“Full of expectation, full of preparation, Pius Adesanmi set out for Kenya to attend the African Union ECOSOCC committee in Nairobi. He was ready for a thorough representation as usual. But alas, he couldn’t reach the destination. His Ethiopian Airlines plane came down forcefully in Ethiopia, shortly after take off, taking his life in its prime, and that of 156 others on board.
A citizen of Nigeria, Adesanmi, who was a Professor of Literature and African studies at the Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, was born in February 1972, in Isanlu, in Yagba East Local Government area of Kogi State, Nigeria.
Adesanmi had his education in Nigeria before attending the University of Ilorin in 1992 where he obtained a BA Honours in the first class honours category. He followed it up with a Masters in French from the University of Ibadan in 1998, and afterwards a PhD in French Studies from the University of British Columbia in 2002.
Professionally, Adesanmi served as Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University, USA between 2002 and 2005.
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He joined Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 2006 as a Professor of Literature and African studies. He has also been a Fellow of the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA), a position he held from 1993 to 1997, as well as of the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) in 1998 and 2000.
A prolific writer, Adesanmi had been written on a regular basis for front line online platforms such as Premium Times and Sahara Reporters.
Wikipedia reports that his writings are “often satiric, focusing on the absurd in the Nigerian social and political system…, adding that “his targets often include politicians, pastors, and other relevant public figures.”
Culled from the Boss Newspaper