Farooq Adamu Kperogi (born 1973), is a Nigerian-American professor,[2] author, media scholar, newspaper columnist, blogger and activist. He was a reporter and news editor at many Nigerian newspapers including the Daily Trust, Daily Triumph and the now defunct New Nigerian.[2][3]

Farooq Kperogi
Kperogi in 2021
BornMarch 30, 1973
OccupationProfessor
Academic background
Alma materGeorgia State University (Ph.D)
University of Louisiana at Lafayette (M.Sc)
Bayero University (B.A)
ThesisWebs of Resistance: The Citizen Online Journalism of the Nigerian Digital Diaspora (2011)
Doctoral advisorMichael L. Bruner
Academic work
DisciplineEnglish language, Communication, Social and Behavioral Sciences[1]
Sub-disciplineEnglish usage, Media English, Nigerian English, World Englishes[1]
InstitutionsKennesaw State University
Main interestsNew Media, English usage, Journalese, Political criticism[1]
Notable worksGlocal English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English in a Global World
Websitefarooqkperogi.com

He worked as a researcher at the Presidential Research and Communications Unit in the Olusegun Obasanjo administration and had taught journalism at Ahmadu Bello University and Kaduna Polytechnic. He is a full professor of journalism and emerging media at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, United States.[4][5][6][7]

He is one of Nigeria's newspaper columnists whose views are quoted by former president.[8][9]

He is the author of Glocal English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English, published in 2015, as the 96th volume in series of Berkeley Insights in Linguistics and Semiotic.[10][11] He is also the author of Nigeria's Digital Diaspora Citizen Media, Democracy, and Participation (University of Rochester Press, 2020) which was awarded the "2021 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Winner".[12]

Early life and education

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Kperogi was born in 1973, in Okuta, Baruten local government area of Kwara State, Nigeria and is a member of the Bariba (Baatonu) people.[13] He attended Bayero University between 1993 and 1997, where he received bachelor's degree in mass communication. He obtained a master's degree in communication at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Ph.D. from Georgia State University in the United States in 2011.[5]

Later life and career

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After graduating from Bayero University, Kano, Kperogi started working as reporter with newspapers in Katsina and Kano before joining the Media Trust as correspondent for the now defunct Weekly Trust.[citation needed] He also worked for the now defunct federal government-owned paper, the New Nigerian, in the early 2000s. Kperogi began his academic career between 2000 and 2002 at Kaduna Polytechnic, where he taught journalism and mass communication.[citation needed] He also taught at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria for a brief time in 2004.[6] Between 2002 and 2004, Kperogi worked in President Olusequn Obasanjo's administration as a presidential speechwriter and researcher. Kperogi writes two columns, "Politics of Grammar" and "Notes from Atlanta", for the Abuja-based Daily Trust weekend editions. Kperogi has written extensively about Nigerian English.[14]

Marital life

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Farooq Kperogi is married to Maureen Erinne Kperogi with whom he has three daughters and one son.[15][16]

"Notes from Atlanta"

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Kperogi's "Notes from Atlanta" political column in the Daily Trust was stopped in December 2018 under pressure from the president Muhammadu Buhari administration[17] which he has been critical of in his columns and social media posts.[18][19] In protest, he stopped his popular "Politics of Grammar" language column in the Daily Trust on Sunday, which he wrote for more than a decade.[20] He has faced death threats from supporters of the Nigerian government for his critical columns and social media updates.[21][19]

Kperogi's "Notes from Atlanta" column now appears every Saturday on the back page of the Nigerian Tribune,[22] and in Peoples Gazette, an online newspaper.[23]

Awards and honors

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  • 2021 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Winner[24]
  • Department of Communication's Outstanding Alumnus Award, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, USA[25]
  • Outstanding Academic Achievement Award in Graduate Studies, Georgia State University[26]
  • Outstanding Graduate Student in Communication, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, USA[27]
  • The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Prize for the Best Graduating Student in Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano[28]

Published work

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  • Glocal English: The Changing Face and Form of Nigerian English in Global World. New York: Peter Lang, 2015. ISBN 978-1433129261
  • Nigeria's Digital Diaspora: Citizen Media, Democracy, and Participation. New York: Rochester University Press, 2020. ISBN 978-1580469821

References

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  1. ^ a b c "About Farooq A. Kperogi". works.bepress.com. Kennesaw State University. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Renowned Nigerian columnist, university teacher, Farooq Kperogi, promoted professor". 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  3. ^ "Farooq Kperogi | Kennesaw State University - Academia.edu". kennesaw.academia.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  4. ^ "Tribune columnist, Farooq Kperogi, promoted full professor in US varsity". Tribune Online. 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  5. ^ a b "About me". farooqkperogi.com. Farooq A. Kperogi. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Farooq Kperogi". socm.hss.kennesaw.edu. Kennesaw State University. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Why British English is full of silly-sounding words". bbc.com. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  8. ^ ""I was disappointed by [Wole Soyinka's] uncharacteristic silence between 2015 and 2019" – Farooq Kperogi". The News Chronicle. 2020-04-10. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  9. ^ "Why Nigeria needs a third force to dislodge Buhari -- Obasanjo | Premium Times Nigeria". 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  10. ^ "Berkeley Insights in Linguistics and Semiotics". www.peterlang.com. Peter Lang. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  11. ^ "7 Questions to a Linguist: Dr. Farooq Kperogi on "Glocal" English". altalang.com. ALTA. 17 August 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Tribune columnist Kperogi's book wins 2021 Choice Outstanding Academic Title". Tribune Online. 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  13. ^ "Kperogi: The Man Who Redefined Grammar Column Writing in Nigeria". jarushub.com. JarusHub. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  14. ^ Christine Ro (19 June 2017). "Why British English is full of silly-sounding words". BBC. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Notes From Atlanta: Mourning My Wife and Best Friend". www.farooqkperogi.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  16. ^ "My children cherish calling them their pet names more than gifts –Kperogi". Punch Newspapers. 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  17. ^ "The Kperogi affair and the road to totalitarianism". Blueprint. Blueprint Newspapers Limited. 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  18. ^ "Buhari not competent to govern any country – Kperogi". The Punch. 2017-01-29. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  19. ^ a b "Buhari-Tinubu Alliance Will Crack Noticeably In 2020 – Farooq Kperogi". TheInterview Nigeria. 2019-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  20. ^ Kperogi, Farooq A. "Presidency Pressured Daily Trust to Discontinue my Saturday Column". Farooq Kperogi. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  21. ^ "KSU professor faces death threats over criticism of government". The Sentinel. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  22. ^ "Notes from Atlanta with Farooq Kperogi Archives". Tribune Online. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  23. ^ "FAROOQ KPEROGI, Author at Peoples Gazette". Peoples Gazette. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  24. ^ "Farooq Kperogi's 'Nigeria's Digital Diaspora' wins top academic publishing award". Peoples Gazette. 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  25. ^ "Search" (PDF).
  26. ^ "Farooq Kperogi". Kennesaw State University. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Search" (PDF).
  28. ^ https://allafrica.com/stories/200905180714.htm [dead link]
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