Nureni Aremu Bakenne
I am currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Languages and Cultures, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Ghent University, Belgium, within the African Studies group. I am a member of the research team for YorubaPrint – a Starting Grant project funded by the European Research Council. The dissertation for my Ph.D. focuses on “Print Culture and the First Newspaper in Nigeria: Narrative of Ìwé Ìròhìn Fún Àwọn Ará Ẹ̀gbá Àti Yorùbá” under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Shola Adenekan, who is the Principal Investigator of the ERC project.
Prior to my employment at Ghent University, I was a Lecturer in the Department of Educational Technology, College of Specialised and Professional Education, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Nigeria. I had also practised as a freelance journalist and broadcaster in both radio and television stations as well as newspaer organisations in South-West Nigeria, with about three decades of experience.
As an expert in both Yorùbá and English language broadcasting, I am also a professional translator, voice-over artiste and documentary expert. Some of my broadcast presentations and newspaper articles can be found here. I currently serve as a Management Committee Member/Belgian Representative at the European Cooperation in Science and Technology – Actions and member of the Language Plurality in Europe’s Changing Media Sphere (PLURILINGMEDIA) Working Group: CA23105). My major research interests include but not limited to Journalism and Media Studies, Mass Media and Society and African Studies among others. I have published articles and chapters in both local and international journals such as Journal of Contemporary and Lifestyle Journalism; The Journal of Society and Media; Journal of Human Rights and Gender Education; Indigenous African Popular Music, Volume 2; African Language Media, 1st Edition (2023) and Africa’s Engagement with the Responsibility to Protect in the 21st Century (2024) and Marketing Communication in African Languages (2024) among others. My recent publication is an article titled: “BBC News Yorùbá and Digital Public Sphere: Promoting Yorùbá Cultural Traditions among Youths of South-West Nigeria” published in the e-Bangi: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (2025). I am a Reviewing Editor of De-centre: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. I am also open to both academic and professional collaborations in the area of African literature, Yorùbá studies, Mass Media, African Digital Humanities, African Cinema, Popular and African Book Culture.