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.

Shake it up, Shekarau!

If brilliance and intelligence were to be factors that guarantee winning elections in Nigeria, the former Governor of Kano State and new Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, would have been the President of Nigeria. This is because many Nigerians ...

The land is foul, the water is foul

When the famous English poet, T. S. Elliot, wrote his “Murder in the Cathedral”, a verse drama that was first performed in 1935, he did not envisage that his submission would have grim relevance to Nigeria. In his portrayal of ...

Like life, like football

Despite the defeat suffered by the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their encounters with Argentina and France in the ongoing World Cup competition in Brazil, many Nigerians still follow the round leather game with interest. Karl Marx once said that ...

The Right Track

When the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, came to the University of Ilorin on Thursday, May 15, 2014 for the inauguration of our oil palm plantation project, she was wowed by the University ...

One season, five lessons

For almost two billion Muslims across the world, Ramadhan is always a special period because of its significance as one of the holiest seasons in the year. It is a period marked by solemnity and devotion during which conscious efforts ...

RAMADHAN: FASTING IS FOR ALLAH (FIFA)

Mahfouz A. Adedimeji, Ph.D. The Beginning Since fasting in Ramadhan was made obligatory in the second year of Hijrah, generations of Muslims have maximized the gains and benefits of this holy month. It has been observed in our part of ...

Step out Orwell; Give it to Fayemi

Last Friday, I wrote an addendum on this page on “Four Factors For Fayemi” in which I briefly discussed the possibility of Dr Kayode Fayemi winning the Ekiti Governorship election slated for the following day on the grounds of his ...

Hang on to your hope

The world is in a bad state with the horrifying news that always dominates our airwaves. Everyday, we are regaled with details of nerve-wrenching atrocities bordering on human inhumanity. The global situation is chaotic, messy and bloody. In Nigeria, the ...

Arisekola’s life as he lived it

When the former Opposition Leader of the Western House of Assembly, Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu, died on March 26, 1958, the “Daily Service” newspaper of Friday, March 28, 1958 on page 5 published an extract from his book, “Africa in Ebullition” ...

Let LASU students laugh last

Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, is one Governor that has won the hearts of many Nigerians, including mine. This is because of the popular assessment that he has done tremendously well as the helmsman of the famed Centre of Excellence. ...

More degrees, less sense

While speaking at the opening ceremony of the 28th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Mathematical Society hosted by the University of Ilorin on June 23, 2009, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University and President of the Association of African Universities ...

As UN says no to sex education…

Last Friday, May 16, 2014, the “Daily Newswatch” newspaper published a report entitled “Expunge sex education from curriculum in Nigeria – UN”. The opening lines of the report are as follows: “The United Nations (UN) has called on the Federal ...