The department of Chinese Studies, currently the youngest department in the Faculty of Arts of Nnamdi Azikiwe University and so far the only department of Chinese Studies in Nigeria, was established in 2014. Its establishment, which came after seven years of the inception of the Confucius Institute at the university, owes much to the foresight of Prof. Joseph Ahaneku (then Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University), the unstinting benefaction of Dr Ji Nengwen (then Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute) and the pertinacity of Dr Sunny Ifeanyi Odinye. (It was Dr Odinye who originated and promoted the idea to establish a department that would address the need for degree study in Chinese Studies at the university). It took off with fifteen students most of who have since completed their master’s study in China. The following were the pioneer teaching staff of the department: Prof. Nkechinyere Nwokoye; Dr (now Prof.) Alexander Anedo; Dr Ifeanyi Sunny Odinye; Dr (now Prof.) Chuka Enuka; Dr Ji Nengwen; Mrs (now Dr) Gladys Udechukwu; Mrs (now Dr) Chinenye Okoye; Mr Yang Song; Mr Wu Qunbin; Mr Xu Wei; Mr Huang Changbin; Mrs Tang Qiaohua; Ms Wang Shan. The department currently has a 20-strong teaching staff and a 6-strong administrative staff. Until the 2018/2019 session when some alumni of the Confucius Institute who had finished their master’s study in different Chinese universities joined the department, the Confucius Institute supplied 70% of the department’s teaching staff. The department has been headed by the following since its inception:
Name |
Designation |
Tenure |
Dr Sunny Ifeanyi Odinye |
Coordinator |
2014-2015 |
Dr (then Mrs) Chinenye Okoye |
Coordinator |
2015-2019 |
Dr Sunny Ifeanyi Odinye |
Coordinator |
2019-2020 |
Dr Sunny Ifeanyi Odinye |
Head of Department |
2020-2022 |
Dr Anas Elochukwu |
Head of Department |
2022- |