Olunifesi Adekunle SURAJ, PhD, (FCIISM, FIMC, CMC)
Olunifesi Adekunle SURAJ is a Professor of Strategic Communication, Disinformation, Digital and Media Literacy at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
He is a Fellow of Deutshe Welles Akademia (DW, Germany), Chartered Institute of Information and Strategic Management (CIISM), Institute of Management Consultants (ISM), an affiliate member of International Panel on Information Dissemination (IPIE, Switzerland) and recently, a Fellow of Institute of Security Nigeria (ISN).
Among others, he is a certified Patron and members of the Patron Board of AfroFutureTech International, a Board member of Media Diversity Institute (MDI, UK), EduGist International and FLED Leadership Institute. Prof. Suraj is the Executive Director of African Centre for Media and Intercultural Dialogue (ACMID), Chief Executive Officer of WitsEdge Consultancy Limited and Founding Executive Member of Media and Information Literacy Coalition of Nigeria (MILCON).
He is a member of UNITED NATIONS / UNESCO Global Expert Advisory Group on addressing hate speech through Education, UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance Committee Member on Disinformation and Fake news and an active member of African Alliance to Access to Data.
He is one of the leading African Scholars and Thought Leaders on Media freedom, Information Integrity and Digital Literacy. Prof. Olunifesi is a Global co-lead of the UNESCO-initiated Universities Network on Media, Information and Intercultural Dialogue Literacy (UNITWIN-MILID), UNESCO African Regional Coordinator for UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy Alliance and National Coordinator for Media and Information Literacy Curriculum intervention in Nigerian Universities.
He is a Human Right Activist, a devoted Scholar on Digital Rights and Information Integrity. Prof. Olunifesi is a Public Analyst on various national issues especially on human right abuses, open society and Freedom of expression. He is the convener of “Countdown to Election” and “Democracy Under Watch” for Nigeria 2023 Elections. Prof. Suraj is also an expert on military-media / civil-military affairs and could be best described as a Military Media Strategist.
He has facilitated and help to coordinate a lot of workshops and seminars on military-media relations including the use and danger of Social Media in Military operations. His latest edited book on military-media relations is titled “Military-Media Relations in Post-Colonial Nigeria: Clashes, Ethics, and Prospects” published by Ethics International Press Ltd., Cambridge, UK. Prof. Olunifesi is a Resource Consultant to many National and International organizations on Diversity & Social Inclusion, Protocols & Diplomatic Relations, Developmental & Strategic Communication, Telecommunications, Public and Media Relations, Media & Information Literacy, Social / New & Digital Media Regulation, Citizenship education, Internet governance & Digital safety, and Freedom of Expression.
He holds Master (M.Inf.Sc) and Doctorate (PhD) Degrees in Information and Data Science from University of Ibadan and a Postgraduate (PGD) Degree in Mass Communication from University of Lagos. Besides, his communication and technological competency and experience, Prof. Suraj is a Management Expert and a Strategic Communication Consultant.
He is a Certified Management Consultant by Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) and Certified Design Thinking Tutor by Lufthansa Academy. Prof. Olunifesi is an accredited tutor of Enterprise Systems (ES) Fundamentals with SAP by Enterprise Systems Education for Africa (ESEFA) and SAP University Alliances. He holds a Certificate of Achievement of EC-Council on fundamentals of Cybersecurity and Code for Africa Certificate on fact checking by African Fact Checker.
He is also a member of British Academy of Management (BAM, UK), Chartered Institute of Information and Strategic Management, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) and other reputable national and international associations to which he holds the position of a Fellow and serves as a board member.
He serves as a doctoral External Examiner to many African and European Universities and also as a Reviewer of many revered journals. He has authored several books and has a lot of peer-reviewed journal articles to his credit. Prof. Olunifesi’s research networks span across many continents.
He is presently consulting for countries around the globe in helping to develop National Media Information & Digital Literacy Policy having trained several Educators, Military institutions, Civil organisations, Non-governmental organizations and Policy Makers across the continents on the need to mitigate disinformation and other information disorders using Media Information and Digital Literacy strategy as a National security measure. Prof. Olunifesi Suraj is happily married with children.