I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language from Al-Hikmah University in Ilorin, where I was awarded the departmental prize for best graduating student. I also earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Ibadan in Ibadan. I am a proud member of several associations, including the Pragmatics Association of Nigeria (PrAN), the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), HillTop Creative Arts Foundation (HCAF) and the Poetic and Linguistic Association (PALA). During my undergraduate studies, I wrote two academic papers titled “Towards a Monolingual Universe” and “Creating Balance in an Unjust Linguistic World.” These papers focused on the sociolinguistic study of the nativisation of English language in Nigeria and its negative effects on indigenous languages. Additionally, I conducted an Error Analysis of English Usage among undergraduate students in Al-Hikmah University, which revealed that the errors stemmed from both Mother-Tongue interference and inconsistencies in pedagogy during the students’ previous educational experiences. As a result, I coordinated free evening classes to provide interested students with an opportunity to enhance their speaking and writing skills. For my final year project, I conducted a “Stylistic Analysis of Wole Soyinka’s Mandela’s Earth and Other Poems,” utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the linguistic elements and literary devices that support sociological interpretations of the poems in the anthology. This project was supervised by Professor R.A. Lawal, an esteemed professor who was awarded Africa Outstanding Professor in 2019. During my Master’s programme, I conducted various research assignments in areas such as facework, conversation analysis and contrastive analysis. Specifically, I examined face constitutions in Facebook political interactions, analysed doctor/patient discussions on hospital visitation days, compared kinship terms in Yoruba and English, explored negative constructions in English and Hausa, and conducted a comparative study of pronouns in Kanuri and English. In the domain of Pidgin and Creole languages, I compiled the grammatical structure of Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE), standardised orthographic forms of NPE, and examined government language plans influencing the official adoption of NPE as a major lingua franca in Nigeria. For my Master’s thesis, entitled “Style and Ideology of Africa in the News Reportages of Africa in BBC and Aljazeera,” I critically analysed selected documentaries and news coverage of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria in BBC and Aljazeera, examining discursive strategies, transitivity processes, and stylistic elements that convey ideologies of dominance, neocolonialism, and afropessimism, among others. I have also co-authored a mathematical research paper titled “Numerical Appreciation of Family Planning in Nigeria,” which demonstrates my adaptability and research skills in different fields. Throughout my academic journey, I have been fortunate to learn from esteemed mentors such as Professor Lekan Oyeleye (who supervised my Master’s thesis), Dr. Hamza Abdur-Raheem, Professor Wole Soyinka, Professor Niyi Osundare, Dr. Wale Okediran, and Professor Akachi Adimora Ezeigbo. I have also published academic articles and literary works individually, including poems in the anthology “African Heritage Poems” (2011), a short story titled “The Teacher Who Can” (2016) in Al-Kalimah, and “Violence” in the ANA National Review, among others. My involvement in creative writing has greatly enhanced my academic writing skills, particularly in the study of stylistics. As a member of PrAN, I have actively participated in panel discussions led by esteemed scholars such as Professor Akin Odebunmi and Professor Anita Fetzer, who have greatly contributed to my understanding of advanced semantics and pragmatics. I am currently under the tutelage of Dr. Moshood Zakariyyah who is my Ph.D. Supervisor at Kwara State University, Malete.
