Obaro Ikime, a renowned history professor, has been declared deceased.
His bossom friend, AM Akpieyi, announced his death in a short message.
He wrote, “I am deeply saddened to announce that my mentor, my Head of House and Head of School, internationally renowned Historian, Prof. (Venerable) OBARO IKIME (GCU 1950 SEPTEMBER SET) transited today to glory at about 05:30pm in Ibadan.
“He is survived by his beloved wife of some 60 years, HANNAH, and his sons, MAZINO, IAINO and daughter, MAJIRO. May his soul RIPP,” he stated. Obaro Ikime is a retired Professor of history, a fellow and former President of the Historical Society of Nigeria.”
He was born in 1936 in Anibeze, Arohwa clan, Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State.
Prof Ikime attended Government College, Ughelli, formerly known as Warri College (1950-1956), and the University of Ibadan, where he earned a BA (1961) and a PhD (1965).
He began as a history lecturer at Ibadan in 1964 and rose to the rank of Professor in 1973. In 1975, he was a Visiting Professor at UCLA, Berkeley, and Harvard. In 1981-82, he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Benin.
He has written chapters for twelve volumes and is the Editor of Groundwork of Nigerian History, first published by the Historical Society of Nigeria in 1980, and co-editor with Michael Crowder of West African Chiefs: Their Changing Status Under Colonial Rule and Independence.
Ikime served as Director of the Institute of African Studies, Head of the Department of History twice, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Ibadan University. From March 1984 until April 1988, he presided over the History Society of Nigeria. Ikime was Visiting Professor of African History at the University of California, Los Angeles, Beckley, Harvard University Summer School, and the University of Benin, while in Ibadan.
From November 1975 to November 1983, he served as National Secretary of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association. After retiring, he worked for three years as a contract Professor of History at Bayelsa State University on Wilberforce Island.
In December 1995, Ikime became an ordained member of the Church of Nigeria’s Anglican Commission in the Diocese of Ibadan, where he worked until 2007. He was ordained as a Deacon in December 1995, priested in 1996, preferred Canon in 2002, and chosen Archdeacon in December 2006. He resided in Ibadan.