OAU Alumnus Receives Mount Royal University’s Presidential Community Connections Award

Dr. Ademola Adesola, an alumnus of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), who was also a student of English and Literary Studies and the Public Relations Officer of the Association of Campus Journalists (ACJOAU) during his time on campus, was named a recipient of Mount Royal University’s Presidential Community Connections Award for his contributions to community advocacy and the representation of African and Black Canadian voices on 28th, September. He was one of the two recipients selected and eventually awarded at Mount Royal University’s annual ‘Celebrate U Awards’.

This award category is held annually to celebrate and recognize individuals and their contributions to the University’s community and its surroundings. For years, Dr Ademola Adesola has shown a passion for advocacy and has worked to ensure African and Black Canadian voices are adequately represented. Ensuring African and Black voices are adequately represented, their histories and origins are preserved through his initiative, which is the African and Black Writings in Canada Speaker Series, which eventually fits into the demands of what the Presidential Community Connections Award appreciates and rewards.

In an exclusive interview with the recipient of the award, Dr Adesola revealed the inspiration that led him to establish the African and Black Writings in Canada Speaker Series as the zeal to bring intellectual productions and creative and non-creative works of African and Black Canadians into the limelight, stating various extant gaps he had noticed such that the history and experiences of African and Black Canadians are not always given attention and remain unknown.

He futhersaid that, the knowledge of this gap has prompted him, as a teacher and researcher in the field of African and Black Diaspora Literatures, to spearhead an initiative that would preserve, document and highlight the African and Black Canadians’ history, accomplishments and all forms of creative outputs by taking it beyond the immediate university community by inviting campus writers and guests from diverse communities about their creative works and the history which has brought in a lot of testimony on the enlightenments various attendees have gotten about African and Black people’s history in Canada, with the fourth edition of the Series coming up on the 21st of this month, which would be made accessible through a hybrid format for anyone with genuine interest to join and acquire knowledge about African and Black Canadians’ history.

He ultimately attributed all these efforts to the fact that ‘one must always cultivate one’s mind to think of a solution when faced with a challenge. Indeed, that is how anyone who has invented anything got it done.’

According to him, young student researchers at Obafemi Awolowo University and across the world should note that research takes discipline and the ability to manage one’s time, utilize it judiciously, and cut out unnecessary distractions.

In his words, young student researchers should understand that, in order in their bid to use research to address societal problems, involvement in research is more than what is necessary to get a degree from a university; in the real sense, it takes heavy investment in studying because it is nearly impossible not to excel in something one has consistently invested time in.

He further encouraged every university undergraduate, whether they combine their studies with extracurricular activities or not, whether involved in any form of research or simply studying for a degree, to always prioritize investing quality time in studying and cultivating discipline to give quality attention to one’s work.

The award recipient, when speaking on opportunities and platforms students can also leverage to develop themselves, their research skills, enhance their productivity, and drive innovations and changes wherever they find themselves, reiterated the importance of discipline and a strong capacity for observation.

‘I should note here that the points I underline in my response above are crucial for students if they are to convert opportunities into tangible outcomes for themselves and society. An undisciplined, unobserving mind cannot appropriate opportunities. In fact, they may not recognize opportunities when you see them.’ he said.

According to him, the art of asking questions and networking are two fundamental dispositions to have in pursuits aimed towards self-development. Recognizing the fact that there will always be people who are ahead of us and know better than we do, asking questions is good; however, students should do the work to move towards these people at any opportunity they can see, either at conferences, symposia, or other events, especially where people with similar passions and aspirations gather, discuss, and share insights, and the willingness to learn and improve must be present.

Speaking on the acknowledgment of various challenges students are prone to face, especially given the economic realities and ‘human-designed problems’ of the country, he strongly believes that whenever one is determined to become successful and not to be carried away by the problems and cause impacts amidst the challenges, they are always successful.

‘During my studentship years at OAU, we had a surfeit of formidable problems. But we gave our studies the best of attention and made do with what we had. It is not possible to speak of my successes in Nigeria and Canada without tracing them to OAU. I practiced campus journalism. I led peer tutorials and taught junior students. I was close to most of my lecturers. I participated effectively in campus activities. Those were the opportunities I found and used to develop myself for my own good, as well as for society’s. Opportunities to develop oneself and make an impact always exist if one can watch out for them.’