Abuja – On Saturday, 4th November, 2023, Dr Usman Oladipo Akanbi was elected as the new President, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) as the climax of activities for the association’s Annual General Meeting held at the Chinua Achebe Conference Auditorium inside the Mamman Vatsa Writers Village, Mpape, Abuja, FCT.
Akanbi taking the oath of office
A perusal of Nigeria’s new Author -in-Chief’s resume reveals that this scion of late eminent jurist and pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) came to the job eminently qualified and fully equipped.
Akanbi’s resume is found below:
“Dr. Usman Oladipo Akanbi was born in Jos the Plateau State Capital, on the 3rd of December, 1968. He attended the Federal Government College, Ilorin between 1980 and 1985, from where he proceeded to the University of Ilorin to study Agriculture; he graduated with a Bachelor of Agriculture degree in 1992. In 1997, he obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration also from the University of Ilorin. In 2014, he crowned his academic achievements with a Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Economics from the same University.
Between 1995 and 2001 he was a staff of the First bank of Nigeria PLC; and between year 2002 and 2005, he was also a staff of the National Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA). He left NIMASA in 2005 to resume work as the State Project Coordinator of the World Bank/African Development Bank assisted Kwara State Fadama Agricultural Development Project; he served there for about nine years before leaving in 2013.
In the year 2014 he began an academic career, starting as an adjunct lecturer with the Entrepreneurship unit of the Kwara State University, Molete and in September of same year, he resumed work as staff of the Technical and Entrepreneurship Centre of the University of Ilorin. He is currently a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management at the same University. His area of specialization is Agricultural Production Economics. His research focuses, include Agricultural Production Economics and Development Economics and Agribusiness Management. He is has consulted for both Kwara and Kogi State Government on Agriculture Development.
He is also a creative writer enthusiast; he joined the Association of Nigerian Authors through its Niger state Chapter in 1998 and was a one-time state Chairman of Kwara branch of the association. Asides his academic publications, also has several literary publications (in the realm of creative writings) to his credit. To promote literary appreciation, he also established Imodoye Writers Enclave in April, 2001.
He is also a management consultant and member of the Nigerian Institute of Management. Widely travelled, he lives with his family in this ancient city of Ilorin.
Specifics:
-Member of ANA Niger Chapter (1998–2001).
-Member of Lagos ANA (2002–2004).
-Member of Kwara ANA (2004 till date).
-Chairman of Kwara ANA (2010–2014).
-Chairman of Electoral Committee Kwara ANA 2021.
-Member of ANA Peace Committee 2022.
PUBLISHED WORKS
Prose:
-Tales Across the Plains (2001).
-Connecting With My Past: A Mid-life Memoir (2020).
Poetry:
-Weevils On Grains (2001).
-Suppletunes In Tightangles (2003)
-Verdant Verses.
Drama:
-Labake Isale Eko & Other Plays (2018).
Anthologies:
-Cramped Rooms and Open Spaces, ANA (1999).
-Unique Madmen and Other Stories, ANA Niger (2000).
-Midland Echoes, Kwara ANA (2006).
-Symphony of Harmony, Kwara ANA (2008).
-Harmonious Chronicles, Kwara ANA (2018).
-Wreaths for a Wayfarer – An Anthology In Honour of Prof. Pius Adesanmi.
MISCELLANEOUS:
Book reviews and interviews in leading Nigerian newspapers, including The Nation, Guardian, The Nigeria Xpress, Blue Print, The Nigerian Herald, among others.
-First Runner-up for 2009 ANA Poetry Prize.
-Founded a pioneer residency programme for writers, first of its kind in Northern Nigeria: The Imodoye Writers’ Residency in Ilorin, Kwara State Nigeria.”
