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.

Research: The heart of the matter

All over the world, universities are established with the mandate of teaching, research and community service or development. While some universities emphasise teaching and others community service, the most crucial component, indeed the heart of the matter, is research. It ...

Loving money, losing life

It is well-known that the love of money is the root of all evils but many Nigerians do not pretend that they love money. Not only Nigerians, in the world today, money is an object of worship. In music and ...

Business as usual while Nigeria burns

It is so sad and disgusting that as millions of our country men and women are living under Syrian circumstances especially in the North-East, the noise hooting from Abuja and several state capitals is all about politics. The murderous gangs ...

Three magical expressions

It is an open eyesore that Nigeria, as a microcosm of the world, is increasingly becoming Hobbesian where life is now “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, short” for a vast majority of people. Evils that could not be contemplated a few ...

Ahimsa as Nigeria’s panacea

One of the most influential men the world has ever produced was Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi, the father of modern India. His life and thought were the quintessence of peace and non-violence even in the face of provocation. It was therefore ...

Fintiri and the law of Karma

In her book, “The Karma Club”, Jessica Brody wrote that “Karma comes after everyone eventually. You can’t get away with screwing people over your whole life, I don’t care who you are. What goes around comes around. That’s how it ...

The coffee or the cup?

The story goes thus: A group of successful alumni who were talking at a re-union dinner decided to visit their old Professor, then retiring. During the visit, the discussion soon turned into complaints about stress in their work and lives. ...

Ambali, Oloyede: UNILORIN Stars Step Up

Today, all roads lead to the International Conference Centre, Abuja, where the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, confers awards on 305 Nigerians and others for their enormous contributions and services to the nation. Though ...

Ambush for English anguish

Worried by the poor performance of candidates in the twin subjects of English Language and Mathematics in the recent West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examinations conducted in May/June this year, two conferences held simultaneously last week at two fast-growing Nigerian ...

Personal labours, national honours

“Let me specially appreciate these people, the taxi driver, Imeh Usuah, Corporal Solomon Dauda, presidential steward, Mr. Michael Onuh. Those who take into criminalities because of poverty are not quite right because myself and some of you here knew where ...

Who are the terrorists?

For long, Muslims have always protested against the use of “Islamic” in characterising the murderous Boko Haram group because they do not represent Islam. However, despite the denunciation of the group and condemnation of its agenda by Muslim leaders, there ...

Bring back our peace

The world marked the International Day of Peace this Sunday and the message of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, is apt. The message seems to be directed at Nigeria, which continues to bleed due to ...