Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji

Vice Chancellor of Ahman Patigi, Nigeria
Aptly described by the Independent newspaper as “a man of many parts”, Prof. Mahfouz A. Adedimeji is a Fulbright scholar, interdisciplinary researcher, university don, public affairs analyst, communication consultant, peace advocate, interfaith worker and public intellectual. He obtained his academic degrees from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, where he was a Professor of English (Pragmatics and Applied Linguistics) before his appointment as Vice Chancellor as the pioneer Vice Chancellor of Ahman Patigi, Nigeria, in February 2021. He started his academic career in 2000 at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, shortly after which he joined the services of his alma mater, the University of Ilorin. A man of eclectic academic background, Prof. Adedimeji was educated in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Markaz Shabaabil Islam, Iwo, Osun State and Markaz Ta’aleemil Araby, Agege, Lagos. He obtained advanced training in Education, Political Science, Communication and Media, Research and Peace Studies at the National Universities Commission’s (NUC) Virtual Institute for Higher Education Pedagogy (VIHEP); the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Virtual Institute for Higher Education in Africa (VIHEAF); Governors State University, University Park, Illinois, USA; University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana; and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana, USA. Apart from serving as a cultural ambassador to the US under the auspices of the Institute of International Education (IIE), New York, Prof. Adedimeji had won or co-won the research and conference awards/grants of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) of the National Research Council, Nigeria, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). He has written extensively for a wide range of newspapers and periodicals including “Unilorin Bulletin”, “Unilorin Watch”, “DeLight”, “National Pilot”, “Daily Independent”, “Daily Newswatch”, “New York Parrot” and “New Telegraph”, among others. A versatile academic and award-winning scholar, Prof. Adedimeji has attended academic conferences and undertaken research in several universities across Nigeria as well as in Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Australia, France and United States of America, among others. His hundreds of academic, Islamic and general/opinion articles have been published across outlets in Nigeria and beyond. He has also facilitated and participated in seminars and workshops both nationally and internationally. A former Head of the Directorate of Corporate Affairs of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Adedimeji was the Director of the Centre for Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, between 2013 and 2017. Apart from serving as Rapporteur-General to the Presidential Committee that organised the 2017 Federal Executive Council’s Retreat on Education in Nigeria, he has consulted for the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Nigeria Inter-religious Council (NIREC), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence and Corps (NSCDC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). For years, he was a Coordinator and Facilitator of the Executive Management Course of the Nigerian Army Education Corps (NAEC) and Editor-in-Chief of the “Journal of Peace, Security and Development”, University of Ilorin. He has also served as a resource person to agencies like the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Orientation Agency (NOA), National Institute for Security Studies as well as a number of Civil Society Organisations. He is a recipient of several awards and honours including those of the International Chartered World Learned Society, American Biographical Institute, National Congress of Nigerian Students (NACONS), Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ilorin, the Nigerian Army Education Corps, Postgraduate Students Association, UNILORIN, Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), UNILORIN, Students’ Union, UNILORIN, and National Association of Osun State Students (NAOSS), just to mention a few. A Fellow of bodies like the International Association of Research Scholars and Administrators (FIARSA), Institute of Corporate Administration, Nigeria, (FICAN), Society for Peace Studies and Practice (fspsp) and World Institute for Peace (FWIP) , Prof. Adedimeji is a former Member of the Governing Council of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) and until recently a Member of the Executive Council of the English Scholars’ Association of Nigeria (ESAN). He is a member of the Editorial Boards of Research in Pragmatics, journal of the Pragmatics Association of Nigeria (PrAN) and ANUJAT, an international multidisciplinary journal of the All Nations University, Koforidua, Ghana. He has about 15 books to his credit as author, co-author, editor and co-editor.

Music videos or moral assassins?

During the heady days leading to the beginning of the Second World War, European countries started to re-arm themselves militarily. However, Frank Buckman, an American, jolted the sensibilities of their leaders by insisting that military re-armament was not the only ...

Abati’s albatross

When I shared Dr Reuben Abati’s latest article, “The phones no longer ring”, with my Facebook friends at the beginning of the week, I noted that he could have done different things and done things differently. I also acknowledged his ...

Adieu, ex-LAUTECH VC Salau!

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breaths away.” – George Carlin The news of the death of the former Vice-Chancellor of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, ...

Universities or glorified secondary schools?

In a sense, the root of the word “university” can be traced to the word “universe”. The universe is that vast repository of billions of galaxies in which our world, technically the earth, is not more than a very tiny ...

Parenting: Let’s be back to the basics

It is worth stressing that when the various afflictions that hold Nigeria to ransom are atomized, the root cause of most of them will be found in the home. This is because many homes have ceased from being what they ...

Good riddance, bad rubbish

Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief when President Muhammadu Buhari during the week relieved his inherited baggage of service chiefs of their posts. For many Nigerians who wanted change, keeping them for more than a month was too long and ...

Action against internet addiction

Internet addition, otherwise called online addiction or internet addiction disorder, is a potent problem that is increasing becoming part of our daily lives. Unlike what obtains in some parts of the developed world where such problems are given systematic support ...

The secret of life’s sweetness

Penultimate Sunday or July 12, 2015, a dinner in honour of Dr Habeeb Ajimotokan of the Department of Mechanical Engineering was hosted by the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Is-haq O. Oloyede (OFR), at Kwara Hotels, Ilorin. ...

Fasting is for Me

Following the announcement made by the President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, on Wednesday night, about 100 million Muslims in Nigeria yesterday (June 23, 2015) joined their counterparts ...

Give and forgive; don’t get and forget

For about 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide, this is the holy season of Ramadhan. The ninth month of the Islamic calendar is characterised by fasting and devotion. Ramadhan is the holiest month in the year and it is an opportunity to ...

UNIOSUN: If wishes were horses…

This is not the best of times for the State of Osun. Recently, the state is always in the news for the wrong reasons. If people are not groaning loud because of unpaid salaries for several months now, with the ...

Saraki’s kill, APC’s overkill

In his “The Devil’s Dictionary”, the American journalist and satirist, Ambrose Beirce, defines politics as “a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.” He adds further that politics is not less than “the conduct of public affairs for ...