Entertainment
Nigeria-born Professor Elected President Of An International Organization
The largest African archaeological association in the world, the Society of Africanist Archaeologists, has elected Professor Akinwumi Ogundiran as its 18th president. Professor Ogundiran, an eminent archaeologist and historian, will be the first Nigerian to lead the 51-year-old organization.
Professor Akinwumi Ogundiran
Archaeologists are professionals who use ancient objects to write history and study past cultures.
The Society of Africanist Archaeologists is an organization of more than 1,500 members from all over the world. It is dedicated to the study of Africa’s deep history and archaeology. Its members are known for making major archaeological discoveries all over Africa. In a statement released by the Nominations and Elections Committee of the organization, Professor Ogundiran received the majority votes in a pool of three candidates who vied for the presidency position.
Dr. Kolawole Adekola of the University of Ibadan and a member of the elections committee noted that the election of Professor Ogundiran to lead a renowned international organization at this time demonstrates the impacts of Nigerian archaeologists in the world and the role that Professor Ogundiran has played in advancing the study of Nigerian history and archaeology globally.
Professor Akin Ogundiran has thanked the world organization for their confidence in him. He promised to work hard to advance the mission of the organization. “I will use my tenure as president of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists to “prioritize working with African and other international partners on initiatives to preserve African archaeological heritage sites and integrate these concerns into policy-making processes. I will also use my position to facilitate collaboration among Africans and their counterparts in Europe, America, Asia, and other continents.”
Professor Ogundiran is a native of Ibadan. He attended Okusehinde Primary School, Aremo, in Ibadan, and African Church Grammar School, Abeokuta. He earned his B.A. (First Class Honors) from Obafemi Awolowo University, M.Sc. from the University of Ibadan, and Ph.D. from Boston University in the United States.
The eminent scholar is widely known for his groundbreaking research on Yoruba history and the African Diaspora, leading to the publication of six books and more than 60 other publications. His recent book, The Yoruba: A New History, won two awards, the Vinson Sutlive Prize & Isaac Delano Prize.
Professor Ogundiran is a highly decorated scholar. He is the Editor-in-Chief of African Archaeological Review, the leading journal in African archaeology. He is also a seasoned administrator who served as the Department of Africana Studies Chair for more than 10 years at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, United States. Until recently, he held one of the university’s three Chancellor Professorship titles. He is scheduled to take up an endowed professor chair at Northwestern University in September.
He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the prestigious Dumbarton Oaks, a major research center in Washington DC, United States, and a Visiting Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at his alma mater, the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Singer Niniola Apata has opened up about her late husband, Michael Ndika, and the central role he played in her music career and personal life.
Speaking in a video at a gathering held in his honour, Niniola recounted how their relationship shaped her growth as an artist and as a person.
Ndika, CEO of African music platform NaijaReview, died on May 19, 2026 at 44.
She said he was her strongest supporter from day one even when she considered stepping away from music, he pushed her to continue.
According to her, Ndika believed in her talent and vowed to make her a star.
Niniola described their bond as inseparable, stressing how he was part of her daily routine and her main source of emotional support. Since his death, she said, her life has changed completely.
She thanked his family for embracing her and admitted that coping with the loss has been hard.
Reflecting on their marriage, she called it a love story.
She said Ndika gave her everything and lived for her and while she was the face and voice of her brand, he was the engine behind it.
She said: “My story with Michael is a love story. Michael did everything for me. Everything was for me, he was breathing for me. He loved me, I loved him so much. And I learned so much from Michael. But Michael met me raw, and he said, I’ll make you a superstar.’ And he did. I was just the face and the voice, but Michael was the engine.
“Even when I decided to, you know, give music a break, he didn’t let it. The first person I saw in the morning was Michael. And the last person who closed my eyes at night was Michael. So now what do I do? Tell me, what do I do? Michael was the best thing, the best person that ever happened to me.”
Air dominating Lagos radio station, Traffic radio, will begin a 24 hour service soon, even as the broadcast station marks it’s 14th anniversary.
The station was commissioned on May 29, 2012.
The milestone was celebrated on-air and across the station’s official digital platforms, with listeners and city officials engaging with the hashtag #LTRAt14.
The station’s astronomical progress in recent years has been attributed to the ingenuity of it’s General Manager, Mr Tayo Akanle, whom many have described as a thorough professional and a leader with listening ears.
Improving on it’s past records, the station now provides updates across multiple transit modes, including roads, train schedules, ferry movements, and flight times, ensuring seamless mobility across Lagos.
Attracting more commendation from listeners is the station’s ongoing modernization, particularly the integration of Live Camera Updates (LCU), which enables On-Air Personalities (OAPs) to share CCTV footage of major highways during gridlock.
Reviews and official perception surveys underscore the station’s high approval rating, with over 54% of Lagos road users tuning in daily during their morning and evening commutes.
As the station celebrates it’s 14th anniversary, sources close to it have revealed that there are underground activities, geared towards the station commencing a 24 hour service.
According to one of the sources, the management is keeping the plan close to it’s chest and will only mention it when everything needed to be done to ensure the delivery are concluded.
” I can confirm that the station is planning a 24 hour service, but the logistics are still being worked out. As things stand, the plan may materials before or by the end of this year” a source privy to the station’s activities disclosed to The Column News.
Seasoned actress Kate Henshaw has opened up about her fallout with colleague Genevieve Nnaji.
Appearing on the Tea with Tay podcast, Henshaw reflected on the end of their friendship, saying it faded quickly.
Henshaw who could not identify the exact cause of the breakdown, stated they may have grown apart or that some level of mistrust existed, but she remains unsure of what happened.
“We grew apart. Maybe she had some kind of mistrust about me… I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what came over her but I’ve moved on,” Henshaw said.
The actress did not give further details on when the fallout occurred.
Both actresses are icons of Nollywood and have featured in several notable films since the late 1990s.
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