Author

Author

Aptly described by the Independent newspaper as “a man of many parts”, Dr Mahfouz A. Adedimeji is a Fulbright scholar, interdisciplinary researcher, university don, public affairs analyst, language specialist, communication consultant, peace advocate, interfaith worker and public intellectual. He obtained his academic degrees in English from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin. He started his academic career 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, Dr 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, research writing and peace studies at the National Universities Commission’s (NUC) Virtual Institute for Higher Education Pedagogy (VIHEP), UNESCO’s 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, Dr Adedimeji has won the research awards and 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, Newswatch Times and New Telegraph, among others. A versatile academic, he has attended academic conferences and undertaken research across universities in several parts of Nigeria as well as Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Australia, France and United States of America. His hundreds of academic and general 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 Deputy Director/ Head of the Directorate of Corporate Affairs of the University of Ilorin, Dr Adedimeji has been the Director of the Centre for Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, since 2013. He has consulted for the Nigeria Inter-religious Council (NIREC), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence and Corps (NSCDC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). For years, he has been a Coordinator 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 is a recipient of several awards and honours including those of the American Biographical Institute, National Congress of Nigerian Students (NACONS), Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ilorin, the Nigerian Army Education Corps, the Nigerian Defence Academy, 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 the Institute of Corporate Administration, Nigeria, and member of the Governing Council of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) Dr Adedimeji is a member of the Executive Council of the English Scholars Association of Nigeria. A member of the Fulbright Alumni Association of Nigeria and Association of Nigerian Authors, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria, World Peace Institute and Society for Peace Studies and Practice.

Once upon a Minister

When it was announced two days ago (Wednesday September 11) that the former Minister of Education and Professor of Curriculum Studies, Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, had been relieved of her duties along with eight others, many people were stunned. The real ...

The daredevil Daniel and the rest of us

On Saturday, 24th August, 2013, Daniel Oikhena, whose age, according to various reports, ranges from 12 to 15 years, hid himself in the tyre compartment of the Arik flight W3 544 from Benin Airport. He thought he was on his ...

Oseni’s example

One of the hallmarks of the academia is passion through which one’s calling is pursued with vigour and zeal.  Even outside the university system, without being passionate about whatever one does, one cannot aim to achieve anything laudable. It is ...

Malaysia, Nigeria growth compared

If you were in the aircraft and you gazed through the window as your plane descended upon Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the unmistakable sight of greenness below you would blow your mind. If you looked further as your plane continued its ...

Return of the Pharaoh

A king was said to have a male servant, who in all circumstances always said to him, “My King, do not be discouraged because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes. One day, they went hunting and a wild animal ...

Of strike and government’s (ir)responsibility

Due to deep conviction and personal experience, I do not ordinarily fancy strike actions and I have joined issues with some vociferous stakeholders in the past who tried to challenge my freedom of thought. I staunchly refused to see things ...

What next after Ramadhan?

As the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, did two days ago while announcing the end of Ramadhan and “Eid-ul-fitr” celebrated yesterday, I congratulate over 78 million ...

Democracy without decorum, courts without justice

A few weeks before he was assassinated in 1947, the esteemed advocate of non-violent opposition and resistance, Mahatma Gandhi, had a conversation with his grandson in which he provided him the “seven blunders” that accounted for the violence that ravaged ...

The child marriage brouhaha

One of the most exciting and thought-provoking definitions of the media is the one offered by Littlejohn and Foss in their book, “Theories of Human Communication” (2005) in which they offer eight metaphors to deconstruct the concept. According to them, ...

Double whammy

Nothing gave me a hunch of the unsightly scenery that unfolded before me as I came out of the departure lounge of the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, last Thursday, October 3rd 2013, for a transaction. Since the authorities of ...

The devil’s workshop

Three days ago, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) drew our attention to the global scourge of unemployment that is one of the root causes of insecurity, violence and many an anti-social behaviour in our turbulent world. In the report, “Repairing ...

Pathetic systemic failure

As if the hair-raising developments engendered by insecurity and corruption in many parts of the country are not enough, the past few days have witnessed another round of the theatre of the absurd unfolding without intermission in Nigeria. The pick ...