By Our Correspondent
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has appointed world-renowned novelist and public intellectual, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, as a Visiting Professor, a move widely seen as a major boost to the institution’s arts and humanities profile and its global standing.
The appointment was announced by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, alongside the naming of Prof. Kevin Urama, an African Development Bank executive and development economist, and Prof. James Robinson, a University of Chicago political economist, as visiting professors.
A statement issued on Wednesday in Nsukka by the Acting Public Relations Officer, Mr. Inya Egwu, said the appointments, dated December 18, form part of the university’s strategic effort to attract eminent scholars of global repute to deepen teaching, research, mentorship and international academic collaboration.
Adichie, one of Africa’s most celebrated literary voices, returns to her alma mater not only as a distinguished academic but as a towering figure in contemporary world literature. By way of her novels and essays, she is widely regarded as a chronicler of modern Nigerian life, a feminist thinker, a storyteller of war, memory and identity, and a cultural bridge between Africa and the wider world.
Through seminal works such as Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah, Adichie has explored themes of family, faith, colonial legacies, the Nigerian civil war, migration, race and womanhood with uncommon clarity and moral depth.
Half of a Yellow Sun firmly established her as one of the foremost literary voices on the Biafran experience, while Americanah positioned her as a global commentator on race, belonging and the immigrant condition. Her essays, including We Should All Be Feminists, have further defined her as a leading advocate for gender equity and social justice.
UNN said Adichie is expected to enrich the university’s intellectual life through public lectures, creative writing engagements, scholarly interactions and mentorship of students and young academics, particularly in literature, creative writing and cultural studies.
The statement also noted that Prof. Urama will contribute to teaching and policy-focused research in economics, development studies and climate policy, drawing from his extensive experience in evidence-based policymaking. Prof. Robinson, globally known for his work on institutions, governance and economic development, will support research collaboration in political economy and development studies.
According to the university, the appointments align with the Vice-Chancellor’s commitment to revitalising UNN’s founding vision as a hub of excellence and innovation, while strengthening its competitiveness in the global academic space.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adichie previously studied medicine at UNN for about a year and a half before proceeding to the United States to continue her education, making her return as a visiting professor both symbolic and historic for the institution.
Observers say her appointment
underscores UNN’s renewed drive to reconnect with its distinguished alumni and harness their global influence for academic and cultural advancement.
