Akin Mabogunje: A Rare Breed Departs

On Thursday, one of Nigeria’s most accomplished intellectuals, Professor Akinlawon ’Ladipo Mabogunje, breathed his last. He passed on ten weeks shy of his 91st birthday. He was a man of great thought and consequential action, one of those that balanced theory with practice. His impact extended far beyond the boundaries of his primary field, and he was rightly described as an ‘intellectual without borders’. Yet, he was a very unassuming and profoundly decent man. They don’t make them like Mabogunje again.