Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye (January 1947 – August 27, 2015) was a Nigerian historian and diplomat.

Academic career

Born in Ijebu-Igbo, Adefuye attended the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

, first graduating in 1969. He obtained a Ph.D in history from the same institution in 1973. During his academic career, Adefuye was named a Fulbright Scholar and used the funds to do research at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public university, public research university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern ...

, and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. Adefuye taught at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

, heading the school's history department from 1985 to 1987.

Diplomatic career

He was named the Ambassador to Jamaica in 1987, serving until 1991. During that period, Adefuye also concurrently served as the ambassador to Belize and Haiti. He was then the Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Adefuye left that post to serve as the deputy director of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

for fourteen years. After leaving the Commonwealth, he became an advisor to the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...

in 2008. President

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...

appointed Adefuye the ambassador to the United States in 2010. During his tenure, Adefuye continually advocated for the United States to provide more military aid to Nigeria to effectively counter the forces of

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

. He was recalled in 2015 after

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

was sworn in as

president of Nigeria The president of Nigeria, officially the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the Federal Government an ...

. He died in Washington, D.C., on August 27, 2015, of a heart attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adefuye, Adebowale 1947 births 2015 deaths People from Ijebu Ode University of Ibadan alumni Academic staff of the University of Lagos Ambassadors of Nigeria to the United States High commissioners of Nigeria to Jamaica High commissioners of Nigeria to Belize Ambassadors of Nigeria to Haiti High commissioners of Nigeria to the United Kingdom 20th-century Nigerian historians