IADS-UNILAG Celebrates 2025 Rahamon Bello Best PhD Thesis Award Winners

The Institute of African and Diaspora Studies (IADS) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) on Thursday, December 4, 2025, honoured the winners of its 2025 Rahamon Bello Best PhD Thesis Award in African Studies at a formal ceremony held in the J.P. Clark Building of the Institute.

The event was inaugurated by the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), Professor Foluso Afolabi Lesi, who commended IADS for its impact on knowledge creation and the quality of research in African and Diaspora Studies. He lauded the rigorous selection process, emphasizing that it reinforced the credibility and integrity of the award.

Professor Rahamon Adisa Bello, the award’s endower and 11th Vice-Chancellor of UNILAG, highlighted the importance of sustaining excellence in African Studies research and announced the establishment of the Professor Rahamon Bello Endowment Trust Fund (PRABETFUL). From 2026, the endowment will double the star prize and increase rewards for the first and second runners-up, ensuring the award’s longevity and promoting multidisciplinary research.

The award presentation recognised:

• First Prize: Dr. Rotimi Obateru (University of Ibadan), PhD in Climate Change and Human Habitat, Federal University of Technology, Minna, for his thesis, “Dynamics of Urban Landscape Structure and its Impact on Ecosystem Services in the Rainforest and Guinea Savannah Eco-region of Nigeria”, earning $1,000.
• Second Prize: Dr. Nombulelo Tholithemba Shange (University of Free State, South Africa), PhD in Anthropology, for “Identity and Environmental Harmony as Practised by Table Mountain Doctors: A Struggle over Land and African Healing Systems”, earning $300.
• Third Prize: Dr. Abdullahi Babagana (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria), PhD in Urban and Regional Planning, for “Analysis of Terrorist Attack Places in Maiduguri, Nigeria”, earning $200.

Dr. Obateru expressed gratitude, describing the award as a challenge to scholars to uphold diligence and excellence in research. The ceremony also featured testimonials from past winners, including Dr. Felix Oludare Ajiola (2021 awardee), who noted that the recognition expanded his global network and opened opportunities such as a Visiting Fellowship at the University of Oxford.

Research Professor Ayodele Yusuff, Director of IADS, revealed that 38 submissions were received for the 2025 award: 33 from Nigeria, three from South Africa, and one each from the Republic of Benin and Ethiopia. He also acknowledged the contribution of three external assessors from Nigeria, South Africa, and India.

Instituted in 2020, the Rahamon Bello Best PhD Thesis Award seeks to promote rigorous scholarship in African and Diaspora Studies, support early-career researchers, and honour Professor Rahamon Bello’s distinguished contributions to UNILAG and African scholarship.