Ladipo Ayodeji Banjo, (Born 2 May 1934) is a Nigerian

Emeritus professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

, educational administrator, former

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

of the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

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 ...

as well as former pro-chancellor of

Ajayi Crowther University Ajayi Crowther University also known as ACU is a private university located in Oyo, Oyo State, Nigeria. Historical background The Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo was established by the Supra Diocesan Board (West) of the Church of Nigeria (Anglic ...

Education

Ladipo was born in May 1934, in

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

Nigeria to the family of Reverend Ayodeji Banjo. He attended St. Andrews Anglican primary school and Christ Cathedral primary school in

Lagos state Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

, Nigeria. He attended Igbobi college in Lagos State, Nigeria between 1947 and 1952. In 1966, he won the American State Department scholarship award for a Master of Art (M.A) degree in linguistics at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He later obtained a Doctorate degree (P.hD) in 1969 from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Career

He began his career as a lecturer at the department of English language, University of Ibadan in 1966. He was appointed associate professor in 1973 and became a full professor in 1975 at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. In 1981, he became the vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan. He was appointed

vice chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

of the University of Ibadan in 1984, a position he held till 1991. During this period, he was the chairman committee of vice chancellor of Nigerian universities. He served as visiting professor for one year at the

University of West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

at Cave Hill as well as visiting fellow at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

between 1993 and 1994. He was appointed as the pro-chancellor of the

University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is located in Choba in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The University of Port Harcourt was rank ...

between 2000 and 2004. After his tenure he was appointed as pro-chancellor of the

University of Ilorin University of Ilorin, also known as Unilorin, is a federal government-owned university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. It was established by a decree of the federal military government in August, 1975. The establishment aimed to implement one o ...

for two years (2005-2007). He also served as the incumbent pro-chancellor of

Awards and honours

*Justice of Peace (JP), Oyo State (1984) *Commander of the Order of Niger, CON (2001) *Literature honori causa, Port Harcourt (2005) *Nigeria National Order of Merit, NNOM (2009)

Membership of professional bodies

*President, Nigeria Academy of Letters (2000-2004) *Fellow Nigeria Academy of Letters (2000-2004) * Chairman, Sigma Foundation (2005-2010) *Fellow of the Nigeria English Studies Association (2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banjo, Ladipo Ayodeji 1934 births Living people People from Oyo State Igbobi College alumni Alumni of the University of Glasgow University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of Ibadan alumni Academic staff of the University of Ibadan Academic staff of the University of Port Harcourt Academic staff of the University of Ilorin Vice-Chancellors of the University of Ibadan 20th-century Nigerian educators 21st-century Nigerian educators Educators from Ibadan

Education

Career

Awards and honours

Membership of professional bodies

See also

References