CITATION OF PROFESSOR CYRIL SEGUN IGE

Professor Cyril Segun Ige was born on the 30th of January 1950, in Ogotun Ekiti where he attended St. Theresa’s Primary School. There he did 2 years and few months before his loving sister and mentor Mrs. Rosemary Adenike Adedoja (nee Ige) took him off to live with her as she traversed the then South West in a stunning and meritorious teaching career. Other schools he attended, all in the South West of Nigeria, include St. Stephen’s Primary School, Owo (Primary 3), St. Joseph’s Primary School, Ushi-Ekiti, and finally St. Francis Primary School, Owo (Primaries 5 and 6) where he obtained his Primary School Leaving Certificate in Grade A.

He attended Notre Dame Secondary School, Ushi-Ekiti 1961-1966 for his secondary education, finishing in Grade ONE in the West African School Certificate Examination, top of his class, a second set in a six-year programme. Indeed he had come First in this class throughout except once in his first year in that school. He proceeded to Oyemekun Grammar School, Akure in 1967 for his two-year Higher School Certificate (HSC) education and he obtained at first sitting GCE Advanced Level grades in Pure Mathematics, Economics and Geography. Meanwhile, in the First Year of HSC, by coming First in Economics in his class, he was awarded the ‘Best Student’ prize in that subject. He was noted in school as an ardent lover of foot-ball in which he represented all the schools he attended. Besides he was religious and would have gone ahead to become a Reverend Gentleman but for lack of concurrence of his mother at the time.

After teaching Mathematics for the first nine months of 1969 at St. Patrick’s Grammar School, Oka-Akoko he proceeded to the University of Ibadan for a degree in Economics where along with 5 other young men he was selected to specialize in Economics-with-Statistics. He had earlier received an admission offer from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria for a degree in Accounting which he cleverly turned down because he reasoned his life in Accountancy will be better if he obtained a degree in Economics first. But that line was not to be as he finished his degree in Economics at the University of Ibadan brilliantly and was offered the Rockefeller Scholarship to commence his postgraduate work immediately. The offer was irresistible to our young man who completed his Masters in the University and later proceeded to a Lecturer II position for almost two sessions at the University of Calabar 1976/1977. He wasted no time to beacon to the United Kingdom with a Federal Scholarship to pursue his PhD. He returned to the University of Jos, Jos because of the good weather as Lecturer 1 in 1981 and became an Associate Professor there in 1987.

Having witnessed his performance in a few seminars/conferences, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) invited him in 1990 to serve as Macro-economic Adviser to the United Nations (UN), a job that was to take him round the world because his boss was impressed.

He was seconded to serve the then Ondo State Government in the capacity of Executive Director (Operations) of the conglomerate Ondo State Investment (Holding) Company Limited in 1991, sitting over 20 manufacturing companies. The new democratic government in that state in January 1992 felt enthusiastic about his performance and made him Group Managing Director of the Conglomerate, two (2) weeks after they came to power. However, the pull of his UN job took him back to the UN that same year when he was made Assistant Resident Representative (Programmes), a position that took him out of Nigeria more often than not training Third World public servants in Italy (ILO Turin Centre), the US and across Africa. After a Certificate winning Service to Humanity award in 1994 and an opportunity to work with some of the best in UNDP and the World Bank, particularly serving under Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who was Assistant Administrator (African Bureau), now President of Liberia, he returned to Academics world in 1997.

Since then, he has taught at the University of Lagos, Ogun State University, Ago-Iwoye and now Covenant University. He has published papers in several national and international journals, in books, co-editing, and presenting specialized papers at specialized conferences. A Visiting Scholar to the Editorial Board of The Guardian for several years till now, he continues to provide meritorious services to the UN, ECOWAS, his country and humanity.

He was already on duty for less than 5 months on a UNICEF consultancy appointment in 2004 when he got the telephone call of Professor Bola Ayeni, the former Vice-Chancellor of Covenant University who knew surprisingly that he was on a medium-term consultancy with UNICEF from Ogun State University where he had been Professor and Head of Economics. He had visited Covenant University before because of the interest in Living Faith Church and its wonders, so the Vice-Chancellor was actually speaking to an interested party. Nearly one year after, he again had an opportunity to discuss issues with another Acting Vice-Chancellor then, Dr. J. Aremu in Abuja and he too was very enthusiastic. Virtually all his previous jobs failed to give him enough time to worship God. With UNICEF consultancy showing no signs of ever ending once again, he taught the job in Covenant University might be different in permiting more time with God. Today Professor Ige relishes that opportunity of a life time, Praise the Lord. He is currently Head of Economics and Development Studies Department, Chairman, Covenant University Strategic Plan Work Group and Co-ordinator of Entrepreneurship Development Studies (Taught Programme.).

Professor Ige is marred to Mrs. Rosaleen Mogbonjubola Ige (nee Elegbe Ogbor) and they have four children, the eldest of whom is Dr Bunmi Ige of St. Kizito Hospital, Victoria Island, Lagos.