Dr. Elizabeth Olayinka Ibijola

She was Dr. Elizabeth Olayinka Ibijola — “Mummy Prof.” to the people who knew her work, and simply “Maami” to the five children she raised. Born in Nigeria on 18 July 1957, she spent her working life as a scholar. The title she earned followed her everywhere; the way she wore it did too — without airs, and with time for whoever was standing in front of her. At home she was a wife and a mother of five, and a Christian for whom faith was not a Sunday habit but the shape of an ordinary week. The words she loved best, “Jesu dun lati sin” — it is good to serve Jesus — say as much about her as any account of her work could: she served gladly, and made it look easy. She died on 18 October 2026, leaving a family who called her blessed, and many more who were taught by her without ever sitting in her classroom. Rest well, Maami.