US scholar, Toyin Falola, appointed Professor Emeritus by Lead City University

Prominent United States-based scholar of African history, Professor Toyin Falola, has been appointed professor emeritus in the humanities by one of Nigeria’s long-standing private university, Lead City University, Ibadan.

Lead City University made the proclamation through its Chancellor, Professor Gabriel Ogunmola, during the institution’s 15th Convocation Ceremonies, held on Monday, December 12, 2022, at the university’s premises.

In celebrating the milestone, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor K.A. Adeyemo, told the congregation that the elevation of Professor Falola to the enviable status of emeritus professor was in recognition of the remarkable accomplishments of the scholar.

According to him, “Professor Falola has remained a rallying point of intellectual excellence and the rigor that scholarship entails. He is one of the best globally and this remains unarguable. As an institution, we are indeed delighted to be identified with such an individual. Without any doubt, he reflects the best of us and in us in scholarship and human development.”

Falola, who is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and the Jacob and Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, the University of Texas at Austin, has Atlantic history, diaspora and migration, empire and globalization, intellectual history, international relations, religion and culture as his research sub-themes.

In an infectiously delightful citation presentation, the university orator, Dr. Donald Odeneye described the immense contributions of the honoree towards the global academe, and how this numerous recognitions and awards. According to him, “People and institutions who have profited directly or indirectly from Falola’s mental gift have praised him all over the continent. Numerous accolades over his lifetime have been bestowed upon him by his peers and superiors. He has received recognition from the University of Texas alumni community for his remarkable contributions to their university, community, and general knowledge economy of the people, which has undoubtedly generated relevance for both himself and them at the same time. He continues to be highly regarded by several universities in Nigeria, his country, for the intellectual brilliance he has tirelessly provided to the world. They value the positive reputation he has helped Nigeria and the continent develop while also acknowledging his heroic contributions to shaping and reshaping Africa through his wealth of experience and expertise.

His academic success is evidenced by the honours he has received throughout the years, which attest to his superior intelligence. In appreciation of his academic flexibility and successful intellectual advocacy, to which he has devoted his life and career, he has received sixteen honorary doctorates from Nigeria and the United States. These awards motivate him to engage in even more audacious and impressive intellectual endeavours that advance the African continent beyond its surface level. By doing this, he receives ominous respect from his people in Nigeria and throughout Africa, who consistently acknowledge and commend his efforts on the academic fronts by bestowing upon him African chieftaincy titles, a method of cultural celebration that typically has a profound impact on the energy of this man.

“Toyin Falola is unquestionably the most productive and prolific intellectual African of our time.He has been a professor at the University of Texas in Austin since 1991 and holds the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities.His studies and writings on Africa and the diaspora have spanned a wide intellectual spectrum. The Middle Passage, the human cost of African migrations, HIV and AIDS in modern Africa, slavery and colonialism in Africa, entrepreneurial development and economic power in Africa and the African Diaspora, the impacts of globalization and urbanization on African societies, Yoruba market women and economic power, among others, are some of the ongoing dynamics and dialectics between the power of culture and the culture of power in African states. Research and publications by Falola have expanded our understanding of Africa’s political, social, and economic growth; these themes are intricately intertwined with concepts for long-term solutions to Africa’s intricate and perplexing problems.

“He is dedicated to opening doors for intellectual exchanges that broaden the scope of discoveries developed outside the academy. At the University of Texas at Austin’s immensely well-liked and significant annual International Africa Conference, he offers graduate students the chance to excel. Also, the University of Ibadan in Nigeria organized the Toyin Falola International Annual Conference on Africa and the African Diaspora.

He is the moderator of the USA Africa Dialogue Series, a global listserve with hundreds of subscribers that discuss events currently taking place in Africa and its diaspora and important global topics. He is frequently asked to deliver lectures across the globe and to provide governments and NGOs with policy-related advice. His impact is extensive.”

A clearly excited Falola thanked the university for the recognition and honor done to him, just as he hoped that the trajectory started by the institution in identifying and honoring those outside of its immediate academic environment would remain unblemished.