A TRIBUTE TO THE TALENT HUNTER: Retired NECO Director, Alhaji Sulaiman Adegoke, Extols Emeritus Prof. Dibu Ojerinde

By David Alani Ige, (The Scribe)

July 26, 2026

  

MINNA, NIGERIA — Behind every great administrator and successful public servant is a visionary who first spotted their potential before it became obvious to the world. For Alhaji Sulaiman Adegoke, the recently retired Quadruplet Director at the National Examinations Council (NECO), that visionary is none other than the pioneer Registrar and Chief Executive of the Council, Emeritus Professor Dibu Ojerinde. 

Following his glorious retirement at the milestone age of 60, after 34 years of unblemished service to the Nigerian state, Alhaji Adegoke has dedicated a special, profound note of gratitude to the man who permanently altered the trajectory of his career.

The Great Discovery of 1999

The story of Alhaji Adegoke’s phenomenal rise in the federal civil service cannot be told without tracing it back to a fateful recruitment exercise held between the 12th and 14th of October, 1999. 

At the time, Adegoke was a dedicated but regular classroom teacher stationed at the Federal Government Girls’ College (FGGC) in Bauchi State, navigating the daily routine of chalk and blackboards. However, Emeritus Professor Ojerinde, a man renowned for his eagle-eyed ability to spot raw talent, was conducting a rigorous and highly competitive selection process to build the foundational workforce for the newly established NECO. 

Adegoke participated, and the erudite Professor identified the spark of administrative and intellectual brilliance in him. 

"If not for the erudite and intentional Emeritus Professor, the identifier of talents, I would have been languishing in the classroom with chalk and blackboard at FGGC Bauchi as an ordinary classroom teacher," Alhaji Adegoke reflected with deep emotion.

Molding a Director: The Ojerinde Blueprint

Discovering talent is one thing; nurturing it into a formidable force is another. According to the retired Director, Prof. Ojerinde did not just bring him into the Council—he actively modeled and drilled him into becoming a master of educational assessment. 

Under "Baba’s" strict, intentional, and intellectually demanding mentorship, Adegoke and his peers were thoroughly trained in the core mechanics of the examination industry. Ojerinde built within them a lasting framework of:

Confidence and Purpose: Preparing them to handle the massive pressure of national assessments.

Technical Expertise: Imparting the rich, complex knowledge of item generation, editing, and evaluation.

Character and Loyalty: Instilling a deep sense of hard work, dedication to duty, and unalloyed loyalty to the Nigerian child.

These foundational lessons became the bedrock upon which Alhaji Adegoke built a career that successfully saw him navigate through four major Departments and a Directorate within NECO.

A Legacy of Gratitude

In a society where pioneers and mentors are often forgotten once their protégés attain the heights of power, Alhaji Adegoke’s tribute stands as a refreshing testament to the Yoruba ethos of 'Omoluabi'—remembering the source of one’s river. 

Prof. Dibu Ojerinde laid the solid physical, structural, and intellectual foundations of the National Examinations Council, but his greatest legacy, as evidenced by Alhaji Adegoke’s glowing tribute, remains the men and women he built to sustain the institution. 

"Thank you, ‘Baba,’ as he is fondly and affectionately called by all and sundry. May you continue to find the favor of God and man," Adegoke prayed. 

As Alhaji Sulaiman Adegoke bows out of active service with his head held high, his tribute ensures that the history of NECO accurately reflects the genius of the man who first held the compass—Emeritus Professor Dibu Ojerinde.

David Alani Ige, (The Scribe)

Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief, Ayekooto Media

Phunshor01@gmail.com | publisher@ayekootomediang.com

Archiving Nigeria’s Political Realities and Unvarnished Truths..