Olufemi Sodeinde
As Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, one of Nigeria’s most renowned political scientists and international relations experts, marks his 84th birthday on January 4, 2026, his family, friends, associates, leaders, and the global community will gather in various groups to celebrate his distinguished career.
A leader of thought with rare courage and style, Akinyemi is not only known and respected by the elite and the leadership class, but also recognised as a defender of Nigeria’s interests and those of her ordinary citizens.
To them, he is that erudite revolutionary in a bow-tie, who speaks the minds of ordinary Nigerians even when he sits at the high table with the great and mighty men and women that manage the intricate relationships and interests of competing nations of the world.
He is the spokesman of the people and his nation that will not blink an eyelid to join the oppressed on the battlefield if and when it comes to that.
He demonstrated this when he left his beloved country during its dark political moments. Even then, his voice and courage did not falter. He spoke to the world as Nigeria’s conscience.
His convictions, especially the passionate way he expresses them, have given him a unique reputation as a leader of thought with a bold vision for Nigeria’s image and stature on the global stage.
This high diplomatic stature was first nurtured by his dynamic leadership of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) for over a decade.
There, Professor Akinyemi helped build a robust and highly respected international relations for Nigeria, positioning it as a giant in Africa. This giant has its independent mind and authentic vision for real greatness.
He envisioned and led aggressive foreign relations policy initiatives to position Nigeria as a leader in Africa and a highly independent and authentic voice on the global stage.
An accomplished scholar, Akinyemi was born in Ilesa, Osun State. He attended Igbobi College, Yaba, from 1955 until 1959, Christ’s School Ado-Ekiti from 1960 to 1961, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, from 1962 to 1964, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, US, 1964 to 1966, and Trinity College, Oxford University, England, from 1966 until 1969.
Foreign Relations Policy Incubator
Professor Akinyemi was a Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Ibadan in 1975 when he was identified and appointed Director-General of NIIA, Lagos, by General Murtala Muhammed’s military government. He was not yet 40 years old at the time. Since then, he has proven to be not just a distinguished academic of international repute but also a practical incubator of foreign relations, poised to write his country’s name on the global map.
It is to the credit of his versatility and depth that Akinyemi remained in the hot seat as Director General of NIIA for over a decade, serving several military Heads of State and Presidents of Nigeria.
After the military government of the late General Muhammed appointed him, he served in the seat under General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military government and also served President Shehu Shagari’s civilian government before returning to the classroom at the University of Lagos.
His boldness and passion helped illuminate and confirm to the world the existence of Nigeria’s robust foreign relations initiatives, the giant of Africa.
In 1985, he was appointed the Minister of External Affairs under President Ibrahim Babangida’s administration.
As it was during his tenure as the Director-General of NIIA, his tenure as the Minister of External Affairs was marked by bold, high-profile foreign relations initiatives that, to say the least, left an enduring global impact.
His ideas not only gave Nigeria a new and bold foreign policy direction but also drew the attention of powerful nations worldwide to Nigeria and its capabilities.
Informed foreign policy analysts today say, for example, that some conservative superpower nations became concerned at that time that Nigeria, if not tamed and or closely watched, may emerge as a significant global player in the field with an independent mind and firm foreign relations objectives that may ultimately pose a threat to their interests.
During this time, Akinyemi, for example, conceived the idea of what he termed ‘Concert of Medium Powers.’
As articulately enunciated, this bold concept “sought to bring together the world’s medium powers for the purpose of using their collective bargaining power to mediate disputes within the international system.”
Of course, the fate of this revolutionary initiative today is a testimony to what Professor Akinyemi, its brainchild, must have faced in the hands of conservative superpower nations ever ready to suppress rival moves.
Unfortunately, some of Professor Akinyemi’s local colleagues and critics failed to recognise his quiet yet pungent revolutionary initiatives for what they truly are.
Another significant legacy Akinyemi left as Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs was his creation of the Technical Aid Corps, an innovation the world can only liken to the US Peace Corps.
An informed commentator described it as “a foreign policy tool that complements direct financial aid from Nigeria to ACP countries through skills exchange towards strengthening international understanding and cooperation.”
Also commenting on this initiative, Dr. Desmond Freeman, an international relations researcher on Africa, said: “Technical Aid Corps is a product of a fertile mind, compassionate enough to contemplate international relations in the realm of state cooperation through aid.
“Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, who incubated it when he served Nigeria as a Minister of External Affairs, left a legacy that has truly elevated African diplomacy beyond the ordinary,” he said.
One thing Akinyemi’s colleagues and critics agree on today is that during his tenure as Director General of NIIA and as the Minister of External Affairs, he honestly and passionately led a vibrant team that helped to shape the nation’s foreign policy and international relations, through what they call “his initiative of the concept of dialogue.”
In his position as Minister of External Affairs, Akinyemi headed numerous Nigerian delegations. Among the delegations he headed were his country’s delegations to the United Nations General Assembly Session (1985), the Organisation of African Unity, Council of Ministers Session (1986), the Non–Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference (1986), the United Nations General Assembly Annual Session (1986), the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the Critical Economic Situation in Africa (1986), the Budget Session of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of African Unity (1987), the Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of African Unity (1987), the United Nations General Assembly Session (1987), and to the Extra–Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of African Unity devoted to African debt (1987).
Aside from his official public service as Director-General of NIIA and as the Minister of External Affairs, Professor Akinyemi has also creditably served the public in other sectors, including professional settings, the general public, and leadership sectors as an elder statesman and a leader of thought, not only for Nigeria, his country, but also for Africa and the world.
He has, for example, served Nigeria as a member of the Presidential Electoral Reform Committee and as the Vice-Chairman of the highly-acclaimed 2014 National Constitutional Conference.
Additionally, he is the Chairman of the National Think Tank, a prestigious role for men and women of ideas in national leadership.
Diplomat With a Mission
Professor Akinyemi is a diplomat with a mission. Part of his mission is to position Nigeria as Africa’s giant and to demonstrate its capacity to incubate original foreign relations initiatives that will contribute positively to global diplomacy.
Some of the numerous national and international assignments the erudite professor carried out in his hectic public life include:
He was a Member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies Committee on Regional Security Studies; He is also a member of the United Nations Group of Experts on Disarmament and Development.
Elder Statesman
Professor Akinyemi is a Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) of Nigeria, a leader who has made significant contributions to the intellectual leadership of Nigeria and Africa.
He was a Member of the Uwais Committee on Electoral Reforms in Nigeria, constituted by President Musa Yar’Adua’s democratically elected civilian government. He was also the Co-Chairman of President Goodluck Jonathan’s National Conference.
Scholar and Man of Ideas
In academic and professional settings, Professor Akinyemi is a Fellow of the Centre for International Studies at the University of Cambridge, England, and a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. A prolific author with about thirteen books, monographs and over 40 articles published in national and international academic journals, the excellent academic has served as a Visiting Professor to numerous reputable institutions, including: the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Universities of Nairobi, California and St. John’s College, Cambridge, professor of political science at the University of Lagos, from 1983 until 1985.
Professor Akinyemi founded the Academy of International Affairs. Highly cerebral, he is a voice to reckon with in the academic and diplomatic worlds. When one speaks, even the very best listens.
As we celebrate Professor Akinyemi’s 84th birthday, it is essential to note that his deep-rooted interest in the political survival and development of his country, Nigeria, and his primary use of foreign relations skills are firmly rooted in his heritage.
Though Oxford-trained, Akinyemi has never forgotten that he is the son of a politically progressive father and a mother with international links. He has clearly taken after his heritage in his pursuit of progressive politics, as epitomized by his father, a staunch member of the Action Group (AG).
His father, James Akinyemi, was a teacher, school principal, priest, and politician. He was a staunch member of the AG and served as a Member of the House of Representatives during Nigeria’s First Republic.
It is this progressive heritage that Professor Akinyemi has upheld beyond Nigeria and Africa.
He is happily married to Mrs. Rowena Jane Viney Akinyemi, and they have children and grandchildren.
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