Bookworms Empowerment Foundation

founder

FOUNDER

A BIODATA OF PROFESSOR OSHIOTSE ANDREW OKWILAGWE
(BA., MA., MA., MLS., M.Litt., PhD)
Summary
PROFESSOR OSHIOTSE ANDREW OKWILAGWE IS:
one of the few book and bibliotherapy experts in Africa
an academic and a professional publisher (has published for over 700 scholars since 1997)
a student tutored and mentored by Professor S. O. Unoh, Dr. S. James, and Dr B. Balogun (Champions of Reading Education in Nigeria) at Communication and Language Arts (CLA), University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
a Reading Expert and Bibliotherapist (use of books for mental and health purposes)
a Reading Teacher with over 25 years of experience in teaching and scholarship in Reading at CLA
established Masters and PhD Programmes in Publishing and Copyright Studies at the Department of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
an Ex-Vice-Chancellor, Westland University, Iwo, Osun State
founded Bookworms Empowerment Foundation (BEF)/National Reading Culture Redemption Initiative (NRCRI)
Head of Department, Mass Communication, Dominican University, Samada, Ibadan, Nigeria.
developed novel academic and professional disciplines for institutions

QUALIFICATIONS: PROFESSOR OKWILAGWE HOLDS QUALIFICATIONS IN CLOSELY RELATED DISCIPLINES:
BA (Communication and Language Arts) University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
MA (Communication and Language Arts) University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
MA (cw) Media Anthropology, African Studies) University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
MLS (Library and Information Studies) University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
MLitt (Publishing and Copyright Studies) University of Stirling. Stirling, Scotland, UK
PhD (Publishing and Copyright Studies) University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

PUBLICATIONS: 25 BOOKS AND CHAPTERS IN BOOKS, 145 SCHOLARLY ARTICLES.
STUDENTS’ PROJECTS SUPERVISION: MASTERS 200 AND PHD 17
CONSULTANCY: DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION: PUBLISHING, BIBLIOTHERAPY. READING, COGNITIVE, TECHNICAL, AND SOCIAL ECONOMIC SKILLS FOR LIFELONG LIVING.

Community Service Antecedents on Marble: Voluntary Service, Non-for-Profit Publishing for Scholarship in Nigeria; published and delivered free with no charges, over six thousand copies of some tertiary titles to academics nationwide, conducted workshops on Writing and Publishing Tertiary Scholarly Publications, started at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, for some universities in Nigeria, donated a story building of 12 rooms for Alapata Community Literacy Center and Children Reading Development Center, Ojoo, Ibadan, sponsored, and assisted many, at least, 46 Nigerian youths in acquiring quality education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels with the assistance of Monsignor Professor Felix Adegbo ( May God rest His Gentle Soul, Amen), by accepting postdated bank cheques yearly in lieu of cash to school fees and upkeep for students being sponsored at the time at University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Made massive book donations to scholars, tertiary institutions and libraries in Nigeria. The exercise is still ongoing, and he has given many other community services.

PROFILE OF PROFESSOR OSHIOTSE ANDREW OKWILAGWE
Professor Oshiotse Andrew Okwilagwe was born in Jattu-Uzairue, Edo State, Nigeria, in 1951. He is a retired Professor at the Department of Library, Archival and Information Studies (LARIS), University of Ibadan. He has taught at the Communication and Language Arts Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, for over two decades.

Professor Okwilagwe has a strong-based education, focusing on Publishing, Library and Information Science, Community and Social Informatics, Bibliotherapy, Biographical Studies, Cross-cultural and Mass Media, and Communications Effects in value system engineering and re-engineering for characterological changes in citizens for national development. His research is geared toward promoting a more active participant orientation in the society and the re-socialisation of the masses.

He studied at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and Stirling, Scotland. He holds degrees that are uniquely complementary and relevant to Publishing, mass media and communications, information science, and information resources manufacturing and use. The degrees are B.A., M.A., Communication and Language Arts, MLS in Library, Archival and Information Studies, MLitt, and PhD in Publishing and Copyright Studies. He also enrolled and completed coursework on the MA degree programme in African Studies at the University of Ibadan. He represents an intellectual bridge that runs across the significant information communication disciplines and management of the resultant organisations.

Professor Okwilagwe is an academic and professional publisher involved in teaching, research, consultancy, and practical scholarly publishing. He was a Public Relations and Advertisement, Manuscript Development, and Publications Editor for commercial and research institutions’ publishing houses (Evans Brothers Publishers Ltd and Center for Management Development, Shagisha, Lagos) in Nigeria. He served as a Consultant to the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Lagos and Abuja. He has served as a consultant on training of professional publishers to the Nigerian Publishers Association for over 15 years. Along his career path, he served as Sub-Dean (Undergraduate) in the Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, between 1995/96 and 1996/97. He was a member of some important committees at the University of Ibadan, such as the Senate Curriculum Committee for six years, the University of Ibadan Business School Establishment Committee, and the University of Ibadan Vision and Mission Committee on Curricula Development. He also served on the Faculty of Education Curriculum and other various committees. He assisted in developing the University of Ibadan Curriculum Thrust to develop the University’s academic programmes and the Curriculum Committee for the Executive Business Management Programme in the University of Ibadan. He was Head of the Department of Library Archival and Information Science from 2011 – 2013 where he saved over Eleven Million Naira for the Department; He was a member of the Governing Council of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria, 2013 to 2015. He was a Vice Chancellor at Westland University, Iwo Osun State, Nigeria, where he voluntarily resigned the appointment for personal reasons, and served for five years as the Head of Mass Communication Department, Dominican University, Ibadan.

Professor Okwilagwe is the Founder of the Bookworms Empowerment Foundation (BEF)/ National Reading Culture Redemption Initiative (NRCRI). He developed the first, most comprehensive, Inclusive, and Exhaustive National Reading Culture Redemption Initiative Programme in Africa made up of 24 strategic, dynamic and implementable curricula, meant to cover the entire nation. This was done in compliance with the 2005 UNESCO Global 2004-2005 Convention on the Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expression and the Millennium Development Sustainable Goals (MDGs) fostering gender equity and quality education. To this effect, he has accomplished a series of 12 books for the Girl-Child for personality elevation and dignified growth in Nigeria and the continent of Africa. In line with this, Professor Okwilagwe has, on personal effort, acquired two second-hand buses for mobile libraries to facilitate library services to Children Reading Centres, Children with disabilities, Children who live in Nomadic Communities, Children who live in Low-economic households, Orphans, Marginalised and Underserved Communities Children living in remote rural areas.

Professor Okwilagwe is a staunch advocate for autonomous, sustainable publishing capacity in Africa. He is the Founder and President of the Nigeria Association of Researchers and Teachers of Publishing (NARTOP), the Nigerian Chapter of the West African Association of Researchers and Teachers of Publishing (WARTOP), and the African Association of Researchers and Teachers of Publishing (AARTOP). As the Director of Stirling-Horden Publishers Ltd, the publishing arm of NARTOP, he has published over 700 scholarly titles on a non-for-profit basis under the NARTOP/Stirling-Horden Scholarly Publishing Action Programme (NARTOP/S-H-SPAP). His Stirling-Horden Nigeria Limited Publishing House is the Lead publisher of academic publications in Nigeria. He has thrice organised and engaged Nigerian Scholars for national conferences on developing instructional materials for the Mass Communication Discipline.

It is on marble; Professor Okwilagwe has donated books worth over 40 million Naira to scholars including Vice Chancellors, professors, university and polytechnic libraries, including journalists and members of the Nigeria Guild of Editors. He has published and delivered four titles of one thousand copies each, worth three thousand naira selling price per copy, to three professors and a senior lecturer at the University of Ibadan to encourage scholarship. Professors, researchers, state chapters of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Mass Communication Departments in Universities and Polytechnics, and University Libraries, two State Governors, and a Deputy Governor are appreciative recipients of book donations from Professor Oshiotse. The donation of books is ongoing. He awaits requests from institutions and qualified individuals.

As a publishing expert, Professor Okwilagwe has dedicated himself to his students' academic and professional development and the broader scholarly community. He developed the pedagogical concept and designed the programme contents that led to the establishment of a full-fledged, highly structured, and unique academic and professional modular Master's degree and a complimentary Ph.D. degree programme on Publishing and Copyright Studies (MPCS) in Library Archival Information Studies Department, University of Ibadan. The Master Degree in Publishing and Copyright Studies (MPCS), being the only such programme in Africa, is highly subscribed. It has produced top-flight publishers now holding executive positions in the print industry in Nigeria.

He has authored books and chapters in books, and edited a four-volume Encyclopedia entitled Nigeriana Stirling-Horden Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Communication and two on Mass Media and Communication.

He has trained many scholars through workshops held under the auspices of NARTOP on the Nigerian Scholarly Authors Empowerment Programme (NSAEP). The NSAEP is aimed at creating a crop of small-scale scholarly publishers who are highly educated and have the proper brief for academic publishing in Nigeria. He has held training programmes on scholarly and publishing for scholars in several universities. He has supervised over 120 master's degree dissertations and 17 PhD theses, mentoring and guiding numerous scholars, and has served in several National University Commission academic accreditation programmes. He has published over 145 academic publications. Professor Okwilagwe has sponsored 46 graduates across all levels of university education in Nigeria. His current book project is a four-volume Encyclopedia for the NUC unbundled Mass Communication Curriculum.

Professor Okwilagwe’s research thematically and theoretically spans many disciplines of Mass Communication, Reading, Bibliotherapy, Biographical Legacy and Biographical Legacies, Library, Archival and Information Science, Publishing, Copyright, Bibliotherapy, Institutional Intellectual Property Repository, and Information Resources Management for national development.

He is not just an academic but deeply impactful. His works on reading, (Prenatal, Postnatal, and Preschooler), a comprehensive national reading culture pathway programme, bibliotherapy, influence of mass communication, organisational communication, publishing, Library, and Information Science honed new perspectives on the synergy between the disciplines. These perspectives indicate the processes of applying the services of information and information professionals towards building information systems that can effectively meet national needs.

CONTACT:
Gaaf Building, No 110-112, Oyo Road, Beside KETO Petrol Station
Off U. I. 2nd Gate, Orogun, Ibadan.
Telephone: 08023519154, 07036747372, 09032677492.
Email: okwilagweandrew@yahoo.com
Professor Oshiotse Andrew Okwilagwe