News Release

International Center for Law and Religion Studies Honors Retiring Nigerian

Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah recently conferred upon Adesina Olukanni the status of Fellow of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies. Olukanni resides in Lagos, Nigeria with his family and has retired as Africa West Area Director of Public Affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

The status of Fellow was conferred by Cole Durham, founding director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies. Mr. Durham noted that due to the efforts of Adesina Olukanni, the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS) has been established. Adesina Olukanni and Dean Akinola Ibidapo-Obe from the University of Lagos Law School organized ACLARS in 2015. Since that date, more than 800 law school deans, faculty members, attorneys, judges, civil rights leaders and religious leaders throughout Nigeria have attended the intensive course on religious freedom issues.

A retirement event was held on December 2, 2016 to honor Adesina and his wife, Folashade, at the Church’s Nigeria Service Centre. In attendance were staff from the Africa West Area Office which included Francis Kazeh-Anfo, Director of Temporal Affairs; Okechukwu Imo, Area ICS Manager; Marian Esiape, Area Human Resource Manager; as well as Emelia Ahadjie, newly named Africa West Area Director of Public Affairs.

Remarks were made by Francis Kazeh-Anfo, Okechukwu Imo and Emelia Ahadjie. A letter was read from The Africa West Area Presidency that praised Adesina Olukanni for his pioneering efforts in Africa. “Through your tireless efforts public affairs work has been launched throughout West Africa. Your efforts put in motion an organization and procedures that have moved this work forward for nearly a decade. You have been a servant who has magnified his talents. We commend you.”

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