Sophie Oluwole was a restless child, eager to learn and unafraid of reinvention. She first trained as a teacher but soon realised it was not her calling. Seeking more, she enrolled at the University of Lagos to study English, Geography, and History, only to be reassigned to philosophy, a twist she later described as "the greatest accident in my life."

In 1984, she became Nigeria’s first female PhD holder in philosophy. But her journey was never just about academic achievement; it was about reshaping the field itself. Frustrated by the erasure of African thought, she spent her career proving that indigenous philosophies, particularly Yoruba Ifá teachings, were as complex and rigorous as their Western counterparts.

As a professor and later the first female Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Lagos, Oluwole inspired a new generation to see African philosophy as a structured and legitimate discipline, ensuring its place in intellectual discourse.