AKINRINADE, Olusola
Email address(es): solakin@oauife.edu.ng; solakin@msn.com
Office Address: Humanities Block 2, Room 305A
ORCID iD: 0009-0000-5557-2418
Academic Qualifications: BA, MA (Ife), PhD (London)
Areas of Specialization: African Diplomatic History and International Relations
Title of M.A. Thesis: Nigeria and the Commonwealth of Nations, 1960 – 1970, MA Thesis, University of Ife, 1984.
Title of Ph.D. Thesis:
Africa and the Commonwealth: The Impact of an International Organisation on Foreign Policy Making
Africa and the Commonwealth: The Impact of an International Organisation on Foreign Policy Making, PhD Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, 1988.
Scholarships:
Suntory-Toyota Studentship, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, 1985 – 1988
Overseas Research Students Award (ORS), United Kingdom Committee of Vice-Chancellors, 1985 – 1988.
Mountbatten Memorial Award for Commonwealth Students, 1987 – 1988
Federal Government of Nigeria Postgraduate Scholarship, 1982 – 1984
National Merit Award, 1978 – 1981
Fellowships:
Visiting Research Associate, Institute of Strategic Studies, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, 2000
Henry Charles Chapman Fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, London, England, 1998
Fellow, Centre for International Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London,1998
Fellow, African Security Programme, Department of War Studies, King’s College, University of London, 1996-97
Ford Foundation Fellow, Advanced Seminar on the U.S. Foreign Policy Process, School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland at College Park, Maryland, USA, 1992.
Research Grants:
Central Research Fund Grant, University of London, 1987
Obafemi Awolowo University Research Grant, 1991
Social Science Council of Nigeria Research Grant for Research on the Impact of Structural Adjustment Programme on Nigerian Foreign Policy.
Ongoing Current Research:
Corruption and Nigerian Foreign Policy
State, Politics and Higher Education in Nigeria
Publications:
2023: Knowledge, Governance and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: The Missing Gap, University of Medical Sciences Distinguished Lecture, 13 December 2023 (Monograph).
2023: The Universality of the University System: A Case for Functional University Education in Nigeria, 12th and 13th Convocation Lecture, Osun State University, 28 September 2023 (Monograph).
2020: Pivotal Issues in Higher Education Development in Nigeria: Essays in Honour of Distinguished Professor Peter Okebukola, OFR (Ibadan: University Press Plc, 2020) (ed. with Siyan Oyeweso, Samuel G. Odewumi & Anthony Kola-Olusanya).
2020: ICPC and the War against Corruption in Nigeria: Reflections for a New Vision (Abuja: Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, 2020), (ed. with Bolaji Owasanoye and Elijah O. Okebukola).
2020: The Integrity Imperative in Nigerian Higher Education: Towards Creating a New Normal, 28th and 29th Convocation Lecture, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, 31 January 2020.
2020: “Taking Advantage of the Pandemic: Leadership and Innovation in Nigerian Higher Education in the COVID-19 Era and After”, in Sola Akinrinade et. al. (eds.), Pivotal Issues in Higher Education Development in Nigeria (Ibadan: University Press Plc, 2020), pp. 330 – 342.
2020: “Introduction: Documenting 20 Years of Combating Corruption in Nigeria”, in B. Owasanoye, Sola Akinrinade and E. Okebukola (eds.), ICPC and the War against Corruption in Nigeria: Reflections for a New Vision (Abuja: Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, 2020), pp. xiii – xviii.
2019: Perspectives on Higher Education and Good Governance in Nigeria: Festschrift in Honour of Professor Olu Aina (Ibadan: Noirledge, 2019), ed. with Siyan Oyeweso.
2019: “Professor Olu Aina and the Intellectualisation of the War against Corruption in Nigeria”, in Siyan Oyeweso and Sola Akinrinade (eds.), Perspectives on Higher Education and Good Governance in Nigeria (Ibadan: Noirledge, 2019), 219 – 240.
2017: Anti-Corruption Research and Policy-making in Nigeria: Closing the Gap Between Theory and Practice (Abuja: European Union, ICPC/ACAN, UNODC, 2017) (ed. with Kempe Ronald Hope, Sr., David Enweremadu & Oluwafemi Ladapo).
2016: “A Society Under Pressure: Thoughts on Leadership, Followership and the Reinvention of the Nigerian State”, Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Vol. 25, 1 – 17.
2014: The National Universities Commission and University Education in Nigeria: Perspectives on the Development of a System (Abuja, NUC, 2014) (ed. with Julius A. Okojie & N.B. Saliu).
2014: “Leadership, Conflict and Development: On the Evolution of the Executive Commission”, in Julius A. Okojie, Sola Akinrinade and N.B. Saliu (eds.), The National Universities Commission and University Education in Nigeria (Abuja, NUC, 2014), 33 – 59.
2013: Economic Development in Africa: International Efforts, Issues and Prospects (London: Bloomsbury Publishing), (originally published London and New York: Pinter Publishers & Columbia University Press, 1987) (ed. with J. Kurt Barling). (Republished 2013 under the Bloomsbury Academic/Classic Titles in Economics Series).
2013: “Of the Dearth (nay, death?) of Values: Patrons, Patronage and the Future of the Nigerian University System”, in Olajide Olorunnisola et al (eds.), African Culture and Identity, Vol. 1 (Ibadan, Postgraduate School, University of Ibadan, 2013), 35 – 56
2011: “The Nigerian Diaspora: Nigerian Migrants and Homeland Relations”, Turkish Journal of Politics, Vol. 2, No. 2, 71 – 85 (also: http://tjp.fatih.edu.tr/docs/articles/116.pdf) (with Olukoya Ogen).
2011: “South-South Cooperation and Economic Development: Realities and Challenges of Indo-Nigerian Economic Relations since 1958”, Cape Coast Journal of Humanities, Vols. 4 & 5 (with Olukoya Ogen), 5 – 37.
2010: “Africa”, in James Mayall (ed.), The Contemporary Commonwealth: An Assessment, 1965 -2009 (Abingdon, Oxon & New York: Routledge), 210 – 223.
2008: “Globalization and De-Industrialization: South-South Neo-liberalism and the Collapse of the Nigerian Textile Industry” The Global South 2 (2), Fall 2008 (with Olukoya Ogen), 159-170.
2007: Rethinking the Humanities in Africa (Ile-Ife: Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University) (ed. with O. Fashina, David O. Ogungbile and O. Famakinwa).
2006: The Humanities, Nationalism and Democracy (Ile-Ife: Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University) (ed. with O. Fashina and David O. Ogungbile).
2006: “An Army of Ex-Presidents: Transitions, the Military and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria”, in Roger Southall and Henning Melber (eds.), Legacies of Power: Leadership Change and Former Presidents in African Politics (Pretoria & Uppsala: HSRC Press and Nordic Africa Institute), 281 – 307.
2005: Foreign Policy Cooperation in Developing States, Inaugural Lecture Series, 178 (Ile-Ife, Obafemi Awolowo University).
2004: Locating the Local in the Global: Voices on a Globalised Nigeria (Ile-Ife: Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University) (ed. with M. Kolawole, I. Mojola and David O. Ogungbile).
2004: “Renewing the Commonwealth for the 21st Century: Policy Perspectives”, Nigerian Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 30, No. 4 (with Tunde Oduntan), 82 – 93.
2004: “Warring… but not unto Death: Conflict Prevention and Resolution Mechanisms in Yoruba Military Tradition”, Lagos Historical Review, Vol. 4, 119 – 141.
2004: “On the evolution of civil society in Nigeria” in Marlies Glasius, David Lewis and Hakan Seckinelgin (eds.) Exploring Civil Society: Political and Cultural Contexts (London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2004) pp. 141-148.
2004: “Migration, Globalisation and the New African Diasporas: Towards a framework of understanding”, in Adigun A.B. Agbaje, Larry Diamond and Ebere Onwudiwe (eds.), Nigeria’s Struggle for Democracy and Good Governance: A Festschrift for Oyeleye Oyediran (Ibadan: Ibadan University Press), 431-440 (with A. Ajibewa). Also, http://www.eldis.org/poverty/migration.htm.
2003: “NEPAD in Development and Democracy”, in Development and Democracy: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003 (London: Henley Media Group in Association with the Commonwealth Secretariat), 40-42.
2003: “The New Partnership for Africa’s Development: Dispensing with the begging bowl or plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose?”, in The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD): Challenges and Developments (Edited by E. Obadare and D. Oyewole) (London: Centre for Democracy and Development), 1-28.
2003: “Constitutionalism and the Resolution of Conflicts in Nigeria”, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Relations, Vol. 368, 41-52. (See also in, The African Journal of International Affairs and Development, Vol. 6, No. 1 (2001), 47-64).
2002: “NEPAD: the New Partnership for Africa’s Development”, The Conflict, Security & Development Group Bulletin, Issue Number 15, May-June, 1-4.
2001: “Sub-regional security cooperation in Africa: Towards a model for continental security community”, in Eddy Maloka (ed.), A United States of Africa? (Pretoria: Africa Institute of South Africa), 335-353.
2001: “Sub-regional security cooperation in West Africa: The ECOWAS Mechanism for Conflict Management in Perspective”, Strategic Review for Southern Africa, Vol. XXIII, No. 1 (May), 1-21.
2000: “Ethnic and Religious Conflicts in Nigeria: Lessons for South Africa”, Strategic Review for Southern Africa, Vol. XXII, No. 2 (November), 48-75.
1999: “Democracy and Security in Africa: Towards a Framework of Understanding”, The Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2, 217-44.
1999: “Not Just Games: The Commonwealth and Sporting Contacts with South Africa”, Odu: A Journal of West African Studies, No. 39 (January/July), 66-86.
1998: Africa in the Post-Cold War International System (London and Washington: Cassell Academic/Pinter) (ed. with Amadu Sesay).
1998: The Impact of the Structural Adjustment Programme on the Structure of Nigeria’s International Economic Relations (Ibadan: NISER/SSCN National Research Network on Liberalization Policies in Nigeria) (with Amadu Sesay).
1998: “The Edge of the Abyss: Nigeria”, The World Today, Vol. 54, Nos. 8-9 (August/ September), 200-2 (with Kurt Barling).
1998: “The Arnold Smith Papers: New Source Materials for Research in Commonwealth Relations”, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs”, 348, 543-48.
1998: “Nigeria’s Lingering Political Crisis: Internal Combustion, International Inaction”, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, 347, 313-26.
1997: “Nigeria and the Commonwealth: Towards an Understanding of a Foreign Policy Crisis”, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, 342, 187-204.
1993: “Nigeria and the Commonwealth: Quo Vadis?”, in Jide Owoeye (ed.), Nigeria in International Institutions (Ibadan: College Press), 56-67.
1992: “Mozambique and the Commonwealth: the anatomy of a relationship”, Australian Journal of Politics and History, Vol. 38, No. 1, 62-82.
1992: “Religion and Politics in Contemporary Nigeria: A Study of the 1986 OIC Crisis”, Journal of Asian and African Affairs, Vol. 4, No. 1, 44-59.
1992: “The 1971 Declaration of Commonwealth Principles After Twenty Years”, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, 321, 25-35.
1992: “From Hostility to Accommodation: Nigeria’s West African Policy, 1984-90”, Nigerian Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 1, 47-77.
1992: “The Commonwealth and its Secretariat: An Essay on Leadership and Influence in an International Organisation”, The Quarterly Journal of Administration, Vol. XXVI, Nos. 3 & 4, 62-86.
1992: The Politics of Pressure: TransAfrica and U.S. Policy Toward Southern Africa, Working Paper No. 2, Advanced Seminar on U.S. Foreign Policy Process, School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland at College Park.
1989: “Associates and Associables: The Failure of Commonwealth Bridge-building, 1971-3”, Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 27, No. 2, 177-199.
1989: “Africa and the Commonwealth, 1960-80: Trends, Achievements and Policy Implications”, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, 309, 33-53.
1988: “Threats to Security and Stability in Nigeria: Perceptions and Reality”, Geneve-Afrique (Geneva-Africa), Vol. XXVI, No. 2, 47-82.
1988: “Foreign Policy in a Plural Society: The Nigerian Experience”, in Richard Olaniyan (ed.), Federalism in a Changing World (Lagos: OMSD, The Presidency), 279-292.
1986: “The Commonwealth Involvement in the Search for Peace in Nigeria, 1967-1970”, Odu: A Journal of West African Studies (New Series), No. 29, 54-72.
Staff Profile:
Professor Sola Akinrinade, FNAL, teaches at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, where he is a Professor of African Diplomatic History and International Relations. Between 2007 and 2012, he served as the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Osogbo, and from 2014 to December 2020, served as pioneer Provost of the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, the research and training arm of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC. He is a Fellow and current Presidnent, Nigerian Academy of Letters (FNAL); Fellow, Historical Society of Nigeria (FHSN); and Fellow, Society for Peace Studies and Practice (fspsp). A Chartered Management Consultant and Trainer, he is also an alumnus of the Executive Education programme in Applying Behavioural Insights to the Design of Public Policy of Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University.