Sophie Bosede Oluwole was born on 12 May 1935 in Igbara Oke, in present day Ondo State, Nigeria. She was educated during a period when Nigerian universities followed British academic structures and philosophy curricula were largely built around European traditions.
Her academic career became closely associated with the University of Lagos, where she lectured in philosophy and later rose to the rank of professor. In 1984, she became the first Nigerian woman to earn a PhD in philosophy, a milestone frequently cited in accounts of her life and career.
Oluwole’s scholarship focused on the status of African intellectual traditions within formal philosophical discourse. She argued that Yoruba Ifá, commonly described as a religious and divinatory system, also contains structured reflection on ethics, knowledge, destiny, and social responsibility.
Academic Formation and Career
Oluwole’s entry into philosophy shaped the trajectory of her academic life. At a time when African philosophy was still consolidating its place within university departments, she committed her research to the examination of indigenous sources as philosophical material.
At the University of Lagos, she taught African philosophy and supervised graduate research. Her work formed part of wider debates in twentieth century African philosophy about how the discipline should define itself and what materials should count as philosophy.
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Ifá as a Body of Intellectual Reflection
Ifá consists of an extensive corpus of verses preserved through trained custodians known as babaláwo. These verses are transmitted orally through formalised systems of memorisation and instruction. Beyond its ritual role, Ifá contains narratives and reflections that address moral choice, fate, knowledge, and communal order.
Oluwole treated these materials as texts capable of philosophical analysis. She examined patterns of reasoning, ethical argument, and conceptual consistency within Ifá teachings. Her position was that the oral nature of the tradition does not prevent systematic thought.
Socrates and Orunmila
Her most widely discussed publication, Socrates and Orunmila, Two Patron Saints of Classical Philosophy, was published in 2014 by Ark Publishers. In it, she compared Socrates of ancient Greece with Orunmila, the sage figure associated with Ifá wisdom.
The comparison focused on method rather than historical connection. Oluwole explored similarities in dialogical reasoning, moral inquiry, and the pursuit of wisdom. By placing Orunmila alongside Socrates, she situated Yoruba intellectual tradition within a comparative philosophical framework.
Contribution to African Philosophy
Oluwole’s work developed alongside other African philosophers engaged in defining the scope of the discipline. Scholars such as Kwasi Wiredu and Henry Odera Oruka examined questions about conceptual decolonisation and the classification of African thought. Within this landscape, Oluwole concentrated on demonstrating the analytical structure of Yoruba Ifá.
Her publications and lectures contributed to the visibility of African philosophy in Nigerian academic settings. She maintained that indigenous intellectual traditions could be examined with the same critical tools applied to European philosophy.
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Public Engagement
In addition to academic writing, Oluwole participated in public discussions on education and governance. She commented on the importance of engaging indigenous ethical frameworks in contemporary African societies. Her views were published in interviews and national newspapers.
Her career also unfolded within a discipline historically dominated by men. Her academic achievements positioned her among the prominent figures in Nigerian philosophy during the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries.
Final Years
Sophie Bosede Oluwole died on 23 December 2018 at the age of 83. Obituaries in Nigerian and international newspapers highlighted her role in African philosophy and her scholarship on Yoruba thought.
Her published works continue to be cited in discussions of oral philosophy, comparative philosophy, and the intellectual history of Africa.
Author’s Note
Sophie Oluwole’s career stands as a record of sustained scholarly focus on Yoruba Ifá as a body of intellectual reflection. Through teaching, writing, and public engagement, she placed indigenous African thought within formal philosophical debate and contributed to the development of African philosophy in Nigerian universities.
References
Oluwole, Sophie B. Socrates and Orunmila, Two Patron Saints of Classical Philosophy. Ark Publishers, 2014.
Wiredu, Kwasi. “The Need for Conceptual Decolonisation in African Philosophy.” In African Philosophy, An Anthology.
Oruka, Henry Odera. Sage Philosophy, Indigenous Thinkers and Modern Debate on African Philosophy.
The Guardian Nigeria. “Sophie Bosede Oluwole, 1935, 2018.” 2019.
The Independent. “Sophie Oluwole, Nigerian philosopher who put Yoruba thought on the global map.” 2019.
