Whispering Palms Resort Founder Femi- Pearse dies at 86, Buhari mourns

Prof. Ayodeji Femi-Pearse, founder of popular scenic resort, Whispering Palms in Iworo, Badagry, Lagos State, is dead.
The late professor of medicine died on Friday at the age of 86, following a brief illness.
During his lifetime, Femi-Pearse had an illustrious academic career as Provost, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Acting Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Pro- Chancellor, Lagos State University ( LASU), among others.
He retired into the hospitality industry to establish the famous seaside Whispering Palms leisure resort in 1991.
In a condolence message, LASU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, commiserated with the family on the death of the former Chairman of the university’s governing council.
“The painful death of Professor Femi-Pearse is not only a great loss to the academic community in Nigeria, but to the nation as a whole.
“This is because he was an outstanding contributor to quality academic research and an example of good leadership in the country, ” Fagbohun said in a statement.
The vice chancellor prays God to grant the late academic and hospitality guru eternal rest and the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Femi-Pearse, a revered scholar, was born on September 18, 1932 at Yaba, Lagos.
He attended CMS Grammar School, Lagos and proceeded to University of Aberdeen Scotland to study medicine and later joined UNILAG College of Medicine and LUTH as a staff.
He became a Professor in 1977 at the age of 45 and later Provost, UNILAG College of Medicine and Chief Medical Director, LUTH .
In 1980, Femi-Pearse was appointed as the Acting Vice – Chancellor UNILAG and between 2000 and 2004, he became Chairman, LASU Governing Council.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over Femi-Pearse’s death.
The President, in a condolence message by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Sunday, condoled with Ibilola, the widow of the departed, and the entire Femi-Pearce family, friends and relations.
He urged them to take solace in the fact that, their patriarch left his footprints on the sands of time, serving meritoriously at the General Hospital, Lagos, and Lagos University Hospital (LUTH), among others.
Buhari noted that while combining medical practice with academics, Prof. Femi-Pearce was Acting Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, and later, Pro-Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), for four years.
“At retirement, he co-founded the leisure resort, Whispering Palms, which he managed with his wife.
“Tremendous impact was made on the host community through various social development interventions,’’ he said.
The President, who prayed God to grant repose to the soul of the deceased, urged those he left behind to keep his memory alive through the preservation of his legacies.