Scotland Appoints 42-Year-Old Nigerian, Yekemi Otaru As Varsity Chancellor

Co-Founder and Executive Director at Doqaru Limited, a prominent Aberdeen-based sales and marketing consultancy, Yekemi Otaru, has been appointed as the Chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland.

The appointment of the 42-year-old Nigerian was made on in a statement released on Saturday by the university on its website, Naija News reports.

Otaru who holds four degrees and has considerable industrial experience in engineering and marketing is also an inspirational entrepreneur renowned for her passionate commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Among many other titles in her portfolio, Otaru is also a board member of Interface, which connects a wide range of organisations from national and international industries to Scotland’s universities, research institutes and colleges, matching them with world-leading academic expertise to help them grow. She is as well asbestselling author and social media expert.

The newly appointed VC is also known to be a tireless passionate supporter of women in business and an active mentor of business owners in the world’s poorest countries, will formally take up the role of Chancellor at the University of the West of Scotland on 1 September 2021, succeeding Dame Elish Angiolini.

Naija News understands that as Chancellor, Yekemi will hold formal powers to confer degrees, diplomas and other academic distinctions, and will represent UWS at key events as an advocate and dignitary.

Speaking after her appointment, Otaru said, “I am honoured to have been appointed Chancellor-elect of University of the West of Scotland, following in the footsteps of a remarkable individual in Dame Elish Angiolini.

“We are all living through challenging times, and higher education plays a vital role in society and for our economy. I eagerly look forward to being part of the University, as it continues to carry out world-class research and knowledge transfer initiatives such as in the areas of healthcare and sports science.

“Now is the perfect time for me to be joining the University’s journey in inspiring and educating the next generation of graduates, equipped with the skills needed to help society recover from the pandemic.

Professor Craig Mahoney, Principal and Vice-Chancellor at UWS, added: “I am delighted with Yekemi’s appointment as the University’s Chancellor-elect. Yekemi’s values very much align with those of UWS, from her passion for advancing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) to her commitment to enterprise, and her appointment is reflective of our strategic mission to make a positive difference to wider society.

“Yekemi is a remarkable example of entrepreneurship and a tremendous role model for our students and the wider University community. I am delighted to welcome her to the UWS family,” Professor Craig Mahoney, Principal and Vice-Chancellor mentioned at UWS.

Mahoney added; “I would also like to pay tribute to Dame Elish Angiolini, who has been an outstanding Chancellor and ambassador for the University. I am deeply grateful for the committed and inspirational role she has played in our UWS community.”

The appointment represents another important moment in UWS’s history, as the role of Chancellor passes from one major figure to another.

On his part, Dame Elish, who steps down from the role, said: “It has been a great honour to represent UWS as its Chancellor, and I have truly enjoyed each one of my eight years in this role. Yemi has my very best wishes and I am sure that she will enjoy being part of the very welcoming UWS community.”

Also in his remark, Ellie Gomersall, President of the Students’ Union at UWS, said, “Yekemi is a great fit for the role as Chancellor of the University. UWS is a 21st-century university and, with Yekemi’s impressive background in social media and as a woman in engineering, her modern approach will be welcomed. I look forward to having the opportunity to work with her and see what we can achieve together.”

Naija News understands that Otaru is the first of three children of Dr  Raphael and Mrs Sarah Awoseyin of Ayedun in Oke-Ero Local Government Area of Kwara State. Her younger siblings are Mrs Adenike Onyia (a geologist and educationist based in the UK) and Raphael Segun Awoseyin (a software professional based in France).

Otaru’s Educational Background:

She attended Auntie Rose Primary School at Ugborikoko in Warri and from there proceeded to Federal Government College, Warri, where she did only JSS1 before going to Oman with her parents in 1990.
She attended American British Academy (ABA)-a multi-racial high school in Muscat, Oman and returned to Nigeria in 1994 to complete her secondary education at  Greater Tomorrow Secondary School (GTSS), Benin City.

From there, she proceeded to the University of Benin where she studied and graduated with a Second Class Upper Division in Chemical Engineering in 2002.
She got married to Gabriel Oghie Otaru-a Petroleum Engineer with Shell Petroleum, in Port Harcourt in March 2003 during her NYSC.

On completing her NYSC, she was selected by TotalFinaElf in Nigeria to be one of the 20 pioneer intakes into the collaborative MSc Petroleum Engineering programme of France’s Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP) and University of Port Harcourt.

She was one of only six graduates of that programme pioneer set offered permanent employment by TotalFinaElf. She soon moved to the UK when her husband – a Petroleum Engineer with Shell was transferred to Aberdeen.
In 2016, Yekemi teamed up with Sarah Downs to establish Doqaru Limited, providing knowledge-driven sales and marketing consultancy services to a variety of industries.

In 2016, Yekemi was named among the top 40 under-40 business innovators by Scottish Business News. In September 2018, she was appointed to the board at Interface, a public sector backed establishment helping Scottish businesses work more closely with academic institutions to drive innovative projects.