Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello: The Woman Who Transformed LASU

Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello concluded her five-year tenure as the ninth substantive Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU) this month. Prior to her appointment, she held the position as a physiologist. Upon taking office in September 2021, she inherited 37 academic programs that were awaiting accreditation. Within her first year, she successfully secured full accreditation for 31 of these programs.

By the end of her tenure, all of LASU’s 80 to 81 programs had achieved full accreditation, along with the establishment of three new faculties, two new schools, and 20 additional courses. This expansion led to an increase in annual student intake from approximately 5,000 to 13,000, making LASU the most applied-to university in Nigeria in 2025 and 2026, with over 85,000 applications during that period.

Olatunji-Bello also spearheaded the digitalization of LASU's admissions, screening, and certificate verification processes. In July 2022, she introduced Nigeria's first university Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy. During her tenure, more than 50 infrastructure projects were undertaken, including the Babajide Sanwo-Olu Library Complex, a six-story Academic Resource Centre, the multi-billion-naira Tunji Bello Auditorium in Epe, and new hostels accommodating around 8,000 students, transforming LASU into a more residential campus.

Her efforts paid off, as LASU topped the UI GreenMetric list as the Best University in West Africa for four consecutive years and was ranked the second-best public university in Sub-Saharan Africa by Times Higher Education in 2024. Pro-Chancellor Babatunde Ogala commended her during her valedictory session, describing her as a go-getter and a teacher of teachers.

Olatunji-Bello herself emphasized that while offices and titles are temporary, the institutional impact she left behind will endure beyond her tenure. The incoming Vice-Chancellor of LASU inherits a university that is considerably more challenging to run into the ground compared to the one she inherited in 2021.