Religious Studies. His quest for self-development then led him to the United States, to the University of New York, Albany, where he earned a B.S. in Liberal Studies, and then to Dallas, to the Southern Methodist University, where he earned a master’s degree in Philosophical Theology and Christian Ethics. His quest for knowledge did not end there, as he proceeded to the University of Texas, Dallas, where he earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Humanities. This kind of effort and consistency toward the acquisition of knowledge is perhaps rare in the present era, or maybe even made easier due to the enhanced connection across the globe. In his quest for knowledge, Segun Ogungbemi, with his intellectual sagacity and tenacity, was able to secure aid that made his journey more bearable through scholarships like the Nigeria Federal Scholarships, the Perkins School of Theology Scholarship, and the World Council of Churches Scholarships.
After years of gaining knowledge, he did not hoard it. He built not only a teaching but also an administrative career that spans from the late 20th century to now. He has taught philosophy in Nigerian Universities, such as Adekunle Ajasin, Olabisi Onabanjo, and Lagos State University. In all of these institutions, he also served as Head of Department alongside other administrative roles. His teaching career extends beyond the shores of Nigeria. In Kenya, he taught at the University of Moi, Eldoret; and in Dallas, he taught at the Bishop College. Ogungbemi also held administrative positions in both institutions. This shows that his work rate from the learning stage refused to diminish over the years, and he was able to effectively transmit that energy to his teaching career.
His teaching was focused more on foundational and advanced areas of philosophy such as ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, social and political philosophy, environmental ethics, African aesthetics, and African philosophy, which is the core of his scholarship. Several of his submissions feature questions on African epistemology systems, African values, African religions, and African culture as expressed in some of his works: Is Reason Compatible with Religious Belief, A Critique of African Cultural Beliefs, Philosophy and Development, and God, Reason and Death: Issues in Philosophy of Religion.
His efforts toward sharing knowledge do not end in the four corners of a classroom or in the numerous pages of his publications and articles. Ogungbemi extends this effort to several national conferences where he has addressed sensitive society matters on Pan-Africanism, nationalism, topics around gender, poverty eradication, environmental issues, and even the conflicts in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Through these conferences, he can connect African environmental ethics, philosophical reasoning, and the practical challenges of science, technology, and environmental degradation. Internationally, he has also participated in the Africa Conference held at the University of Austin, Texas, the Toyin Falola Annual International Conference on Africa and the African Diaspora, and the World Congress of Philosophy in Nairobi, among others.
Through these efforts, Ogungbemi has built a legacy that is not confined to his teachings, his writings, or his speeches. This legacy can also be perceived from the several individuals that he has helped to raise through supervision, mentorship activities, and the academic programs that he helped to develop in different institutions. For instance, at Moi University in Kenya, he helped to develop undergraduate and postgraduate programs. He also supervised postgraduate research in several institutions.
These cumulative efforts have earned him several honors like the 2014 University of Texas at Austin Distinguished Award for the Advancement of Pan-African Dialogue, the 2014 Adekunle Ajasin University Distinguished Merit Award for Excellent Services, and the 1996 Ere Pacesetters Award of Excellence for his contribution to the educational growth of Yagba Land, to mention just a few. These honors have been conferred on him by different communities as appreciation of his contribution to academic, professional, and community development.
At the age of eighty, Segun Ogungbemi’s journey can be best described as that of intellectuality and service. Throughout his career, he has shown how philosophy can traverse from the confines of a classroom to tackle topics of culture, religion, politics, and the future of African societies. This is a scholar who has spent decades inquiring into the meaning of philosophy, especially in relation to African culture, and how African epistemology systems can contribute to discourses like humanity, ethics, development, and social transformation in the 21st century. These contributions to the development of intellectualism, society, and human resources are the foundations of a veritable legacy that is deserving of further acknowledgement and celebration alongside the celebration of an eightieth birthday.
Happy Birthday to you, my friend, Segun Ogunbemi; a great scholar and a greater human. Irunmole a gbe yin o.