REMEMBERING ADEBOWALE ADEFUYE (1947 -2015)

Adefuye was not originally a diplomat. He was an academic. Nigerian professional diplomats are fond of territoriality. They resent the incursion of non-professional diplomats into their trade. Adefuye was obviously an exception to the rule. He distinguished himself and made a difference, performing far better than those who started out originally in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Adefuye obtained a Ph.D from the University of Ibadan in 1973, and was later a Fulbright scholar in the United States at Columbia University, the University of North Florida, and the University of Florida. He later taught history at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, eventually becoming a Professor of History and Head of Department of History (1985 -1987). He made his mark as a scholar as well. Perhaps his most seminal contribution to scholarship and knowledge may not be the many students that he taught and supervised, (that can be taken for granted) but his seminal contributions to research and intellection, notably for me, his main works: Culture and Foreign Policy: The Nigerian Example (1992), and History of the Peoples of Lagos (1987). Cultural diplomacy is an often ignored and underplayed area of emphasis in Nigeria but through research and praxis, Adefuye was a leading exponent of the nexus between diplomacy and culture as a vehicle of international relations and soft power politics. Adefuye’s compelling hypothesis has since been affirmed by the rising acknowledgement of the diplomatic value of such cultural events as Nollywood, the Osun Osogbo Festival, the Calabar Carnival, the Eyo Festival and the global mainstreaming of Nigerian sports, cuisine, fashion, music and artistes. His writings on the city of Lagos represent an important contribution to the scholastic study of cities as diverse spaces, infrastructure units and the physicality and semiotics of cities. Adefuye was in addition a prolific researcher and it is not for nothing that a befitting tribute was paid to him, before his death, in a book titled History and Diplomacy: Essays in Honour of Ade Adefuye, edited by R.T. Akinyele (2018). Professor Adefuye died suddenly, with cause of death identified as “cardiac arrest.” He died too soon. He was just 68. Death, the grim reaper, is treacherous. It often takes the good and leaves the bad and the ugly, and it has been consistently unfair in its Nigerian operations. We take solace in the kind testimonies and tributes that have attended Professor Ade Adefuye’s death. In 2015, John Peter Pham, director of the Africa Centre at the Atlantic Council, who worked closely with Adefuye praised him for the “establishment of strategic dialogue between the US and Nigeria.” He added that “there are ambassadors who are here for years and pass on and no one notices that they were ever here.” That certainly wasn’t the case with Ambassador Adefuye. Wherever he served, Adefuye made his mark. He left significant footprints. He is unforgettable. May the Lord strengthen and protect Professor Adebowale Adefuye’s family.