Kunle Adelabu
A Professor of Mathematics and former Vice Chairman, Ikorodu Division Resource Development Group (IDRDG), Prof. Michael Olusanya Ajetunmobi, B.Sc (Hons.), M.Sc. (Ife), Ph.D (Ib), is dead. He was 76 years old.
THE IMPACT gathered the late academic giant who was hail and healthy passed on around 7pm on Wednesday in Igbogbo.
He was born in Ikorodu on the 23rd of February 1951 to his father Chief Benjamin Oke Ajetunmobi, Odofin of Sagamu who hails from Aga Quarters, Ikorodu Town, and Mother, Madam Sarah Abegbe Ajetunmobi (Nee Bamgbose of Saint Matthew Daniels of Lagos Island).
Prof. Ajetunmobi was a former Head of Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Lagos State University (LASU) and the first professor of mathematics in Ikorodu Division.
Michael Ajetunmobi attended Ladi-Lak Institute, Yaba from 1957–1964 for his Primary School Education, Lagos City College, Yaba 1969 and Igbobi College, Yaba in 1971 for his Secondary School Education, and passed his West African School Certificate (WASC) with Grade One Aggregate 19. In 1975, he proceeded to University of Ife, Ile-Ife for his first degree and obtained B.Sc (Hons) in Mathematics in 1978. He went further for his M.Sc in the same institution in 1978. By 1984, he did his Ph.D in University of Ibadan and got his Doctorate degree in the same course.
He had the best results in the 1975 Degree Examinations in the Faculty Science, University of Ife.
Post -Doctoral Academic Fellowship under Association of Commonwealth Universities (1992–1993) tenable at the University of Manchester, U.K.
A Fellow, Fellows of the Nigerian Mathematical Society (FNMS), at the Nigerian Academy of Science, University of Lagos (UNILAG), 2016.
Ajetunmobi, who lectured Mathematics for 45 years in Lagos State University (LASU), University of Ibadan (UI) and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile – Ife, in an interview with THE IMPACT in September 2022, described Mathematics as abstract and an art subject and never a science as wrongly held by many.
He emphasised that the horrific perception of the subject stemmed from the misconception that it is a science.
“I think that we all are making a mistake. Mathematics is abstract. I think that the problem is from our upbringing, we were not taught to think abstractly. People think science and science is not Mathematics”, Prof. Ajetunmobi said.
“In science, you see things and make observations but nothing like that in Mathematics. It’s purely abstract and anybody can do Mathematics.
“Let me again correct this impression, Mathematics is not science. It’s an Art; it’s like dancing, music and not science at all. That is the beginning of the error we have with Mathematics,” he emphasized.
His contributions to the world of mathematics were enumerated in the 30th inaugural lecture of the Lagos State University (LASU) which he delivered in 2006
“My striking research contributions in Algebraic topology which paved the way forward for my other computations are: the reproof of a classical theorem by M. Fujii (Publ. Sec. Mat (U.A.B) vol. 29 n.2-3 Nov. 1985, pp 111-117. MR. 87i:55006) and a reproof of a classical theorem by S.G. Hoggar (NJS), vol. 21 n. 1 & 2 Dec 1987, pp 94 – 98. MR. 92i: 55007) using the Atiyah – Hirzebruch spectral sequence for KO – theory.
“In 1988, I determined the structure of the KO – groups of the complex flag manifold of lengths 2 and 3 (Publications Mathematique, vol 32 (1988), 159 –164). With a determined effort to establish a general result for the KO-groups of complex flag manifolds, I established the relationship between the torsion subgroups of the KO-groups of projective bundles over flag manifolds within restricted range (abacus, vol 8, n.2 (1989), 208 – 209). This relationship allowed me to deduce the KO-groups of complex flag manifold of length 4.
“Sensing that the above tremendous calculations might not yield good results in the general case, I revised the technique in 1992 during my visit to the University of Manchester, U.K and decided to compute the ring-structure instead of the ordinary group structure (Annal of Math. Analysis 1(1): 9 – 13, 1999). Sensing fresh problems with this new technique, I decided to start the computation of the KO-groups of complex projective bundles over complex projective spaces (Math theory 1(2): 1-4 (1998.),” Prof. Ajetunmobi wrote in his inaugural lecture.”
Some of the books and monographs that Prof. Ajetunmobi authored and contributed to are:
AJETUNMOBI, M.O.: Date Analysis Recommendation and Conclusion in Research, Journal of Professional Adm; Jan – March. Vol.1, pp 28-29, 2002
AJETUNMOBI, M. O. (1999): Undergraduate Text in Group Theory. JAS Publishers, Lagos 181 pages
AUDU, M.S. et al (2001): Lecture notes series in Algebra. NMC, Abuja No 1.
AJETUNMOBI, M. O. (2000): Management Information Systems (MIS). LASUMBA lecture Notes series.
Prof. Ajetunmobi served as Vice Chairman, Ikorodu Division Resource Development Group (IDRDG) and doubled as the Vice Chairman, Ikorodu Town Hall Management Board (ITHMB).
He was admitted into the Ikorodu Division Hall of Fame in 2023 as the First Professor of Mathematics in the Division.
He was a member of the First Club, Igbogbo.