DEAN'S PROFILE



Professor Rasheed Oyewole OLANIYI B.A. (Hons.) (Sokoto), M. A., PhD (Kano) Fspsp, FACLS, MNAL, MHSN


Prof. Rasheed Oyewole Olaniyi is a Professor of Economic and Social History in the Department of History, University of Ibadan. Professor Olaniyi’s scholarship and leadership have profoundly shaped historical inquiry in Africa.


Professor Olaniyi has devoted his academic life to deepening understanding of Africa’s complex past and its implications for migration, diaspora, conflict, and governance. A man of quiet intellect and purposeful leadership, his tenure as Head of the Department of History (2022–2025) was defined by innovation, compassion, and a commitment to student-centered excellence. Under his leadership, the Department of History flourished in scholarship and a humanistic approach that placed students at the heart of institutional growth.


Professor Olaniyi earned his Ph.D. in History from Bayero University, Kano, in 2004. His scholarly output is both vast and influential, comprising more than eighty (80) publications across books, journal articles, and edited volumes. His major works include:


   
  • Migration and Diaspora Identity in Northern Nigeria and Ghana, 1900–1970: Yoruba Citizenship and Belonging (James Currey, 2025)
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  • Diaspora Is Not Like Home: A Social and Economic History of Yoruba in Kano, 1912–1999 (Lincom Europa, 2008)
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  • Migration and the Awori-Yoruba Frontiers: History and Orality of Idewure (Praxis, 2021)
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  • History for Senior Secondary Schools (Bounty Press, 2017; revised 2025)

    • These works, alongside several co-authored texts, have become enduring references in migration studies, identity politics, and urban social history in Africa.


    His scholarly influence extends beyond the written word. Professor Olaniyi has nurtured generations of historians, guiding numerous undergraduate and postgraduate theses, including seven successfully completed doctoral dissertations. His deep commitment to intellectual mentorship and academic integrity continues to inspire new voices in historical research.


    Professor Olaniyi’s expertise has earned him international recognition and prestigious fellowships across continents. He is a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS); Senior Fellow of the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA), University of Ibadan; Fellow, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Study, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India; and Research Fellow, Leibniz Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin, Germany. He is also a Member of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal.


    A truly global scholar, Professor Olaniyi has presented papers at major international conferences and held visiting positions, including Visiting Scholar of African History at Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA, and most recently as Visiting Professor at the Centre for International Studies (CERI), Sciences Po, Paris (2023). He also serves as Adjunct Researcher at the Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China.


    Through all these engagements, Professor Olaniyi’s work has remained guided by a clear conviction—that history is a tool for cultural understanding, and that through historical knowledge and scholarship, societies can heal, rebuild, and transform.


    Professor Olaniyi has served as External Examiner for History in several universities in Nigeria. He has also served as an external assessor in these universities for the promotion or appointment of colleagues to the ranks of Associate Professor and Professor.