Olawumi Gasper

“Good name in man and woman
Dear my lord
Is the immediate jewel of their souls:
Who steals my purse steals thrash;
‘tis something, nothing;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed”

Olawumi Gasper was born on November 11, 1957 in the tin city of Bukuru, Plateau State, into the family of Seminario Olajide Gasper of 269 Igbosere Road, Lafiaji-Lagos and Margaret Omobowale of blessed memory. A grandson of the very prosperous Brazilian returnee carpenter of old Lagos. Olawumi attended St. Peters Primary School, Bukuru between 1963 and 1969. He had a short stint at Hillcrest College, Jos before proceeding to the C&S College, Ilorin for his secondary school education which he completed in flying colors in 1973.

In 1975, he proceeded to the University of Science and Technology, Port-Harcourt, as a Lagos State Government scholar, where he graduated with distinctions in 1980 specializing in Machinery Engineering. He then served his NYSC at MUCAST (Markurdi) as a junior lecturer in Engineering. In 1984, he got a Federal Government Scholarship to study Machinery Engineering at Master’s Degree level at Silsoe College, Cranfield University, Bedford, England. In 2006, he attended the Senior Executive Course in Leadership and Corporate Governance of the Manchester Business School, Manchester.
He started his academic and professional career from Shawmont Nig. Ltd (Canadian Engineering Consultants) in 1981 after his NYSC. He later left to join the services of the Federal Polytechnic, Akure where he was immediately sent on a six months internship by the Federal Government to the Republics of Czech, Slovakia and Austria under the Federal Government Accelerated Technical Training Program. He then transferred his services to the Lagos State Polytechnic in 1990 as a Lecturer 1 rising rapidly through the academic ranks to the position of Senior Lecturer, Principal Lecturer and to the enviable position of Chief Lecturer; serving at different times as the Head of Department, Acting Director of School of Engineering, Acting Deputy Rector and Acting Rector between 1991 and 1999. He was appointed the Rector, Lagos State Polytechnic in 1999, reappointed in 2003 for a second term of another four years.

He is a great academic and prolific writer. He has many local and international publications to his credit. He is co-author of a textbook ‘Technical Report Writing’. In recognition of his services to humanity, His Royal Highness, the late Oba of Lagos honored him in year 2000 with a chieftaincy title of Aare Onimo Ero of Lagos (Chief Engineer of Lagos) while the National Association of Nigerian Students also in year 2001 and 2004 bestowed on him, the most enviable award of the Best Rector of the Year. Olawumi is widely travelled and happily married with children. His hobbies include reading, trekking and golfing. He is a Fellow, Nigerian Society of Engineers; fellow, Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers; Chartered Engineer; Member, Nigerian Institute of Management; Immediate Past Chairman, council of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria (COHEADS); Vice-Chairman, Commonwealth association of Polytechnics in Africa (CAPA) and an Alumnus of the prestigious National Institute (mni) and The Lagos Business School. He has served on the council of the National Board foe Technical Education (NBTE), National Youth Service Corps, Lagos State Polytechnic, Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre and the Nigeria Society of Engineers.

Engr. Chief Olawumi Omotola Anthony Gasper sits on the board of several corporate organizations in Nigeria. He is a Director of International Health Management Services (IHMS) - a registered Health Maintenance Organization (HMO); Chairman, BISM Nig. Ltd - a business initiative and solution company; Director, Synapses Medical Networks - an Information Technology provider to the health sector; and on a sabbatical leave as Chief Consultant to Globalplacement The Netherlands B.V. the world’s largest on-line internship search and placement company matching students and companies locally and internationally.