In the College of Medicine as Administrative Officer/Assistant Registrar and then Senior Assistant Registrar/Principal Assistant Registrar as Faculty Officer of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences and Dentistry for ten years. The Faculty is the largest in the University of Ibadan consisted of 16 Departments and one Institute. She worked with five Deans and they all held her in high esteem for her ‘consistence, cooperation, efficiency, diligence, innovativeness and dedication to her duties. One of the Deans she worked with wrote her a commendation letter in which he noted that “not only did Mrs Famewo not require supervision as Faculty officer, but she was also always ready to accept difficulties as challenges to overcome. She later rose in rank to become the College Secretary.
Mrs Famewo got married to Late Professor Christopher Ekundayo in 1970 and the family is blessed with five loving children, Prof Lola Famewo-Olajide, Femi, Kayode, Bolanle and Tokunbo Famewo-Adeniyi. Sadly, Prof. Famewo was called to be with the Lord in 1998 after a ghastly motor accident in which they were being driven. Mrs Famewo was in the car, suffered multiple fractures and was in the intensive care unit at UCH for many weeks before she recovered. This terrible blow would have been enough to destroy totally the future of many beings, but not Mrs Famewo. Her strong faith in God and the support of good people saw her through the devastation of this experience. She loves challenges, in 1999, exactly a year after she lost her husband, she wrote a book titled “Footprints in Time: The Life and Times of Professor Christopher Ekundayo Famewo” to commemorate the first anniversary of the passing to glory of her darling husband. This feat showed that she is a woman of great inner strength, great faith, strong determination and great commitment, who, rather than keep on weeping, saw the loss of her husband as a challenge to chronicle the outstanding achievements of the gem she lost and their unforgettable family life while he was alive in a book.
She also wrote a book titled “Optimal Management of Financial Challenges: The University of Ibadan” Sequel to this, the topic of her dissertation at University of Ife in 1981 was “The Impact of Reduced Government Grants on the Financial Administration of the University of Ibadan” Apart from extensive research work she did at that time to produce outstanding dissertation, she kept her interest on the subject alive for two decades. Her involvement with administration at the University of Ibadan as Faculty Officer and Secretary to the College had given her the opportunity to have at close quarters the issues of financial challenges in management at University level. Mrs Famewo has always been conscious of the need to have avenues of better funding in the University. It is therefore not surprising that as Faculty Officer of the then Faculty of Clinical Sciences and Dentistry, she was the first person to introduce the idea of fund generation from charging a fee for Verification and Recommendation requests from Alumni of College abroad. The Faculties and the College have since then been generating a lot of revenue from this service. The book she has written is the result of her research and cumulative experience on this highly relevant issue in the administration of Universities in Nigeria today.
She organized a seminar on College of Medicine Administration, the proceedings of which she edited into another book titled “College of Medicine Administration: Challenges and Prospects.” Apart from her 26 pages contribution to this book which was described as the “lead” paper in the Foreword to the book written by Chief C.O. Arowolo, the Foundation Secretary to the College of Medicine and a former Registrar of the University, many eminent past and present administrators in the College of Medicine and other parts of the University of Ibadan made invaluable contributions to the book. Mrs Famewo loves the University of Ibadan, especially the College of Medicine, with passion. As a result, she is always determined to make a difference and indeed leave a mark in whatever assignment the University gives her to perform.
It is pertinent to mention Prof D.D.Oyebola’s comment “…Mrs Famewo is a very humble, kind intelligent and caring person. Very often, she will sacrifice her personal needs and comfort so that others will be alright. For some years now, I have learnt to see and appreciate God in people’s lives and events. In 1999, I was in Mrs Famewo’s office in UCH. When I saw the way, she was doing her work, helping students and others so cheerfully and selflessly, I scribbled a short poem, in her office. It was titled “Thank you Lord, for your wonderful daughter”. I gave her a copy. I will end this introduction by reading that poem written on 8/11/99.
“Thank you, Lord, for your wonderful daughter. Who through His grace Is a source of blessing to all. Charming, warm and caring. Ever ready to go extra mile . Comfort and succor to bring to others Who may need her help.
For this your wonderful daughter Lord, we thank you For the several lives she has touched We glorify your Holy Name.
A few of the comments from students on Mrs Famewo in the book on College of Medicine Administration confirmed what I wrote prior about Mrs Famewo in the poem of 1999.”