Nigerian Ambassador to the United States Dies

Outgoing Nigerian ambassador to the United States, Prof Adebowale Adefuye is dead. Prof. Adefuye whose tenure as ambassador ends on August 31, 2015 died after suffering from an heart attack in a Washington, DC hospital.

Adefuye who was born in Ijebu-Igbo, in 1947 received his First Degree in History at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1969, and in 1973 earned a Ph.D in History there, with a dissertation on “The Political History of the Palwo, 1400-1911.

Adefuye was a Fulbright scholar he studied at Columbia University, the University of North Florida and the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Adefuye started his academic career as a Lecturer at the University of Lagos, where he rose to the position of Professor, published books and articles, and served as Head of the History Department from 1985 to 1987.

Prof Adefuye had served previously as ambassador to Jamaica, with concurrent accreditation to Haiti and Belize, a job he kept from 1987 to 1991. From 1991 to 1994, he served as Deputy High Commissioner at the Nigerian Embassy in London, U.K.,when he was hired by the Commonwealth (formerly the British Commonwealth of Nations) as Deputy Director of Strategic Planning.

After fourteen years with the Commonwealth, Adefuye took a job with the Economic Community of West African States, where he served as an Advisor for two years, from 2008 to 2010. He became the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States in 2010.

Embassy officials and Nigerians in the US were planning a send-forth party for the diplomat scheduled for next Wednesday before his sudden death.