The Head, Department of Theatre and Cultural Studies, Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), Professor Emmanuel Samu Dandaura has been elected as Member of the Worldwide Executive Committee of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC).
Dandaura’s emergence was announced on Saturday, 18th October, 2014 in Beijing, China, venue of the 26th World Congress of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC).
In an e-mail made available to NICO News, Professor Dandaura, who disclosed that his election was done in absentia, described his candidature as giving Nigeria the enviable position of being the first African country to be granted a seat on the International Executive Committee of the IATC.
The mail reads in part: “It is truly heart-warming to note that our election as one of the 10 countries to seat on the Excom out of 49 IATC member countries was done in absentia as the Chinese authorities, for fear of Ebola, tactically refused the four Nigerian delegates (Professors Olu Obafemi, Musa Dauda Enna, my self and Dr. Mrs. Julie Umukoro) visas to attend the World Congress which ends tomorrow, 19th October, 2014.
“This election makes me not just the first African but indeed the first Black to ever be so elected. We give God the glory as I solicit your kind support and collaborations towards making the works of Nigerian Theatre Critics, Playwrights, Arts & Culture Writers and Journalists more visible on the global platform.”
According to an earlier mail sent to Professor Dandaura, informing him of his candidature and equally made available to NICO News, 18 out of 29 countries that attended the Congress voted him into the Exco of the IATC, the same number that the British received, adding that, being elected into the Exco of IATC in absentia was something that had never happened, which indicated the huge support he (Dandaura) had.
It is pertinent to note that IATC is UNESCO Statute B International Association of Theatre & Film Critics, Journalists and Theoreticians, while Professor Dandaura is known to belong to many professional bodies, such as, IATC (Nigerian Section, as President); International Theatre Institute (ITI-Nigerian Centre, as President); Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR, as a Member and an Appointed Member of the Governing Council); and Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA, as Fellow and Trustee), among others.
Caleb Nor
Corporate Affairs Unit
NICO, Abuja-FCT