A Nigerian, Olanrewaju Shitta-Bey, has been appointed as a Professor of Philosophy and Humanities by the University of Maryland Global Campus, USA.
Until his promotion, the university lecturer was an associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Humanities of the university.
In a chat with our correspondent, Shitta-Bey said his promotion will benefit Nigeria and humanity.
He said, “Nigerians and humanity in general stands to benefit from my hard work and experience owing to community service associated with my field of expertise. A good example is “The Shitta-Bey Undergraduate Prize” award launched early this year.
“I do feel differently but not because the promotion is coming from a foreign institution. I feel differently because I got what I worked hard for and it came at a record time just like my doctoral degree.”
On some of the challenges he faced, the Professor said, “No challenge really getting promoted. What many people will call challenges are NORMAL occurrences. As a goal getter, you don’t see challenges, you see opportunities to get better and do better to achieve more.”
Shitta-Bey, however, advised the Nigerian government to improve the education standard in the country.
He urged his colleagues leaving the country to be considerate, saying, “My honest advice is that they should follow their hearts but should not neglect to help the country in whatever capacity they can because Nigeria really needs the help of experts at this critical time.
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“Anything and everything the government should do to improve standard and develop education in Nigeria is known to government, what is left is the goodwill to do the needful moving forward.
“Government and the country has financial, material, and human resources to develop education and other critical sectors of the country but lacks the goodwill to make it happen.”
Prior to becoming a Professor, Shitta-Bey was an adjunct in the Department of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University and Prince George’s Community College, USA, Faculty and Researcher: Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Lagos State University.
A 2004 Philosophy graduate of the Lagos State University, Ojo, Shitta-Bey later bagged a Masters Degree in Philosophy from the University of Lagos and subsequently capped it with a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Ibadan in 2014.
In 2016, he was on a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship Programme in the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Uludag University, Bursa – Turkey.
Shitta-Bey has over 16 publications to his credit in reputable local and international journals and has attended well over 14 conferences in Nigeria, Ghana and USA.
He is a Member of American Philosophical Association, Nigerian Philosophical Association, International Social Ontology Society, Association for Political Theory, Society for German Idealism and Romanticism and Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa.
