TheCable

The Kogi state government says it will immortalise Pius Adesanmi, the late Nigeria-born Canadian professor, by making all his books available in the state’s school libraries.

It also promised to organise an annual lecture in his memory.

Rosemary Osikoya, the state’s commissioner for education, science and technology, disclosed this during a tribute organised in honour of the deceased in Abuja.

Adesanmi was born in Isanlu, in Yagba east local government area of the state, in 1972.

He was among the passengers aboard the ill-fated Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed on its way to Nairobi, Kenya, on March 10.

None of the passengers survived the crash.

Osikoya said Adesanmi’s death came at a time when the ministry was reaching out to scholars like him, who are from the state and who could help put the educational standard on “high pedestal”.

She said he represented what indigenes of the state were known for, adding that he exemplified all the virtues “you would like to see in Nigeria.”

Moses Babatunde, traditional ruler of Isanlu, also promised to immortalise the scholar by organising an annual lecture in his honour.

“We will bring everybody from all walks of life to the lecture and that will encourage our youths to be able to write about the society and how the country can develop from where it is,” Babatunde said.

“We are going to immortalise Adesanmi; he will be remembered in the community, such that generations to come will be asking who is Pius Adesanmi.”

He said he would discuss with his traditional council to see if the secondary school Adesanmi attended could be named after him, and if impossible, the community would build an institution that will bear his name.

The monarch lauded the late professor’s impact on the community.