Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba Inducted Into The Fellowship Of ANA

Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba (on a red cap) receiving a plaque from Mr Camillus Ukah, ANA President

The Vice-Chancellor of Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, was on Friday night inducted into the Fellowship of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).

The Fellow designation  is the highest honour the Association of Nigerian Authors confers on distinguished insiders. It has only been conferred on few persons and literary icons, such as late Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Labo Yari, Mamman Vatsa, Ken Saro Wiwa, Abubakar Gimba, Olusegun Obasanjo, Dora Akunyili, Mabel Segun, T.M Aluko, Olu Obafemi, Odia Ofeimun, Femi Osofisan, Wale Okediran, Kole Omotoso, Jerry Agada, Elechi Amadi, Sam Ukala, Akachi Ezeigbo, Idris Amali, J.O.J Nwachukwu Agbada, Remi Raji and Zaynab Alkali.

Prof. Nwajiuba was inducted into the fellowship alongside Prof. May Nwoye, and Prof. Mallam Al-Bishak, at the recently concluded 39th international annual convention of ANA, which began on Thursday, December 3 and ended on Sunday, December 6, 2020 in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The amiable Prof. Nwajiuba dedicated the award to his first daughter, whom he said inherited her penchant for art from him, even though she read law in the university. In his long thank you message, he advised his daughter that it is not late to return to art discipline.

“…when I think of my daughter and how she missed what I think she should have read and what would have given her joy, I wish to remind her she can come back. And all she needs to do is to find a university somewhere and do a PGD for one year, then move into Master’s programme in literature or language and read what you like…you begin to enjoy what you do. When you find yourself in a profession or a vocation that is your natural calling… you are likely to blossom,” the erudite Professor advised.

Chinedum Nwajiuba, Professor of Agricultural Economics since October 2004, is the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. He started lecturing in the Nigerian University system at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike in the 1995/1996 session. He has been Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies at the Imo State University since the 2011/2012 session.

He holds the B. Agric. (1986) and M.Sc. (1989) in Agricultural Economics (University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria), and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Hohenheim, Germany (1994). He also holds the M.Sc. in Development Economics from the Imo State University Owerri (2007). He previously was Head, Department of Agricultural Economics, Director, Information and Communication Technology, and Director of Academic Planning at the Imo State University. He has been a part-time lecturer at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike as well as External Examiner to the University. In the 2009/2010 academic session, he was adjunct lecturer at the Federal University of Technology Owerri. In addition, he has been on the Governing Council of the Imo State University Teaching Hospital.

Prof. Nwajiuba is cerebral academic and consummate professional that has contributed immensely to the expansion of frontiers of knowledge through his numerous publications. He has published over 160 articles and papers as conference and conference proceedings and in international and local high impact factor journals as well as books and book chapters.

He has held many administrative positions as a member of the academia:

Acted for the Vice-Chancellor briefly in 2012.
Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies (November 2011 – February 2016).
Director, Academic Planning (February, 2009 – December 2009).
Director, Information Communication Technology Centre, (January 2008 – February, 2009).
Deputy Dean, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, (October 2005 – December, 2005).
He served as Executive Director of the Nigerian Environmental Study Action Team (NEST) Ibadan (Part-Time). He also was Project Coordinator of the Building Nigeria’s Response to Climate Change (BNRCC), a CIDA funded initiative collaborating with the Special Climate Change Unit (SCCU) of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigeria, in developing a National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action (NASPA) on Climate Change in Nigeria. He has been on the Federal Government Team of Negotiators to the UNFCCC Conference of Parties. His recent works include Assessment of the State of Green Economy in Nigeria funded by the German International Development Agency (GIZ), the New Green Deal on Agriculture for Nigeria sponsored by the Heinrich Boell Foundation, as well as the Status of Climate Smart Agriculture for Nigeria, Cameroun and Democratic Republic of Congo sponsored by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Ghana. He was a delegate to the 2014 National Conference. He has also served as a Member of the Board of the National Agricultural Seeds Council, a Federal Government Parastatal.

His extra-curricular activities include playing table tennis, reading newspapers and social commentary.

Prof. Nwajiuba is happily married to Dr. (Mrs,) Chinyere Nwajiuba and the marriage is blessed with children.