Femi Ojo Ade was a Nigerian writer, novelist, poet, critic and Professor Emeritus of French Studies and Black History.

Early life

Femi was born in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, southwestern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He had his primary education at Model Primary School in

Yaba, Lagos Yaba is a suburb located on Lagos Mainland, Lagos in Lagos State, Nigeria. There are several federal government institutions in the area, which include Queen's College, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, the Yaba College of Technolog ...

State, and secondary education at Government College in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

, where he obtained the Higher School Certificate in 1961. He later proceeded to

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Spanish in 1967, and a Master of Arts degree in French at Queen's University in 1969. In 1975, he received a doctorate degree (Ph.D) in French at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. In 1975, he joined the services of

Barber–Scotia College Barber–Scotia College is a private unaccredited historically black college in Concord, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Scotia Seminary Barber–Scotia began as a female seminary in 1867. Scotia ...

where he lectured briefly before he returned to

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

where he was appointed a professorship of French language in 1980. He served in several academic institutions with immense contributions to black literature and culture.

References

Living people Writers from Lagos Nigerian literary critics Nigerian poets Nigerian male short story writers Nigerian short story writers Nigerian writers in French Yoruba writers Yoruba academics University of Toronto alumni Academic staff of Obafemi Awolowo University McMaster University alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States 1941 births {{Nigeria-writer-stub