Nigeria’s first professor of linguistics and the foundational president of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), Professor Ayọ Bamgbose, has passed away.
His death was confirmed by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Kayode Adebowale—the institution where the deceased lectured for many years before his retirement.
Adebowale, in a statement, said, “The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode Adebowale, on behalf of the University of Ibadan Community, has commiserated with the family, friends and the intellectual community he left behind”.
TheNiche gathered that the emeritus professor died in the early hours of Saturday at the age of 94.
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Born on 27 January 1932, Bamgbose completed his early education in Nigeria before attending the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, where he earned a doctorate in linguistics in 1963.
He subsequently joined the University of Ibadan, where he built a distinguished academic career and played a pivotal role in establishing linguistics as a recognised discipline in Nigeria.
Over more than six decades, Bamgbose made significant contributions to language policy, bilingual education, sociolinguistics, orthography development, and the promotion of indigenous African languages, particularly Yoruba.
Beyond academia, Bamgbose served in several leadership positions within national, regional, and international professional bodies. He mentored generations of linguists and researchers, many of whom have continued to advance scholarship on African languages.