Mahmoud at 68: Celebrating a Distinguished Scholar and Global Research Icon
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By Festus Ogunyinka
Prof. Abdulraheem Olarongbe Mahmoud, UNILORIN Best Researcher of the Year 2012, is a golden proof of the University of Ilorin’s Better-by-Far mantra.
The mantra is not a fluke. UNILORIN continues to sustain its globally acclaimed standing in teaching, learning and research by consistently producing highly sought-after graduates at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as maintaining its reputation as one of Nigeria’s leading research institutions.
Masquerades that dance dexterously obviously have some artful humans behind the masks.
Prof. Mahmoud, the pioneer Professor of Ophthalmology and the first inaugural lecturer from the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Ilorin, is one of the highly respected eggheads behind the consistent successes being recorded by the institution locally and globally.
As Olarongbe, the Ilorin-born Consultant Ophthalmologist and Vitreoretinal Surgeon at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, celebrates his 68th birthday, he had a chat with the UNILORIN Bulletin, which revealed evergreen lessons and reasons why the celebration deserves to be amplified.
Prof. Mahmoud is not merely being celebrated for turning 68; he is being celebrated because he appears to embody the principle behind the Roman phrase, primus inter pares (first among equals). Whether as the young pupil who began his formal education at Ansarul Islam Primary School, Oke-Aluko, Ilorin, in 1964, or as an exceptionally brilliant medical student at the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, between 1976 and 1981, Abdulraheem has consistently distinguished himself as first and best among equals.
Mahmoud, an avid reader of books on general interest and a keen viewer of various documentary films, joined the service of UNILORIN as a Lecturer I in 2000, after having been involved in medical practice at various levels, particularly as the National Coordinator for the Prevention of Blindness in Nigeria between 1994 and 1999.
In the past quarter of a century, Mahmoud has contributed immensely to the growth and smooth running of UNILORIN. As a consummate academic, he attained the respected peak of his academic career when he became the university’s pioneer Professor of Ophthalmology in 2011.
Barely five months after his promotion, he delivered the first inaugural lecture from his department in 2012. He has not only served as Head of the Department of Ophthalmology but has also provided quality academic leadership, culminating in the production of other seasoned professors of Ophthalmology.
Prof. Mahmoud has supervised or co-supervised several Doctor of Medicine (MD), PhD and residency fellowship dissertations within and outside the University of Ilorin.
A well-grounded medical practitioner, Mahmoud undertook his residency training between 1986 and 1992 at the Guinness Eye Unit, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. He also undertook a clinical attachment in Ophthalmology at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, England, between June 1992 and April 1993.
As a professor of Ophthalmology, he has served as an external assessor or interviewer for about 18 professorial appointments.
Mahmoud did not emerge as UNILORIN’s Best Researcher in 2012, an achievement that came with the award of a brand-new car, by mere favour; he worked hard for the uncommon recognition.
His research findings have been widely published, with more than 100 publications in national and international journals, including the 200-year-old Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals. Apart from his numerous publications, he also has several discoveries and inventions to his credit.
Principal among his discoveries is what he described as his “international and national collaborative research that led to the adoption of once-a-year mass chemotherapy with Ivermectin (Mectizan) drug for the elimination of River Blindness disease worldwide.”
Another of his pioneering collaborative research efforts led to the adoption of more affordable diode laser ophthalmic equipment for the treatment of retino-vascular diseases in several ophthalmic units across Nigeria.
Prof. Mahmoud, who holds the prestigious academic fellowships of the West African College of Surgeons (FWACS) and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (FMCOph), has served the university in several capacities beyond his medical teaching, research and consultancy activities.
He is currently the Chairman of the UNILORIN Committee on Examinations, Scholarships and Endowment.
He had earlier served as Chairman of the Board of Management of the University of Ilorin Press, after serving as a member of the board for close to a decade.
His entrepreneurial sagacity and managerial skills contributed to the enhancement of the Press. He collaborated with the university management towards attracting a N300 million TETFund intervention, which the unit narrowly missed.
Mahmoud had earlier attracted a N75 million TETFund STEP-B World Bank project grant in collaboration with the University of Ilorin’s internally generated revenue (IGR). The fund facilitated the procurement of vitreoretinal surgical instruments and equipment for subspecialty retinal research and surgery at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH).
Within the same year, Mahmoud attracted another N7 million grant from Sight Savers International of the United Kingdom for a commissioned research project titled “Ocular Morbidity Survey in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State.”
Prof. Mahmoud has also represented UNILORIN with distinction on several national and international committees. He became an internationally certified university accreditor by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in October 2021.
He has also served as either a member or chairman of accreditation panels of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and the West African College of Surgeons for the accreditation of Ophthalmology Residency Fellowship programmes in seven Nigerian university teaching hospitals.
Abdulraheem, an internationally sought-after and widely cited researcher, is also well-travelled. He has visited 18 countries across four continents, including 10 in Africa, four in Europe, three in Asia and the United States of America.
These trips have provided opportunities for training programmes and conferences that have contributed to his impressive research outputs and the production of first-rate ophthalmologists across the globe.
A tribute to Mahmoud at 68 would be incomplete without acknowledging his contributions to the rapidly evolving information technology sector.
He is a charter member of the National Association of Artificial Intelligence Practitioners (2024) and the Association of Cyber Security Practitioners (2025).
Prof. Mahmoud is also the country coordinator of a UAE-based research consortium currently involved in an international multicentre research study across 55 countries on medical students’ perceptions of trust in Artificial Intelligence for automated assessment scoring.
Mahmoud, who was born into the respected Alkali family on November 15, 1958, is an active lover of his immediate community.
To commemorate his appointment as a professor, he founded the Alkali Mahmoud Foundation in 2011 in honour of his late father. Through the foundation, he continues to impact his community by providing scholarships to indigent students in inner-city communities and procuring relevant tools for underprivileged artisans.
As a family man, Mahmoud epitomises abiyamo tooto and is a doting husband. He is blessed with equally erudite, successful and well-behaved children.
One of them, Dr. Rilwan Mahmoud, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Law at the University of Ilorin, was among the recipients of the university’s Merit Awards at the just-concluded 2026 Convocation Ceremonies.
This represents a seamless passing of the baton of research excellence and the family’s tradition of legal scholarship to the next generation.
Here is wishing this erudite intellectual many more happy and healthy returns of his birthday anniversary as he continues his service to God and humanity.
