Pius Adesanmi: The Nigerian Prof. Who Died On Flight 302

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On March 10, 2019 a Nigerian Born Canadian Professor, writer, literary critic and columnist, Pius Adesanmi, was named among 149 passengers and eight crew members who died in Ethiopian Airline Flight ET 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8, which crashed shortly after, take off.

Adesanmi was on his way to Nairobi, Kenya to attend the AU ECOSOC committee meeting when the plane crashed.

Born in February 1972 at Isanlu, in Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria, Adesanmi took a BA (First Class Honours) from the University of Ilorin in 1992, then a Masters in French from the University of Ibadan in 1998, and a Ph.D in French Studies from the University of British Columbia in 2002. He was Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University, USA from 2002 to 2005.

Adesanmi joined Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 2006 as a Professor of Literature and African studies. He was previously a Fellow of the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA) from 1993 to 1997, as well as of the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) in 1998 and 2000.

He was an award winning author. His awards include a 2017 Canada Bureau of International Education Leadership Award; Penguin Prize for African Writing in the Non-Fiction category for his book ‘You’re Not a Country, Africa’; and the Association of Nigerian Authors’ Poetry prize for his poetry collection, “The Wayfarer and Other Poems.”

“Prof. Adesanmi was a highly sought after speaker and facilitator whose expertise and breadth of knowledge was a delight to all who had the pleasure of hearing him speak,” said one analyst.