Sophie Bosede Oluwole (née Aloba, 12 May 1935 – 23 December 2018) was a Nigerian professor and philosopher, and was the first doctorate degree holder in philosophy in Nigeria.
[2][3] Sophie Bosede Olayemi Oluwole was born on May 12, 1935, to Timothy Ogiemare Aloba Egbarevba, in the Yoruba town of Igbara-oke, modern day Ondo State.
Despite her grandparents being from Benin city, Oluwole never spoke the Edo language, she took to an excellent grasp of the Yoruba culture she learned from her parents and community.
The town of Igbara-oke and the rest of the Ekiti region had a strong history of interaction with the Benin Empire, both in peaceful trade, and diplomacy.
"[5] In an interview with Jesusegun Alagbe, a journalist for The PUNCH Newspapers, Oluwole describes an event during school, where she was sent to a hospital to distribute food and medicine, and was scared by the desperately sick patients, saying "That day, I knew I was not going to be a nurse.
[7] Oluwole's teachings and works are accredited to the Yoruba school of philosophical thought, which was ingrained in the cultural and religious beliefs (Ifá) of the various regions of Yorubaland.
These two thinkers, representing the values of the African and Western traditions, are two of Oluwole's biggest influences, and she compares the two in her book Socrates and Orunmila.