Professor Duro Oni of the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos, has been elected the new president of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL).
He was elected at the Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third (Combined) Convocation and Investiture of the Academy held at the J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium of the University of Lagos on Thursday, August 12, 2021.
He will preside over the affairs of the Academy for the next two years (2021 -2023).
“I consider it a privilege bestowed on me to be president of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, a privilege I accept with a great sense of responsibility to the membership and all our stakeholders”, the Professor of Creative Arts said.
Other members of the Academy elected into its Executive Committee include: Professor Sola Akinrinade (Vice-President), Professor Abayomi Kehinde (Secretary, Re-elected), Professor Sunday Ododo (Assistant Secretary, Re-elected), Professor Afis Ayinde Oladosu (Treasurer), and Professor Andrew Haruna (General Editor / Chairman, Publications Committee).
Prior to his election as President of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, Professor Duro Oni served as the immediate past Vice-President of the Academy.
He is a globally recognised cultural icon and well-published scholar-theatre artist. An accomplished administrator, Professor Oni has served the University of Lagos at increasing levels of responsibility since joining the services of the institution in 1976. He initiated and developed the Creative Arts Degree Programmes in 1997. He served as the Director of the Centre for Cultural Studies from 1992 to 1997 and as Head of Department of Creative Arts from 2006-2009. He served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services) from 2013-2017.
On behalf of the university community, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS, congratulates Professor Duro Oni, FNAL, on his ascension to the leadership of Nigeria’s foremost body of intellectuals in the Humanities.
