…Says he introduced Pearce to Tinubu, recalls their friendship at the University of Sheffield
Professor Adebayo Williams has criticised Tokunbo Pearce over his alleged attacks on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing the controversy surrounding their relationship as a question of honour, integrity and ingratitude.
In a strongly worded statement titled “Re: Tokunbo Pearce & President Bola Tinubu”, dated November 10, 2026, Williams dismissed the controversy as no major revelation, but rather an internal dispute, while expressing disappointment over what he described as Pearce’s conduct towards the President.
Williams said he had deliberately refrained from responding to Pearce’s alleged criticisms of Tinubu over the years but felt compelled to speak because he personally introduced both men and was familiar with the support the President had extended to Pearce.
According to him, his relationship with Pearce dates back to their academic years at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, where he was a visiting doctoral student and honorary visiting lecturer at the Department of English between February 1981 and September 1982, while Pearce was a graduate student.
He recalled that their friendship continued after he returned to Ife following a period at the University of Buffalo, with Pearce subsequently defending his doctoral thesis in 1985 before relocating to the United States.
Williams further recounted an encounter in 2003 when he accompanied then-Senator Tinubu to his alma mater, Chicago State University, as part of the senator’s entourage.
He said Tinubu received an elaborate welcome from university officials, who accorded him the kind of reception reserved for distinguished alumni who had brought honour to their institution.
The professor added that photographs were taken and souvenirs exchanged during the visit, insisting that the occasion demonstrated the positive relationship between Tinubu and the university.
Expressing further disappointment over Pearce’s recent statements, Williams suggested that age and political desperation might be influencing his judgment.
He also referenced Pearce’s late father, Commander Afolabi Pearse, and his brothers, retired Navy Captain Femi Pearse and Yomi Pearse, whom he described as men of impeccable character.
Williams concluded by warning that although he had chosen to keep certain private matters confidential out of respect for his personal background and relationship with Pearce, he would reconsider that restraint if what he described as another line was crossed.
The statement has added a personal dimension to the controversy involving Pearce and President Tinubu, with Williams drawing on their shared academic history and his firsthand account of the relationship between the two men.
