President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, as the Chairman of the newly constituted Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.
The former Council of the University was sacked mid last year over some crises in the University.
The crises erupted as a result of alleged procedural anomaly in the process of selecting a new Vice-Chancellor for the University.
Education Minister, Mr Adamu Adamu, announced the appointments in a statement made available to Channels Television’ correspondent, Bosede Sodiq, on Wednesday.
He said the new Governing Council would serve for a term of four years, in the first instance, with effect from December 28, 2016.
Other members of the OAU Council are Professor Felix U. Madubuike, Mr Inowei Akono, Mr Adekunle Sanni and Muhammad Bello Kaoje.
Yemi Ogunbiyi’s Profile
Yemi Ogunbiyi, a founding Chairman of Tanus Communications, once served as the Managing Director of Daily Times of Nigeria.
He received his secondary education from the Ibadan Boys High School and later went to the University of Ibadan where he studied English Literature. He then went to New York University for his Masters degree.
Together with notable scholars like Kole Omotosho, Biodun Jeyifo, Wole Soyinka, Mr Ogunbiyi was part of the Drama and Literature Department of the University of Ife, later renamed Obafemi Awolowo University by military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.
He has served as an Executive Director of the Guardian Newspapers in Charge of Public Affairs and Marketing. He also served as a Member of Global Advisory Board of Repro India Limited.
According to his profile published by Bloomberg, Ogunbiyi was a Lecturer at Brooklyn College in the United States after his university education.
He returned to Nigeria in the late 1970s and taught at the University of Ife. He has written a few books on African Literature and also edited the book, “Drama and Theatre in Nigeria: A Critical Source Book” which is a comprehensive work on Nigerian drama.
The entries in the book included various drama articles from the Nigeria Magazine which were becoming sparse and expensive at the time.