, Nigeria) is a Nigerian academician

Academician

The title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries, it is an honorary title. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member, .-Eastern Europe and China:"Academician" may also be a functional...

, a professor of Yoruba language

Yoruba language

Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...

 and literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

 and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University

Obafemi Awolowo University

Obafemi Awolowo University is a government-owned and -operated Nigerian university. The university is in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria...

), and has also served as the Majority Leader of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Senate of Nigeria

The Senate is the upper house of the National Assembly of Nigeria. It consists of 109 senators: the 36 states are divided in 3 senatorial districts each electing one senator; the Federal Capital Territory elects only one senator....

. He was installed as Awise Awo Agbaye in 1981 by the Ooni of Ife

Oba (ruler)

Oba is a West African synonym for monarch, one that is usually applied to the Yoruba and Edo rulers of the region. It is also often used by their traditional subjects to refer to other kings and queens, such as Elizabeth I of England, in their native languages.-Edo account of the word's origin:The...

 on the recommendation of a conclave of Babalawo

Babalawo

Babalawo is a Yorùbá chieftaincy title that denotes a Priest of Ifá. Ifa is a divination system that represents the teachings of the Orisha Orunmila, the Spirit of Wisdom, who in turn serves as the oracular representative of God...

s of Yorubaland

Yorùbáland

Yorubaland, or Yorùbáland , is a cultural region in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo that includes the indigenous territory and cultural reach of the Yoruba people.- History :-Settlement:Oduduwa is regarded as the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba...

 in West Africa.

Early life

Born in 1932 in the historic city of Oyo, Nigeria, the Awise comes from a family of traditional title-bearers. His late father, Abimbola Iroko, a renowned hunter and warrior whose brave exploits are still being celebrated by Ijala oral artists, was the Asipade (Leader of the Ogun Community) of Oyo until his death in 1971. His mother, a high priestess of Sango, is still both mentally and physically well at the age of 110.

Academic Studies

Abimbola received his first degree in History from University College, Ibadan, in 1963 when that college was a college of The University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

. He received his Master’s Degree in Linguistics

Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....

 from Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

, Evanston, Illinois

Evanston, Illinois

Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...

, in 1966, and his Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in Yoruba Literature from the University of Lagos

University of Lagos

The University of Lagos - popularly known as Unilag - is a federal government university with a main campus located at Akoka, Yaba and a college of medicine located at Idi-Araba, all in Lagos, Lagos State, southern Nigeria...

 in 1971. Abimbola was the first PhD graduate of the University of Lagos. He became a Full Professor in 1976.

The Awise's academic background is very much rooted in oral traditions. He was an apprentice in Ifa chanting and oral artistry before he began formal schooling. The Awise Awo Agbaye has taught in three Nigerian universities, namely the University of Ibadan from 1963-5, University of Lagos from 1966–72, and the University of Ife from 1972-91. He has also taught at several U.S. universities, including Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

, Amherst College

Amherst College

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...

, Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, Boston University

Boston University

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

, Colgate University

Colgate University

Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...

, and most recently, the University of Louisville

University of Louisville

The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...

. Professor Abimbola has written many books on Ifa and Yoruba culture.

University Administration

• 1982–1990 Vice-Chancellor, University of Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University).
• 1977-1979 Dean, Faculty of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
• 1975-1977; 1979–80; 1981-82 Head, Department of African Languages and Literatures, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. (Wande Abimbola was the founder of this department.)

Academic Experience

• 2004—2005 Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Department of Liberal Studies, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.
• 1999 Professor of Humanities in the Department of English, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY.
• 1998—2003 Professor in the Department of Religion, Boston University, Boston, MA.
• 1997 Professor of the Humanities in Africana and Latin American Studies, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY.
• 1996—1997 Fellow, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute & Department of African American Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge.
• 1990—1991 Scholar-in-Residence and Visiting Professor of Black Studies, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.
• 1980—1981 Visiting Henry R. Luce Professor of Comparative Religious Ethics, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.
• 1976—1990 Professor of African Languages and Literatures, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
• 1973 Associate Professor of Folklore, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
• 1971 Visiting Assistant Professor of Folklore, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
• 1966—1972 Lecturer, School of African and Asian Studies, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
• 1963—1965 Junior Research Fellow, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Political, Cultural and Public Service Appointments

• 2005—to date Director, UNESCO Proclamation of Intangible Cultural Heritage award to Nigeria, Subject Matter: Ifa.
• 2003–2005 Adviser to the Nigerian President on Traditional Matters and Cultural Affairs, Office of the Presidency,

Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria.

• 1995—1998 Member, Council for the World’s Religions.
• 1992—1993 Senate Majority Leader, Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria.
• 1992 Special Adviser to the Governor of Oyo State, Nigeria.
• 1990—to date Installed as Asiwaju Awo of Remo, Nigeria.
• 1988—1989 Member, Executive Committee, Association of Commonwealth Universities.
• 1986—to date Installed as Elemoso of Ketu, Benin Republic.
• 1981—to date President, International Congress of Orisa Tradition and Culture.
• 1981—to date Installed as Awise Awo Ni Agbaye ( literally World Spokesperson for Ifa and Yoruba Religion).
• 1981—1989 Chairman, Governing Board, Oyo State College of Arts and Science, Ile-Ife.
• 1979—1982 Chairman, Oyo State Tourist Committee.
• 1978—1984 Chairman, Board of Directors, University of Ife Guest Houses Limited.
• 1976—1978 Chairman, Oyo State Broadcasting Corporation.
• 1974—1984 Chairman, Board of Governors, Oliver Baptist High School, Oyo.
• 1974–1976 Chairman, Oyo Zonal Health Board and Member of the State Health Council.
• 1971—to date Consecrated as Babalawo (Ifa Priest).

Other Professional Experience

• 1972—1979 Editor, Yoruba, Journal of the Yoruba Studies Association of Nigeria.
• 1970—1972 Editor, Lagos Notes and Records, Bulletin of the Institute of African and Asian Studies, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.

External links

• Ifa Institute of Atlanta entry on Abimbola
• Iroko Publishers entry