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Pres. Buhari has congratulated a Nigerian author and scholar, Wale Adebanwi, on his appointment as Rhodes Professor in Race Relations in the School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Buhari, in a statement on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Mallam Garba Shehu, described Adebanwi as an African gem and role model who had brought honour and respect to the continent.
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The president said the sharp intellect and distinguished learning of Adebanwi, as the first black African scholar to be appointed to the endowed chair since it was created more than 60 years ago, is worthy of emulation by other young Nigerians.
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Buhari noted that he had maintained a keen interest in the “soaring” profile of the scholar right from his early years in journalism in Nigeria to a lecturer in the University of Ibadan.
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The president said he was delighted to see 47-year-old Adebanwi achieve this much very early in his life. He expressed delight that young Africans like Adebanwi “are showing the wit, steadfastness, creative energy and astuteness of renowned African writers and intellectuals such as Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, John Pepper Clark and Abubakar Imam who put the continent on the world’s knowledge map.”
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“He (Professor Adebanwi) is a source of pride and inspiration to Black Africa as a whole,” the president affirmed. Buhari wished Adebanwi more notable successes “as he clinches laurel upon laurel on his steady rise as a scholar of international distinction.”
