UNILAG Senate Honours Three Retiring Professors for Decades of Distinguished Service

The Senate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has formally celebrated three distinguished professors ahead of their retirement from active service, marking the close of the institution’s final Senate meeting for the 2025 academic year.

The valedictory session, held on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, honoured Professor Chinwe Rosabelle Nwanna, Professor Solomon Oladele Akinboye, and Professor Rebecca Oritsemaje Soremekun for their decades of exceptional service, scholarship, and contributions to national development through teaching, research, and leadership.

According to Akahi News, the celebration was not only a tribute to individual excellence but also a reflection of UNILAG’s enduring culture of recognising merit, intellectual dedication, and institutional loyalty.

Vice-Chancellor Applauds Illustrious Academic Careers

In her remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, congratulated the retiring academics for what she described as “illustrious careers marked by commitment, excellence, and service to humanity.”

Speaking on behalf of the University Management, staff, and students, Professor Ogunsola thanked the professors for their immense contributions to the advancement of knowledge and the strengthening of UNILAG’s academic reputation. She wished them fulfilling and healthy retirement lives, praying that they would enjoy the fruits of their labour in good health and continued relevance.

Akahi News gathered that the Vice-Chancellor also emphasised that the legacies of the retirees would continue to shape the University through the programmes they established, the students they mentored, and the standards they upheld.

Retiring Professors Reflect, Offer Counsel on Education

In their separate responses, Professors Nwanna, Akinboye, and Soremekun reflected on their professional journeys within and beyond the University of Lagos. They expressed gratitude to their families, colleagues, friends, and the University community for the support that sustained their careers.

They also offered thoughtful recommendations on the advancement of tertiary education in Nigeria, stressing the importance of integrity, innovation, mentorship, and sustained investment in human capital development.

Professor Chinwe Rosabelle Nwanna: A Trailblazer in Social Work

Professor Chinwe Rosabelle Nwanna was born on December 21, 1955, in Enugu, Enugu State. She began her educational journey at Convent School, Ogui, Enugu, before completing her West African Examination Council Certificate with Division One at Owerri Girls’ Secondary School in 1971.

Her early professional training was in nursing, having earned a Nursing Certificate from the Institute of Health, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1976, and a Midwifery Certificate from the School of Midwifery, Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukka, in 1977.

Driven by a passion for human development, she later enrolled at the University of Lagos, where she obtained a Diploma in Social Development and Administration in 1983. She subsequently earned a direct-entry degree in Sociology with specialisation in Social Work, graduating in 1986 with First Class Honours. She emerged as the best graduating student in both the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Department of Sociology, becoming the department’s first female First-Class graduate.

Professor Nwanna joined the University of Lagos in 1998 as an Assistant Lecturer and rose steadily through the academic ranks, attaining the position of Professor in 2019. Her service to UNILAG includes stints as Senate Member (2002–2003; 2021–present), Coordinator of the Bachelor of Social Work Programme (2007–2018), and Head of the Department of Social Work (2021–2024).

Akahi News learnt that she pioneered the establishment of the B.Sc. Social Work programme in 2007 and the Postgraduate Social Work programme in 2023. She also hosted a Carnegie African Diaspora Fellow in 2019 and delivered her Inaugural Lecture titled “Caught in the Web: Rebuilding the Cradle” on March 5, 2025.

Beyond the University, Professor Nwanna has played a pivotal role in shaping social work practice and policy in Nigeria. As a consultant to UNICEF and the National Universities Commission, she contributed to curriculum reviews, the Social Welfare Professionalisation Bill, child protection reforms, and the finalisation of the National Social Welfare Policy in 2017. In the same year, she harmonised the Social Work Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards.

A respected trainer, examiner, and scholar, she is a member of several national and international professional bodies and, in 2025, became the first Nigerian Representative to the Commonwealth Organisation for Social Work Council. She is married and blessed with children.

Professor Solomon Oladele Akinboye: Scholar of Global Repute

Professor Solomon Oladele Akinboye was born on December 24, 1955, in Ejigbo, Osun State. His foundational education at Beulah Baptist School, L.A. Secondary Modern School, Ejigbo, and Baptist College, Iwo, shaped the intellectual discipline and moral grounding that defined his academic life.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1974–1978), followed by a Master’s degree from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (1980–1981). He later completed a PhD in International Relations at the University of Benin between 1986 and 1989.

His academic excellence earned him Federal Government Scholarship awards for both his undergraduate and doctoral studies. In 2000, he was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Fellowship, which he utilised at the University of Delaware, with additional scholarly exposure at Harvard University and the Foreign Policy Research Institute in the United States.

Over the years, Professor Akinboye attracted several competitive fellowships and research grants, including awards from the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) and the Africa Institute of South Africa/Thabo Mbeki Institute. Most recently, he served as Principal Researcher on a TETFund-funded project on voters’ apathy in Nigeria as political protest (2022–2025).

At UNILAG, he held several strategic leadership positions, including Head of the Department of Political Science (2009–2015), Dean of the School of Postgraduate Studies (2015–2019), Director of the School of Foundation Studies (2022–2024), Interim Director of the Centre for Economic Policy Analysis and Research (CEPAR) in 2025, and member of both the University Senate and Governing Council.

Akahi News gathered that Professor Akinboye has over 90 scholarly publications and delivered a widely acclaimed inaugural lecture in 2013 titled “Beautiful Abroad but Ugly at Home: Issues and Contradictions in Nigeria’s Foreign Policy.” He is married with children and grandchildren.

Professor Rebecca Oritsemaje Soremekun: Bridging Academia and Industry

Professor Rebecca Oritsemaje Soremekun (née Morgridge) was born on January 28, 1956. She attended Holy Child College, Lagos, where she graduated with a Division One distinction. She studied Pharmacy at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, earning a Second-Class Upper Division degree in 1980.

She later obtained an M.Sc. in Pharmaceutics, a Master of Business Administration, a PhD in Clinical Pharmacy, and an Advanced Diploma in Management from the Lagos Business School. Her career uniquely traversed both academia and the corporate world, where she rose to become Director of Technical Operations on the Board of Pharma-Deko Plc. She currently serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Vitapur Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Vitafoam PLC.

Professor Soremekun joined academia in 2002 and rose to the rank of Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Lagos. Her administrative roles include Deputy Dean, Students’ Affairs (2010–2014), Head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmacy (2016–2018), Chairman of the Faculty of Pharmacy Quality Assurance and SERVICOM Committee, and member of the UNILAG Quality Assurance Committee (2021–2025).

A Fellow of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists and the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy, she has authored 55 peer-reviewed publications. She has also served as a consultant to PATHS and the World Health Organization on several public health policy initiatives.

She is married to Professor Kayode Soremekun, and their union is blessed with six daughters.

Celebrating Legacy and Service

Observers say the Senate celebration reaffirmed UNILAG’s tradition of honouring excellence, institutional memory, and service. Akahi News learnt that the occasion also served as inspiration to younger academics, highlighting the impact of dedication, integrity, and sustained scholarship.

As the University of Lagos bids farewell to these three accomplished scholars, many within the academic community agree that their legacies will continue to shape teaching, research, and policy long after their formal exit from active service.

By Joseph Iyaji | Akahi News
Joseph Iyaji is a journalist, educator, and founder of Akahi G. International, Akahi Tutors, and Akahi News. Read more about him here.
Akahi News www.akahinews.org