Former member of the House of Representatives, Dr Wale Okediran, who is the current Secretary General of the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) has just been admitted into the Fellowship of the Nigerian Academy Of Letters (Hon. FNAL)
In a congratulatory letter to Dr Okediran, the President of NAL, Prof Sola Akinrinade emphasized that the Honorary Fellowship is the highest honour that the Academy bestows on deserving non-members who have made significant contributions to the development of the Arts and Humanities generally in the country.
According to Prof Akinrinade some of the past and present Honorary Fellows of the
Academy include the late Mr. Gamaliel Onosode, HRH Alhaji Umaru Sanda Ndayako, the late Etsu Nupe, Emir of Bida; HRM Omo n’Oba n’Edo Erediauwa, late Oba of Benin; late Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary-General, and Most Rev. Bishop Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah.
The NAL President considered it a thing of honor that Okediran will be joining ”this company of great Nigerians”.
A published author of 14 novels many of which are currently on the reading list of some Nigerian Universities, the film adaptation of one of Okediran’s award winning novels, TENANTS OF THE HOUSE recently completed a successful run on the NETFLIX global streaming platform.
Dr Okediran, a Medical Doctor by training, is a past President of the Association Of Nigerian Authors, a former Member of the Nigerian Parliament and currently an Adjunct Lecturer at the University Of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Nigeria.
In 2010, Okediran established the Ebedi International Writers Residency in Iseyin, Nigeria for the free use of writers in need of a conducive environment to complete their ongoing works.
Since its inception, the Residency has hosted 300 writers from 12 African Countries.
Wale Okediran’s literary works have been severally cited by African scholars especially in the academic discipline of ”Literature and Medicine”.
The investiture for the conferment of the Fellowship will hold on Thursday, 8 August 2024, at the University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Packaged by Olayinka Agboola
