A Nigerian academic, Professor Abiodun Alao, will today deliver inaugural lecture at King’s College,University of London, making him the first black
African scholar to deliver such lecture since the
institution was established in 1829.
Alao, a professor of African Studies, was conferred
with professorial title about two years ago alongside
his Nigerian counterpart in the institution’s African
Leadership Centre, Prof. Funmi Olonisakin, making
them first black Africans to attain professorial cadre
at the institution since its establishment.
The appointments have been confirmed in a letter
by the institution’s President and Principal, Prof.
Edward Byrne AC, justifying their elevations based
on their contributions to African peace and security.
According to a statement obtained by Vanguard
yesterday, Alao had published several single-
authored books, well-researched journal articles and
occasional papers, among others, which findings
and recommendations “have largely helped
establish peace and boost security in many African
countries.”
In an institution that produced 12 Nobel Laureates
among its professors, the statement said Alao had
distinguished himself, citing about 100 widely
recognized 100 academic articles and encyclopedia
entries he had published, all of which were
assessed to accord him professorial title.
As an academic tradition globally, the statement
said the Nigerian academic would today deliver his
inaugural lecture, titled, “Africa: A Voice to be
Heard, Not a Problem to be Solved” at the Edward
Safra Lecture Theatre at the college’s main campus.
The statement said the inaugural lecture, holding at
the institution’s Edward Lecture Theatre on the
Strand, “will be attended by many people from
different parts of the world, including from the
United States, Australia, Kenya, South Africa and
Nigeria.”
Aside his academic contributions, Alao joined the
long list of globally renowned academics the
institution had produced and whose research works
had produced answers to different challenges of
humanity and society since its establishment.
The statement pointed diverse assignments Alao
had undertaken for international institution, which
include the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU),
European Union (EU), World Bank, ECOWAS and for
many individual countries in Africa and beyond.
It added that Alao was part of the 4-person team
that undertook “a comprehensive threat assessment
for Rwanda immediately after the 1994 genocide
and was on the team of academic experts that
advised former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan on
the civil war in Sierra Leone.
“He also co-authored the Concept Note for the
Common Defence and Security Policy for the Africa
Union and was the co-author of the first post-Civil
War National Security Strategy Framework for
Liberia. He was a member of the team that worked
on the Development of Donor Countries
Effectiveness in Fragile States, the statement said.
Ranking among the top 20 universities in the world,
King’s College London holds a unique position in
global scholarship, which the statement said, was
evident in the landmark research works the
institution’s professors and alumni had conducted
since its establishment several decades ago.
Among its landmark research works, the statement
cited the research that led to the discovery of the
famous genetic testing, DNA undertaken at the
College by Prof. Maurice Wilkins, while another
retired scholar of the institution, Prof. John Lister,
developed Antiseptic Surgery.
It cited the researches of Prof. Charles Wheatstone,
who “invented the first working telegraphs line and
Prof. James Maxwell, who began humanity’s first
steps towards a unified theory of physics by
bringing magnetism and electricity together in a
research that paved way for radio, television, radar
and mobile phones.
“The College also has among its former Professors,
Thomas Hodgkin, who discovered the Hodgkin
disease that was named after him and John Danrell
who invented the world’s first battery,” the
statement added.
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