UNILAG Senate Honours Three Professors Ahead of Retirement

The Senate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), at its final statutory meeting for the 2025 academic year held on Wednesday, December 17, celebrated three distinguished professors ahead of their retirement from active service.

The retirees are Professor Chinwe Rosabelle Nwanna, Professor Solomon Oladele Akinboye, and Professor Rebecca Oritsemaje Soremekun.

Speaking at the session, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, commended the professors for their decades of meritorious service, exceptional scholarship, and contributions to knowledge and national development. On behalf of management, staff, and students, she wished them fulfillment, good health, and happiness in retirement.

In separate remarks, the retiring professors reflected on their academic journeys and shared insights on strengthening tertiary education in Nigeria. They expressed gratitude to their families, colleagues, and the university community for the opportunity to serve.

Professor Chinwe Rosabelle Nwanna

Born on December 21, 1955, in Enugu State, Professor Nwanna began her professional career in nursing and midwifery before transitioning into social development and sociology. She earned a First Class degree in Sociology from the University of Lagos in 1986, emerging as the best graduating student in her faculty and the first female First-Class graduate of the department.

She joined UNILAG in 1998 as an Assistant Lecturer and attained the rank of Professor in 2019. Her service to the university includes roles as Senate Member, Coordinator of the Bachelor of Social Work Programme, and Head of the Department of Social Work. She pioneered the B.Sc. Social Work programme in 2007 and the postgraduate programme in 2023.

Professor Nwanna has played a major role in shaping social work education and policy in Nigeria, working with UNICEF and the National Universities Commission, contributing to national child protection reforms, and harmonising benchmark academic standards. In 2025, she became Nigeria’s first representative to the Commonwealth Organisation for Social Work Council. She delivered her inaugural lecture, “Caught in the Web: Rebuilding the Cradle,” on March 5, 2025.

She is married with children.

Professor Solomon Oladele Akinboye

Professor Akinboye was born on December 24, 1955, in Ejigbo, Osun State. He earned his first degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, followed by a Master’s degree from Obafemi Awolowo University and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Benin.

A recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Fulbright Fellowship, Professor Akinboye has enjoyed extensive international academic exposure and attracted numerous research grants. His recent work includes leading a TETFund-funded research project on voters’ apathy in Nigeria.

At UNILAG, he served as Head of the Department of Political Science, Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies, Director of the School of Foundation Studies, Interim Director of the Centre for Economic Policy Analysis and Research, and as a member of both Senate and Governing Council. Nationally and internationally, he has served on several academic and policy bodies.

With over 90 scholarly publications, his inaugural lecture titled “Beautiful Abroad but Ugly at Home: Issues and Contradictions in Nigeria’s Foreign Policy,” delivered in 2013, remains influential in Nigeria’s foreign policy discourse.

He is married with children and grandchildren.

Professor Rebecca Oritsemaje Soremekun

Born on January 28, 1956, Professor Soremekun obtained her first degree in Pharmacy from Obafemi Awolowo University in 1980. She later earned an MSc in Pharmaceutics, an MBA, a PhD in Clinical Pharmacy, and an Advanced Diploma in Management from Lagos Business School.

Before joining academia, she built an outstanding corporate career, rising to Director of Technical Operations at Pharma-Deko Plc and currently serving as a non-Executive Director at Vitapur Nigeria Limited.

She joined the University of Lagos in 2002 and rose to the rank of Professor of Clinical Pharmacy. Her leadership roles include Deputy Dean, Students’ Affairs; Head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmacy; and Chairmanship and membership of several quality assurance committees.

A Fellow of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists and the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy, she has published 55 peer-reviewed articles and served as a consultant to international organisations, including PATHS and the World Health Organization.

Professor Soremekun is married to Professor Kayode Soremekun, and they are blessed with six daughters.

The Senate described the three professors as exemplary scholars whose legacies of excellence, service, and leadership will continue to inspire future generations at the University of Lagos.