1. Birth and Early Life: Born on April 14, 1935, in Ibadan, Nigeria, to Horatio Vincent Sowemimo Olunloyo and Alhaja Bintu Tejumola Abebi.
2. Parental Background: His father, a Christian scholar and army officer, died when Victor was 13. His mother, a devout Muslim, lived to be 102 years old and passed away in 2013.
3. Academic Excellence: Earned a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics and Number Theory from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1961 at the age of 26.
4. Doctoral Thesis: His thesis was titled “Numerical Determination of the Solutions of Eigenvalue Problems of the Sturm–Liouville Type.”
5. Published Works: He authored several research papers in applied mathematics and number theory.
6. Early Political Appointment: At 27, he was appointed Commissioner for Economic Development in the Western Region under Dr. Moses Majekodunmi’s cabinet in 1962.
7. Other Commissioner Roles: Served as Commissioner for Community Development, Education (twice), Special Duties, Local Government, and Chieftaincy Affairs at different times.
8. Educational Leadership: He was the pioneer Rector of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, and also the first Rector of Kwara State Polytechnic.
9. Governorship: Became Governor of Oyo State on October 1, 1983. His tenure was cut short by the military coup of December 31, 1983.
10. Political Affiliations: A leading figure in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). He later associated with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
11. Traditional Titles: Held prestigious Yoruba chieftaincy titles such as Balogun of Oyo and Otun Bobasewa of Ife.
12. Family Life: Married to Funlayo and Aderonke Omololu-Olunloyo. He fathered ten children, including the controversial journalist Kemi Olunloyo.
13. Later Political Interests: Declared interest in running for the Oyo governorship in 2003 under the PDP but was not selected as the party’s candidate.
14. Health and Rumors: In 2024, rumors of his death went viral but were debunked by his family, who confirmed he was battling age-related health issues.
15. Passing: Dr. Victor Omololu Olunloyo died on April 6, 2025, in Ibadan, just eight days before his 90th birthday.
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.
