THREE powerful intellectual figures will lead the opening conversations at TOFAC 2025 at Osun State University, from July 1 to 3rd, 2025. Professor Nemata Blyden, Dr. Wale Okediran, and Dr. Lasisi Olagunju, these three preeminent figures, will stand as the beacon of African intellectual and cultural achievement as TOFAC 2025 opens.
Since I know all three of them, I am honoured to introduce them. The first keynote speaker, Professor Nemata Blyden, is the Armstead L. Robinson Professor of Nineteenth-Century African American History at the University of Virginia. Professor Nemata Blyden was born and raised in Sierra Leone, where she developed a sense of transnationality. She received her education in the United States, earning a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College, and then went on to complete an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. at Yale University. Not only was she successful at these institutions, but she also began to forge a path for complex and inclusive approaches to scholarship.
Although she began her academic career at George Washington University, where she became a prominent historian with influence spanning from lecture halls to national and international scholarly events, she now works at the University of Virginia, not only as a an eminent professor but also as a departmental leader and a think tank in African American and African Studies. Her research concentrates on West African and West Indian relations, the development of diasporic identities, and the historic interactions between African Americans and the African continent.
Professor Nemata Blyden’s groundbreaking book, African Americans and Africa: A New History, redefines the connection between African Americans and their ancestral homeland. It offers a counter-narrative to the often disconnected portrayals of diasporic history. Her work incorporates memory and emotion into academic discourse, prompting us to see the African Diaspora as linked not only through shared struggles but also through common goals, victories, and innovations.
The presence of this esteemed Professor at TOFAC 2025 is significant not only because of her academic credentials but also because she embodies the conference’s core theme, “African Cultural Creativity and Innovations.” Her keynote address will undoubtedly inspire us to reflect on how diasporic memory can drive innovation, how scholarship can serve as a means of cultural restoration, and how history, when communicated clearly, can be liberating. As we welcome her to the city of Osogbo, rich in cultural legacy and spiritual depth, we do so not just as a scholar but as a bridge connecting continents, generations, and visions. Let us warmly welcome Professor Nemata Blyden, a global voice from Africa and a shining example of intelligence in the diaspora.
Please join me in warmly welcoming our second keynote speaker, a literary powerhouse with a career spanning medicine, politics, literature, and international cultural diplomacy, Dr. Wale Okediran. He studied at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, to become a medical doctor. Although a physician, he also served in government. From 2003 to 2007, he was a member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, where he combined compassion and intellect with public policy. Despite his roles as a practicing doctor and a politician, literature has remained at the heart of his service to the public, as he is also a novelist with more than a dozen published works. Because of this, Dr. Okediran can be considered a true polymath who has not only worn many hats but has done so with distinction.
One of his best-known books, Tenants of the House, a political novel that offers insight into Nigeria’s legislative politics, not only reflects but also critiques, presenting literature as a form of active engagement. This novel won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in 2011 and has since been adapted into a Netflix original film, bringing African political stories to a global audience.
The contributions of Dr. Okediran to African literature, however, go beyond his literary works. He brought authors together across the continent to promote unity and diversity as the Secretary-General of the Pan-African Writers Association (PAWA). He also founded the Ebedi International Writers Residency in Iseyin, Oyo State, one of Africa’s leading literary residencies. The Ebedi International Writers Residency has supported emerging writers from more than fifteen countries, and its alumni continue to enrich the body of African letters.
Dr. Okediran will address us not only as a man of literature but also as a guardian of culture. His keynote speech will explore how cultural creativity goes beyond mere aesthetics, relating to governance and transnational issues. He is a person of medicine, lawmaking, literature, and vision. Let us warmly welcome Dr. Wale Okediran, a renaissance figure whose life reminds us that African creativity knows no boundaries.
Finally, I introduce the third pillar of our opening ceremony, Dr. Lasisi Olagunju, whose courageous and transformative voice continues to resonate in the Nigerian and African media landscape. Dr. Olagunju’s academic journey exemplifies interdisciplinary excellence. After earning a First-Class degree in English from Obafemi Awolowo University, he pursued further studies at the prestigious University of Ibadan, where he earned a PhD in Political Communication and a Law degree.
As a senior journalist with the Nigerian Tribune, where he rose to the position of Editor of the Saturday Tribune, he has written some of the most incisive commentaries on Nigerian politics, culture, and society. His work is characterised by moral courage that has earned him multiple awards, including Columnist of the Year by the Nigerian Media Merit Awards and the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME).
Beyond the newsroom, Dr. Olagunju has dedicated himself to serving the people of Osun State with distinction, initially as Chief Press Secretary and later as Media Adviser to two successive governors. He combines the moral integrity of a cultural historian, the analytical insight of a political scientist, and expertise in political communication in his journalism work. His position at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU) as Secretary of the Board of Trustees places him at the core of Africa’s efforts to archive, promote, and reinterpret African culture for future generations. This aligns seamlessly with TOFAC’s goal of promoting global dialogue on African cultural innovations.
Dr. Lasisi Olagunju’s keynote is expected to explore how media communicates and impacts culture, how it can serve as a tool for liberation or oppression, and why the next generation of African scholars must recognize media as a space of cultural struggle and innovation. May their words ignite the fires of thought, dialogue, and transformation that will define this historic gathering.