About the Dean of Arts
The Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof. Abdullahi Salih Abubakar, a foremost scholar, reputable author and exemplary administrator, was born at Ilorin on May 5, 1962.
Prof. Abubakar assumed the office of the Dean, Faculty of Arts, in August 2021. He started his early education at Kwali Primary School, Kano, between 1968 and 1975 from where he earned his First School Leaving Certificate. He was also trained at the famous School of Arabic Studies, Kano, from 1975 to 1980. This outstanding academician attended Bayero University, Kano, from where he earned the Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1985. He was also educated at the University of Ilorin, from where he bagged his Master of Arts and doctorate degrees in Literature in English in 2000 and 2006, respectively. Prof. Abubakar also earned a Post – Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) from the University of Ilorin in 2013. He was formally inducted into the teaching profession following his registration by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). Prior to joining the services of the University of Ilorin in 2001 as lecturer II, Prof. Abubakar was a staff of the Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS), Ilorin. He was the Acting Head, Department of English at the College from 1999 to 2001.
This versatile teacher has served the University of Ilorin in several capacities. He was a member of Departmental Computation Committee, Department of English, between 2002 and 2009. He was also a Member of the Committee which designed Questionnaire for Assessment of Lecturers by students in 2018.
Prof. Abubakar served as a Member of the Development Committee of the Department of English from 2002 to 2006. He equally served as the Postgraduate Coordinator, Department of English between 2007 and 2012. He served as the Head of the Department of English, University of Ilorin, twice: between 2016 and 2018 and from 2019 to 2021. This eminent scholar was the Sub-Dean, Faculty of Arts from 2013 to 2015. Outside the University of Ilorin, Prof. Abubakar was the Director, Academic Planning, Nigerian-Turkish Nile University, Abuja, between 2012 and 2013. He also served as a Resource Person to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) from 2016 to 2020. He was also a Member of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Accreditation Panel to the Federal College of Education, Yola, Adamawa State, in 2019. He was also on a similar body to the Federal University, Kashere, Jigawa State, in March, 2021. Prior to and since the last two decades of his services at the University of Ilorin, Prof. Abubakar has benefited from many trainings, conferences and workshops, which had broadened his horizon. He has, in fact, attended no fewer than 10 conferences at local and national levels where he presented intellectually stimulating papers. This cerebral academic is a member of many professional societies. Apart from the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Abubakar is also a Member of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). He served as the Vice-Chairman of the Kwara State chapter of ANA between 2017 and 2019. He is also a Member of the American Studies Association of Nigeria and the African Literature Association (ALA). He is also a Member of the Readers Association of Nigeria, the Literary Society of Nigeria as well as the African Theatre Association. The Dean is also a well-published scholar. He has no fewer than 43 publications in local, national and international intellectual outlets. He also has eight creative writings, some of which have been staged by the Department of the Performing Arts, University of Ilorin, to his credit. These include “Next Time”, “Creating a Future”, “All for God” and “The New Eves”, among others. Prof. Abubakar, a hardworking, religious and humble teacher and administrator, is happily married and blessed with children who are doing well.