Abridged Profile of Professor Olayemi Akinwumi
Professor
Olayemi Akinwumi PhD, FHSN, AvHF, MNAL is a Distinguished Professor of History
at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria since 2005. He had his higher
education at the University of Ilorin where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree
in 1985 followed by Master’s and PhD degrees in History in the same
University. He is a Fellow of the
Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN), and former President of the Historical
Society, the first Academic Society in Nigeria.
Professor
Olayemi Akinwumi began his academic career at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria
and rose to become a Senior Lecturer in 1996. He was at the Institut fur
Ethonogie, Freie Universitat, Berlin from 1999 to 2004. He joined and has been
in the services of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi since 2004.
He has won many
international and national academic awards. Among the awards are the Prof Ali
Mazrui academic awards for Academic Excellence in Kenya, the Stellenbosch
Institute of Advanced Study Award (South Africa), the prestigious German
Alexander von Humboldt award, Universitat Zurich (Switzerland)
Nord-Sud-Kooperation Award, Europe Research Award (in University College,
London) the Institute of Commonwealth Studies award (University of London), the
German Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdiendt (DAAD), UNESCO Scholar (Committee
for the Pedagogical Use of the General History of African Project in 2011) and
the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)
scholars at several times. He also had the Bayo kuku award by the Nigeria
Academy of Letters.
Professor
Akinwumi has served in various capacities in the University. He was the first
substantive HOD History (2004-2007). He was the Deputy Dean of Arts
(2004-2006). He was the Dean of Arts (2006-2010). In 2009, he was elected the
Chairman, Committee of Deans and Directors. The same year, he was elected
Senate Representative in the Governing Council where he served in many
committees.
In 2017, he was
appointed as the Director of Institute of Governance and Development Studies.
In 2018 he became the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies and in 2019, he was
appointed for the second time, the Chairman of the Committee of Deans and
Directors.
He is an
erudite scholar with over 70 publications in national and international
journals. Two of his major works are Conflict
and Crises in Nigeria: A Political history since 1960 and the Colonial Contest for the Nigerian Region: A
History of the German Participation. Both books were published in Germany.
He has attended conferences in over 30 countries in the world.
Professor Olayemi Akinwumi was appointed 3rd Vice-Chancellor of Federal University Lokoja by the Governing Council on Friday, 18th December, 2020 for a 5-year tenure, and assumed office on Monday, 15th February, 2021.