PROFESSOR AYODEJI OLAWUNMI BADEJO: AN ACADEMIC ENIGMA, A FAMILIAR FACE AND A NEW CHAPTER IN LASU’S STORY
By Trek Africa Newspaper
On Monday, 21st September, 2026, Lagos State University experienced the resumption of duty of an academic enigma.
Professor Ayodeji Olawunmi BADEJO, FCASSON, FAPROCON, MNAE, returned to the University community in a new capacity, this time as the 10th Substantive Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University.
But for LASU, Professor BADEJO is hardly a new face.
She is a scholar who has spent decades within the University’s academic and administrative ecosystem. She is a teacher, researcher, counsellor, mentor and administrator whose journey through LASU has taken her from the classroom to several positions of institutional responsibility.
Her appointment, therefore, represents more than the assumption of another office. It is also the unfolding of a new phase in a relationship with a University to which she has already contributed substantially.
Over the years, Professor BADEJO has served LASU in several capacities, including as Dean of the Faculty of Education and Chairman of the Senate Curriculum Committee, among other strategic assignments. In these roles, she was involved in matters that touched directly on academic development, programme quality, curriculum review, accreditation, research governance and institutional administration.
As Dean of the Faculty of Education, she oversaw a period in which several academic staff progressed to the professorial cadre, while programmes presented by the Faculty secured full accreditation.
As Chairman of the Senate Curriculum Committee, she contributed to the development and validation of academic programmes and the University’s continuing engagement with the requirements of the National Universities Commission.
Her record of mentorship is equally significant. Between 2012 and 2026, she supervised 23 PhD graduates, with one of her doctoral scholars receiving the 2024 Best PhD Thesis Award. It is little wonder that she has been described as a “Mentor of Mentors.”
And beyond the familiar corridors of LASU, her academic and professional contributions have continued to attract recognition. Her body of scholarship includes books, book chapters and more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, while her professional affiliations and recognitions extend across Nigeria and beyond.
Yet, perhaps, one of the most interesting things about Professor BADEJO’s emergence as Vice-Chancellor is the familiarity that surrounds it.
For many members of the University community, this is someone whose career they have watched evolve. For colleagues, former students and mentees, it is the arrival of a familiar academic in a new seat of responsibility.
And that familiarity comes with expectations.
There is the expectation that her experience will speak. That her understanding of LASU will count. That the institutional knowledge gathered over decades will find expression in the decisions she makes and the direction she gives.
There is also the expectation that the things LASU has built over the years will not merely be preserved, but strengthened. That the University’s academic culture will continue to grow. That research and innovation will receive renewed attention. That staff and students will find room to thrive. That the University’s reputation will continue to travel beyond its immediate environment. And that LASU’s longstanding tradition of excellence will continue to find new expressions.
For a University that has continued to evolve, consolidate and expand its place within Nigeria’s higher education landscape, the arrival of Professor Ayodeji Olawunmi *BADEJO* opens another chapter.
It is a chapter that begins with experience, carries the weight of institutional memory and looks towards the possibilities ahead.
As Professor BADEJO settles into the responsibilities of her office, the Lagos State University community is delighted to have one of its own take the helm.
And for those who have known her journey, the moment carries a simple message:
A familiar face. A new responsibility. A new chapter for LASU.
Welcome once again Madam Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ayodeji Olawunmi BADEJO, FCASSON, FAPROCON, MNAE.
Indeed, We are LASU, We are Great!
