By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja
The first indigenous Vice-chancellor has been appointed for the University of Lokoja (FUL).
He is Prof. Olayemi Durotimi Akinwumi, an indigene of Ekirin Adde in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi state and a renowned Professor of History as well as being the third Vice-Chancellor of the University.
Senator Chris Iheanyichukwu Adighije, Chairman, Governing Council of the institution disclosed this at the old campus of the University on Friday in Lokoja.
Adighije said the process of appointment of the new Vice Chancellor started since September, 2020 when the position was declared vacant, following the exit of the former VC, Prof. Angela Freeman Miri.
He said that upon the publication of the vacancy, the governing council received 81 applications from various parts of the country.
He explained that the applications were subjected to due process, with a search party constituted to fish out the most suitable applicants, adding that 20 of them were shortlisted.
The Pro-Chancellor revealed that at the end of the interview, the selection board came up with three names, rated according to their scores.
They are: Prof. Akinwumi, who is currently, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Nasarawa State University; Prof. Akintayo Emmanuel Temitope from Ekiti state and Prof. Krekere Tawari Fufeye from Bayelsa.
According to him, the Council met “this morning” to deliberate on the names and approved the appointment of Prof. Durotimi as the third Vice Chancellor of the University.
He described the process as seamless and thanked members of the council for their patience and perseverance that led to the peaceful conduct of the appointment of the new vice chancellor.
The Pro-Chancellor said those in court over the screening of candidates for appointment as VC of the University lacked locus standi, adding that they were not among the 81 candidates that applied for the position.
“Those who went to court went on their own. Nobody protested. There was no injunction to stop the process. They went to court to seek leave to get information and not to stop the process,” he stressed.
The Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University Lokoja, Senator Chris Adigije, has announced the appointment of Professor Olayemi Rotimi Akinwumi as the new Vice Chancellor of the University.
Professor Akinwumi who was among the 80 Candidates that vied for the Vice Chancellor stool of the Federal University Lokoja became tops in the keenly contested position to emerge the 3rd Vice Chancellor of the University.
Reliable sources maintain that,untill his appointment, Professor Akinwumi was the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic of Nasarawa State University Keffi.
Professor Olayemi Akinwumi 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 Masters 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.
The Professor began his academic career at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria and rose to become a senior Lecturer in 1996. He was at the Institute for Ethonogie, Freie Universitat, Berlin from 1999 to 2004. He joined and has been in the services of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi since 2004.
The new vice chancellor won many international and national academic awards. Among the awards are the Prof. Ali Mazrui academic award 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).
Other awards are: 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 served in various capacities in the University.
He was the first substantive HOD History (2004-2007), the Deputy Dean of Arts (2004-2006) and 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.
