Name Idowu Omole | Political party Nonpartisanism | |
Preceded by Micheal Oladimeji Faborede | ||
Idowu Bamitale Omole (born September 1954) is a Nigerian professor of International relations , educational administrator, and former Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, Nigeria.
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Early life and education
He was born in September 1954 in Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Oye-Ekiti is a town in Ekiti state, southwestern Nigeria. He attended Methodist High School, Ilesa (1966–71) for his secondary education and later attended Government College, Ibadan, between 1971 and 1973 for his Advanced Levels, winning multiple prizes at both colleges. In September 1973, he proceeded to the University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, Nigeria, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree in history in 1976. In 1981, he obtained an MA degree in history from the University of Ife. He later proceeded to the University of Bordeaux, France for a M.Phil and a Doctorate (Ph.D) degree in International relations. Omole speaks and writes in French fluently. In 1991, he obtained a diploma in International Law and organisation for development from the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands.
Career
He began his career as an assistant lecturer in 1986 at Obafemi Awolowo University after he obtained a Doctorate degree in International Relations and rose through the ranks to be appointed a Professor of International Relations. He was appointed as the 10th vice chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University in June, 2011. As part of his numerous academic, administrative and public policy assignments, Omole has extensively lectured in Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia. He has also served as a technical consultant to various international organisations. Prior to becoming Vice-Chancellor, he was at various times Head of Department of International Relations, Vice Dean of the faculty of administration and Dean of the Faculty of Administration. He served for two terms on the University's Governing Council. His areas of teaching and research interest are - International economic relations, International relations of the Francophone states, African government and politics, Regional integration and International development. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Korea Foundation and the University of Bordeaux. He was the National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer of the August 2014 Osun State, governorship election that led to the re-election of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the governor elect of Osun State, Nigeria.
Honours and recognition
Professor Omole has received several fellowship awards, such as the United States Information Agency/Ford Foundation (USIA/Ford Foundation) Award, the Centre International d'Etudes Scientific (CIES) award, and fellowship of the Malawi Centre for Advice, Research and Education Rights and the government of the Netherlands.