Prof. Abiodun Adeniji

I specialize in Literature (Nigerian/African Prose Fiction) with a deep interest in literary criticism, theory and creative writing. In my critical works I have deployed a variety of theoretical approaches with the aim of unraveling the social scaffolding that undergird literary works. As a firm believer in the Arts-for-life’s sake, I am interested in the narratological processes that problematise the way literary works reflect social realities in their bid to mimetically reproduce in cold print the conditions of contemporary man in today’s social milieau. This is anchored on my conviction that literary works subliminally engage in social re-engineering through their innocent-seeming but ideologically rich narratives. I am also committed to fostering in the new generation an assurance that art is not only a cultural artifact but an economic one capable of making them not only self-sufficient upon graduation but also more employable as well as creative entrepreneurs (writers, content producers, hyphenated film-producers, etc). My ultimate aim is to bridge the gap between theory and praxis in literature and engender a generation of creative individuals capable of walking in the hallowed halls of creativity and function effectively as creative indies in the board rooms of industries. I have so far practised what I preach by writing two novels, a children’s story book, a play and a collection of short stories based on some of the film scripts I wrote and were broadcast by the Nigerian Television Authority, Lagos and Ibadan in the 1980s.. My interest also extends to the blossoming film industry and in 2023 I attended a short course in Cinematography at Praxis Digital Academy, Lagos