One of the highlights of the 2026 (56th ) Convocation of the University of Lagos this week was the Conferment of Emeritus Professors, Distinguished Professors, Award of Gold Medals and Honorary Doctorate Degrees. One of the new Emeritus Professors is my old friend and brother, Duro Oni, a man of many parts whose name is synonymous with creative arts, and it resounds in several other spheres globally, especially where ‘Lighting’ is mentioned.
Our paths first crossed in the early 90s when the Canadian Government, who were my employers then, accepted our proposal to, as part of the Canadian Studies Programme, set up a Canadian Film Library in the University of Lagos. It was the duty of the Department of Creative Arts to work with us at the Canadian High Commission to actualise that project, along with the Canadian Books Programme in the Unilag Library. I remember other members of the Creative Arts Department then included other titans like Dr. Alaja-Browne, Prof. Mrs. Ebun Clark, Prof. Laz Ekwueme and Dr. Joy Nwosu. But Duro Oni was the arrowhead and he is simplicity personified. Everybody call him Duro, young or old. His mates and other friends, especially at the Unilag Staff Club, know that with Duro around, everything is ‘cool’.
When my wife Helen and I decided to attend one of Unilag’s executive Business Management weekend programmes in the early 90s, Duro and his wife Franca made sure we didn’t feel the stress of campus ‘inconvenience’ facilities, as they made their home our relaxation place between lectures. He was also like a father to my son Eghosa who studied in Unilag during Duro’s tenure as Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Professor Oni retired from the service of the University of Lagos in December 2022 after 46 years of service and was awarded a Gold Medal for distinguished service.
After his retirement, we got into what retired people do, so as not to become lazy but be relevant to the community, the country and the world as a whole. Duro and I, along with Dr. Richard Ikiebe became, after several brainstorming sessions, Co-Conveners of Yaba School of Thought, YSoT, in the effort to find the answer to the critical question, ‘Who is thinking for Nigeria?’ He is one of the regular writers on the YSoT page in BusinessDay newspaper in pursuit of the project.
His appointment as Emeritus Professor by Unilag after retiring from the same institution is a true testimony to the lofty height he is held by the community in view of his contribution to its development.
A Professor Emeritus (or Emerita for women) is an honorary title for a distinguished, retired full professor, signifying respect for their significant and outstanding contributions to teaching, research, and service, and it allows such professors to retain their title and remain connected to the university, often with continued involvement in academic life. It is a way to honour a long, successful career, acknowledging expertise and commitment even after leaving active employment.
It is a distinction granted by a university, and provides continued connection that allows for ongoing engagement, such as mentoring, attending lectures, or committee work, leveraging their wisdom. Needless to say, that not all professors are accorded Emeritus status. In fact, it just one other, apart from my friend Duro that received the honour this year at Unilag.
Emeritus comes from Latin, meaning “deserving” or “earned,” recognising a professor’s legacy and continued value to the academic community and Unilag will benefit from Duro’s experience as a distinguished scholar, administrator, cultural leader, and pioneer of Theatre Arts and Creative Arts education in Nigeria. He is widely regarded as a foundational figure in the establishment and development of the Faculty of Creative Arts at the University of Lagos, which confirmed that Duro made enduring contributions to scholarship, institutional leadership, cultural policy, and creative practice over a career spanning almost five decades.
He served the University of Lagos in several leadership roles. These include Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Dean of the Faculty of Arts from, Head of the Department of Creative Arts, and Director of the Centre for Cultural Studies. Cumulatively, he served in the University of Lagos Council for eight years, first as Congregation Representative and then as DVC. On the national level, he was Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), a federal government parastatal, after having earlier served as Special Assistant and Adviser to the Nigerian Minister of Culture, Social Welfare, Youth and Sports, where he contributed significantly to national cultural policy and international cultural diplomacy.
Emeritus Professor Oni is a Fellow and former President of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, and his research interests span Theatre Design and Aesthetics, Dramatic Literature and Criticism, Cultural Studies, and the Nigerian Creative and Film Industries. He has authored and edited over ten books and published over seventy scholarly articles in reputable national and international outlets. His recent works include Striking Expressions: Theatre and Culture in National Development; The Soyinka Impulse (co-edited); Larger than His Frame II (co-edited with Sunday Ododo; contributions to the Routledge Handbook of African Theatre and Performance; and Nigerian Stage Directors’ Philosophies, Aesthetics and Ideologies (co-edited with Bisi Adigun, Cambridge Scholars Publishing. He is also a member of the TETFund Research and Development Standing Committee. His inaugural lecture, titled Lighting: Beyond Illumination, was delivered on 15th of December 2010.
An internationally networked scholar, Duro Oni has led and participated in major global research collaborations, including the AHRC-funded African Hub for Sustainable Creative Economies, which culminated in numerous publications, the launch of the Creative Economies Journal, and the inclusion of the Lagos Hub in the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA). His collaborative projects also include research with the Globalization, Identity Politics and Social Conflicts Centre of the Open University, United Kingdom. The Nigerian Video/DVD Industry and the UK African Diaspora project was conducted with the Ferguson Centre for African and Asian Studies, UK. Additionally, he collaborated on Understanding and Supporting Creative Industries in Africa: Education, Networks and Policy with the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College, University of London, also supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
He has served as External Examiner and Assessor to numerous universities in Nigeria, Africa, and the United Kingdom, and has undertaken extensive academic and professional engagements across all continents. These include the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Spain, Yugoslavia/Slovenia, Bermuda, Brazil, Jamaica, Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Hong Kong, Canada, Barbados, Trinidad, India, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Turkey, and numerous African countries including Egypt, Republic du Benin, Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Libya, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Ethiopia.
Professor Oni holds the BFA and MFA degrees in Performing Arts Design and Technology from the California Institute of the Arts and a Ph.D. in Theatre Arts from the University of Ibadan. He is an alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management’s Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme. He serves on the editorial board of major national and international journals. He has held Fellowships from the British Council, the Italian Government, and the Federal Government of Nigeria, as well as a Unilag Study Fellowship and an Overseas Fellowship of the Ferguson Centre, Open University, UK. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Duro Oni Foundation for Theatre, Design, Education, and Charity.
Congratulations to my friend and brother, Emeritus Professor Duro Oni, FNAL.
Congratulations to Professor Duro. Our good works speaks 🎈💐🎉🎈