Nnamdi Tobechukwu
Ekeanyanwu

Nnamdi Ekeanyanwu is a Professor of International and Strategic Communications in the Department of Communication Arts, University of Uyo, Nigeria. He is the First such professor to be appointed in the University of Uyo and the youngest professor so appointed in the more than 25-year old University of Uyo.

Prof. Ekeanyanwu obtained his First, Second, and Doctorate degrees in Mass Communication, specializing in International Communication from the prestigious Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and Covenant University respectively. He also did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of International Journalism, Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University, USA in 2011 and became a SUSI Fellow same year having won the United States sponsored Summer Study of United States Institutes in the area of Journalism and Media Studies. Prof. Nnamdi Ekeanyanwu is also a CIMARC Scholar and Short-Term Professor at the University of Bedfordshire, England.

Professor Nnamdi Ekeanyanwu has also garnered relevant experience while climbing the academic ladder. He served as an Assistant Lecturer, Lecturer 11, Senior Lecturer before he was appointed an Associate Professor in 2013 by the University of Uyo. He also rose to become the youngest Head of Department of Mass Communication at Covenant University in 2008 and served three highly successful and impactful terms as well as the second substantive Director of the University’s International Office and Linkages; a position that he used to market the University globally.

As Director of the International Office and Linkages, Prof. Ekeanyanwu initiated and implemented a Summer Study programme for students of the University, and from 2010 to 2013, he took students to strategic universities in the United States and Europe for Summer programmes. He currently consults for many private universities in Nigeria on similar programmes. Prof. Ekeanyanwu also served as Covenant University’s Orator and Chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Ceremonies, having overcome early childhood stuttering condition.

Nigeria can boast of exceptional scholars with international reckoning in the field of media and communication studies. One of such scholars is Prof. Nnamdi Tobechukwu Ekeanyanwu, who has made his mark in the specialized area of International and Strategic Communications. Prof. Ekeanyanwu is one quiet scholar whose academic and research contributions in the area of international communication are so loud that he is rated among the top most respected Nigerian academics in this area. His reign as the National President of African Council for Communication Education (ACCE) Nigeria chapter has taken the Council to an enviable height with professionally disruptive improvements. He has used visionary leadership qualities and strategies to move the council to the next level, making it one of the most sought-after professional bodies in the field of communication in Africa.

His teaching career has spanned over 20 years. Prof. Ekeanyanwu teaches core communication and organisational communication courses at the Department of Communication Arts, University of Uyo, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He also taught similar courses at Covenant University, University of Bedfordshire, UK and Ohio University, US. He led the team for the establishment of postgraduate programmes at Covenant University and supervised four doctoral candidates who have graduated from the University of Uyo and more than 25 Master’s degree holders.

Prof. Ekeanyanwu is the current Editor-In-Chief and Chairman Editorial Board, University of Uyo Journal of Humanities (www.uujh.org) 2017 to Date and the Editor-In-Chief and Chairman Editorial Board, The Nigerian Journal of Communication (www.tnjc.org.ng), 2017 to Date. He has written over 70 peer-reviewed articles and five books and spoken at various international conferences in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Nigeria.

Prof. Ekeanyanwu also belongs to many professional bodies and associations. He is a member and current National President of the African Council for Communication (ACCE Nigeria), member of the International Communication Association (ICA), Member, Association of Educators of Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), USA; and Member, Global Partners in Education, East Carolina University, USA. He is not just an unknown member of these international organizations but among the scholars making the country proud with cutting-edge research findings and paper presentations during annual conferences.

Prof. Ekeanyanwu is the first CIMARC Scholar from Nigeria. He achieved this feat after winning the 2013-2014 edition of the Centre for International Media Analysis, Research & Consultancy (CIMARC) Scholarship for West African Researchers. He was one of the three West African researchers who benefited from the Scholarship for the 2013-2014 academic session. The Departments of Media and Law of the University of Bedfordshire, Luton, United Kingdom, sponsored the Scholarship. The scholarship made Prof. Ekeanyanwu a Short-Term Visiting Scholar at the University of Bedfordshire. The Scholarship covered his international and local travels, accommodation, feeding, and subsistence throughout the duration of the scholarship tenure. During the scholarship tenure, Prof. Ekeanyanwu, who was referred to as CIMARC Scholar, delivered a research seminar paper, contributed a workshop to the sponsoring Departments’ Masters programmes in International Journalism and International Human Rights Law and engaged in discussions about possible joint research projects. Professor Ekeanyanwu also delivered seminal lectures at the School of Communication, London School of Economics and Political Science; School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, England; Department of Journalism, University of Sussex, England; and the University of Bedfordshire in Luton, England. The same year, Prof. Ekeanyanwu was hosted by the Parliamentarian representing Luton Town in the iconic British Parliament in London, United Kingdom.

Prof. Ekeanyanwu became the National President of ACCE in 2017 and has made many giant strides since he assumed Office. His in-born passion for communication education in Nigeria saw him champion the introduction of features that moved the Council to a position of reckoning in Africa. Ekeanyanwu’s exceptional contributions which changed the face of ACCE began while he was the National Coordinating Secretary of the Council from 2012 to 2017. This was a period the Council was effectively aligned with the digital world, expanding the membership base with more online contacts, moving the ACCE Secretariat into the cyberspace with visible advantages. He then became the National President in 2017 with more policies that made the council much more in line with what obtained in other international communication-based organisations/professional bodies of great reckoning across the world such as the International Communication Association (ICA) and Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). Today, ACCE operates in divisions, with more organised and specialist-based conferences and paper presentations. The membership base has continued to increase with more participation by Nigerian scholars based in the US and Europe. The Nigerian chapter of ACCE has assumed a more powerful position as one of the most-sought-after communication associations in Africa, a major reason for more participations from Nigerian communication scholars in the diaspora.

Founded in 1974, The ACCE is a non-political and non-profit-making organisation concerned with the basic purpose of fostering communication education in Africa. It is the biggest association and forum for media professionals, educators in journalism and cultural studies and associated disciplines in Africa. Prof. Ekeanyanwu has ensured that the vision of the founding fathers of ACCE has only remained aflame but moved to an enviable height necessary for progress in communication education in Nigeria in today’s dynamic, digital world. He has brought his experiences as a refined scholar to the fore with a view to ensuring that scholarship in communication and media studies in Nigeria is at par with what obtains in the Western world. This, he believes could be achieved through a formidable association such as the ACCE.

Prof. Ekeanyanwu is a confirmed scholar, teacher, and inspirational role model. One contact with him could change a person’s career based on the advice he would provide on the next best way to achieve academic goals. If you ask around you would find that he has actually impacted careers of some of his colleagues through such one-in-a-lifetime contacts. He is among the few communication scholars in Nigeria in today’s digital world where instantaneous access to information, cash-and-carry online publications and fast-lane promotions have seriously impeded the prevalence of quality communication education scholarship. Ekeanyanwu remains one of the few scholars in Nigeria who possess qualities that can inspire anyone to take up communication education as a profession. His honesty, grit, and perseverance are rare virtues that stand him out in Nigeria’s communication education landscape.