Nigerian Media Scholar Wins Prestigious EU Doctoral Research Fellowship for Yoruba Print Culture
By Abiodun Taiwo
In a major academic milestone, Nigerian media scholar and former lecturer at Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Nureni Aremu Bakenne, has been awarded a fully funded doctoral fellowship under the European Research Council’s (ERC) Starting Grant Project at Ghent University, Belgium.
Bakenne, a former academic staff member of the Department of Educational Technology in the College of Specialised and Professional Education at TASUED, will join the five-year research project titled Yoruba Print Culture, led by Prof. Dr. Olorunshola Adenekan, Associate Professor of African Studies at Ghent University. As the project’s Principal Investigator and Bakenne’s doctoral supervisor, Prof. Adenekan will guide the research, which seeks to explore more than a century of Yoruba print traditions and their interactions with other cultural forms. The prestigious grant, totalling €1.42 million, is funded by the European Union.
The fellowship, which runs through December 2026, will see Bakenne delve into the origins and development of Nigeria’s newspaper culture. His proposed research, Print Culture and the First Newspaper in Nigeria: Narrative of Ìwé Ìròhìn Fún Àwọn Ará Ẹ̀gbá Àti Yorùbá, will investigate the emergence of Yoruba-language media and the foundational role of Ìwé Ìròhìn – Nigeria’s first newspaper, established in 1859.
Bakenne, who earned his Master of Science degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos, previously researched human rights advocacy in African music, focusing on the works of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti. His academic portfolio includes works on African culture, politics, indigenous media, and human rights, establishing him as a dynamic voice in African media studies.
His expertise in indigenous language media played a crucial role in securing the fellowship. Bakenne is also a member of several notable academic and professional associations, including the South African Communications Association, the International Association for Minority Language Media Research (Scotland), and the Southern African Communications Industries Association.
The award not only recognises Bakenne’s scholarly accomplishments but also underscores the growing global interest in indigenous African media histories and their cultural significance.
