By Folaranmi Ajayi
In honour of the late Nigerian scholar and writer, Pius Adesanmi, who died in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight crash in 2019, Carleton University, Canada on Friday 17 February unveiled a resource centre in Lagos.
The Nairobi-bound flight, four years ago, nosedived and crashed just a few minutes after takeoff from the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
Adesanmi, who lived from February 27, 1972 to March 10 2019, was a prominent Nigerian-born Canadian professor, writer, literary critic, satirist, and columnist. He was the author of ‘Naija No Dey Carry Last’, a 2015 collection of satirical essays.
In a notice issued by the facilitator of the Institute of African Studies, Nduka Otiono, the university said it was “excited to announce the formal opening of our new IAS office and the Pius Adesanmi African Studies Resource Centre on the 17th Floor of Dunton Tower.”
The highlights of the evening event include:
Opening remarks by Carleton University president and vice-chancellor designate, Benoit-Antoine Bacon, and a welcome remarks by the dean of faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Pauline Rankin, and other dignitaries.
Also attending will be the faculty members and students “as well as members of Africa’s diplomatic corps to Canada and our wider community in the capital region.”
The statement added, “The evening will also feature the unveiling of the African Studies Student Lounge. The new spaces are designed as a hub for our students, visiting researchers and community members for research and networking at Canada’s capital university.
“Live music will be provided by Kathy Armstrong and her crew from the Music Department. There will also be an Open mic session by Carleton students.”
The late Adesanmi joined Carleton University in 2006 and was until his death, the director of the Institute for African Studies.
