Achievements as Foreign Minister and Academic Posts
Explore Prof Bolaji Akinyemi’s achievements and academic exploits using the section titles below.
Distinguished Scholar and Diplomat
Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, a distinguished scholar and diplomat, has held academic positions at several prestigious institutions worldwide. His contributions to academia span multiple disciplines, including international relations, political science, and diplomacy.
Throughout his illustrious career, he has been affiliated with renowned universities where he has influenced both policy and scholarship, mentoring future leaders and contributing significantly to global discourse on governance and international affairs. Use the button below to see the list of his appointments and all his publications spanning over half a century.
CEASE FIRE TERMS ENDORSED BY INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE: During my period as Foreign Minster, I was involved in negotiating the cease-fire in the Chad-Libyan, and in the Mali-Burkina Faso wars, the terms of the latter were later endorsed by the International Court of Justice.
CONCERT OF MEDIUM POWERS: I would rank this as my boldest move. I conceived the idea of bringing together medium powers for the purpose of using their collective bargaining power to mediate disputes within the international system. I initiated a series of diplomatic initiatives to implement the concept. The idea was accepted, and two diplomatic conferences at official level were held with the following countries in attendance: Canada, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Austria, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal, Australia, and Switzerland.
The participants at the conferences worked out the operational modality for implementing the concept. The next stage, if I had remained in office, was to have been at Foreign Ministerial/Summit level to sign the documents to bring the Concert into existence.
TECHNICAL AID CORPS SCHEME: This is a scheme that I introduced to restructure quite radically Nigerian foreign assistance programme. The emphasis was shifted away from monetary disbursement to skilled personnel placement in Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific nations.
THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL, NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (NIIA), LAGOS. (The Nigerian Government’s official Think Tank on foreign policy), 1975 – 1983.
I initiated a programme of Non-Governmental Dialogue between Nigeria and various countries such as the United States, China, Soviet Union, Germany, Brazil etc, where the foreign policy elites of each country met to discuss strategic issues of interest to the countries involved.
PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, University of Lagos, 1983-1985.
VISITING OVERSEAS SCHOLAR, St. John’s College, Cambridge, 1984.
REGENT’S LECTURER, University of California, Los Angeles, California, February 1979.
VISITING PROFESSOR, DIPLOMACY TRAINING PROGRAMME, University of Nairobi, Kenya, 1977.
VISITING PROFESSOR, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, 1977.
LECTURER AND LATER SENIOR LECTURER IN POLITICAL SCIENCE, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 1970-1975
VISITING PROFESSOR IN POLITICAL SCIENCE, Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.A. 1970.
VISITING PROFESSOR IN AFRICAN STUDIES, DePauw University, Indiana, U.S.A. 1969-1970.
INSTRUCTOR IN POLITICS OF DEVELOPING NATIONS, North-Eastern University, Boston, U.S.A., 1965-1966.
FELLOW, CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, University of Cambridge, England, 1988-1990.
LIFE MEMBER, CLARE HALL, University of Cambridge, England.
- B.A. (cum laude) Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 1964.
- M.A. (International Affairs) The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University,
- Massachusetts, U.S. A., 1965. M. A. (Law and Diplomacy) Fletcher, 1966
- D. Phil. (Oxon) Trinity College, Oxford, 1969
Member, Presidental Electoral Reform Committee under the current Government of President Umar Yar’ Adua of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2007)
Chairman, National Think Tank, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2007
The Minister Of External Affairs, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1985 – December 1987.
In this position he met with the Prime Ministers of Great Britain, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Canada, Morocco, Israel, Algeria, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, Congo, Zaire; the king of Lesotho; the Foreign Ministers of most Asian, South American, Middle East, European and African Countries.