ASE VC, Prof. Adedimeji, Bags Multiple International Awards
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The Vice Chancellor of the African School of Economics (ASE), Abuja — a Pan-African University of Excellence — Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, has been honoured with multiple international awards in recognition of his outstanding contributions to higher education and advanced learning.
Prof. Adedimeji was conferred with the Life Fellowship Award of the Africa Information Technology Consultancy (LFAITC) by the Council and International Academic Board of the body. He was also decorated as a ‘Most Notable and Top Distinguished Encyclopedist of the 21st Century with Five Stars’ and invested as a Life Fellow of the Chartered World Institute of Encyclopedia of Books as a Chartered Encyclopedist.
The awards were presented in Abuja by the President of the Institute and Consultancy, Prof. Sir Bashir Aremu, on behalf of the Council members, including Prof. Sir M. Howard Pilley representing Europe, Prof. Sir Luis Emilio Abad representing the Americas, and Prof. Sir Abhiram Kukshreshtha representing Asia.
Prof. Aremu, who is also the Vice Chancellor of Crown University Int’l Chartered Inc., Santa Cruz, and a UNESCO Laureate, explained that the honours were conferred to appreciate Prof. Adedimeji’s immense service to higher education. He recalled that Adedimeji had earlier served as the pioneer Vice Chancellor of a private university in Kwara State, where he laid a solid foundation and left a lasting impact on staff, students, and the host community.
He further noted that since assuming office at ASE Abuja, Prof. Adedimeji has hit the ground running and has already positioned the institution as a major player among 21st-century universities in Nigeria. He urged the awardee not to rest on his laurels but to continue contributing globally through scholarship and service.
In his response, Prof. Adedimeji expressed gratitude to the Boards of the Africa Information Technology Consultancy and the Chartered World Institute of Encyclopedia of Books, describing the recognition as an honour to ASE as an institution. He stressed that the University remains committed to developing the capacity of African youth with cutting-edge education, strengthened by partnerships with Princeton University and other global institutions.
He acknowledged the vision of ASE Founder, Prof. Leonard Wantchekon, and the support of stakeholders, noting that the University operates across African countries and is licensed in Nigeria to run 20 undergraduate programmes as well as postgraduate diplomas, Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Social Sciences. He added that ASE also delivers Executive Courses and offers specialised training through the Leonard Wantchekon School of Advanced Studies and the Pan-African Centre for Language Immersion, which provides instruction in Arabic, English, French, German, and Mandarin.
In separate remarks, the Registrar of ASE, Mrs Emilomo Ogunboye; the University Librarian, Dr Antonia Ejikeme; the Bursar, Mr Stephen Adegbite; and the Dean of Postgraduate School, Prof. Adegboyega Karim, commended Prof. Adedimeji’s leadership style. They described him as a disciplinarian with a simple but firm approach, an open-door policy, and an attitude to time that has institutionalised a culture of discipline across the university community.
They also recalled that Prof. Adedimeji is a serial award-winner, having earlier been conferred with the Sir Ahmadu Bello Sardauna Distinguished Merit Award as an Epitome of Good Leadership by the National Association of Northern Nigerian Students (NANSS) in February, and in July was decorated by the University of Ilorin as a Distinguished Ambassador during the institution’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Highlights of the award ceremony, held at ASE’s Boardroom, included the exchange of gifts between the institutions and discussions on possible collaborations in library resources, information technology, and academic exchange programmes.
