Local govt expert Tofail Ahmed passes away

Local government expert Professor Tofail Ahmed has passed away. He breathed his last around 9:00 pm Wednesday, at a hospital in the capital, according to a press release.

Professor Ahmed, a former faculty member of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Chittagong and former head of the Local Government Reform Commission, was 71 years old. He is survived by his wife and a daughter.

Family sources said his body was being taken to Chattogram, where his funeral prayer (janaza) will be held on Thursday, at 11:00 am on the grounds of Madanhat High School in Fatehpur, Hathazari. He will be laid to rest at the family graveyard in Fatehpur village.

His son-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel Sarowar Jahan, said Professor Ahmed was admitted to United Hospital on Tuesday due to illness. Physicians had found three blockages in his heart.

He underwent a stenting procedure (ring placement) Wednesday afternoon in the hospital’s cath lab. Shortly afterward, his condition deteriorated unexpectedly, and he was placed on life support. Physicians pronounced him dead around 9:30 pm.

Born on 1 March, 1954, in Fatehpur, Hathazari upazila of Chattogram, Tofail Ahmed completed his SSC from Fatehabad High School and HSC from Chittagong College. He earned his BA and MA in Political Science from the University of Chittagong in 1976 and 1977 respectively.

Later, he obtained an MSc (Economics) and a PhD in Social and Economic Studies from the University of Wales, Swansea.

Throughout his career, Professor Ahmed worked as a teacher and researcher at several institutions, including the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), Cumilla, the University of Chittagong, the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD) at BRAC University, and North South University.

A pioneering local government scholar and a prominent figure in civil society, Professor Ahmed also served with various UN agencies and development organisations.

He was a member of the Local Government Commission, a local governance adviser to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and a consultant for both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

He was also president of the Knowledge Trust and an advisor to Prova Aurora.

A prolific researcher, columnist, and author, Professor Tofail Ahmed published over 30 books in both Bangla and English, many of which received wide acclaim.