Prof Obaro Ikime

The Venerable Professor Obaro Ikime is a retired Professor of History of the University of Ibadan, where he served from 01 October, 1964 to 15 October, 1990. He became Professor of History on 01 October, 1973.

He is the acknowledged pioneer of the field of Inter-Group Relations in Nigeria. His other areas of specialisation are history of the Western Niger Delta; the British Conquest of Nigeria and its aftermath, British Colonial Rule in Nigeria. Professor Obaro Ikime is the single author of seven books, among them, Merchant Prince of the Niger Delta: The Rise and Fall of Nana Olomu, Last Governor of the Benin River (1968. Re-printed 1994 and 2016): Niger Delta Rivalry: Itsekiri-Urhobo Relations and the European Presence (1884 - 1936, 1969); The Isoko People, History, The Historian and The Nation: The Voice of a Nigerian Historian (2006. Reprinted 2008). He has contributed chapters to twelve books and is the Editor, Groundwork of Nigerian History, first published by the Historical Society in Nigeria in 1980, and co-Editor with Michael Crowder, of West African Chiefs: Their Changing Status Under Colonial Rule and Independence.

While at Ibadan, Ikime served as Director, Institute of African Studies; two times as Head of the Department of History; and as Dean, Faculty of Arts. He was President, Historical Society of Nigeria, March 1984 - April 1988. While at Ibadan, Ikime was at different times Visiting Professor of African History, University of California, Los Angeles, and also at Beckley; Harvard University Summer School and the University of Benin. He was National Secretary, University of Ibadan Alumni Association, November 1975 - November 1983. After retirement, he served as Professor of History (on contract), Bayelsa State University, Wilberforce Island, for three years.

Ikime joined the ordained ministry of the Diocese of Ibadan, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, in December 1995, and served until 2007. Made a Deacon in December 1995, he was priested Canon 2002 and preferred Archdeacon in December, 2006.