Remembering Albert Alos, First Vice-Chancellor of Pan-Atlantic University

Femi Odugbemi

I met Prof. Albert Alos in 2003 when I served as President of the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN). What began as a random friendship became one I deeply valued.

Born in Barcelona, Spain, Prof. Alos came to Nigeria in 1967 and spent almost six decades contributing to the country’s intellectual and institutional development. An accomplished electrical engineer and professor, he taught at some of Nigeria’s leading universities before helping to build the Lagos Business School, where he became its pioneer Dean, and later serving as the first Vice-Chancellor of Pan-Atlantic University.

But I remember him especially for his extraordinary vision for Nigeria’s creative economy. Long before many of us understood its possibilities, he was already thinking and talking to me about capacity, monetisation, business models and the economic power of Nigerian creativity.

Our conversations could last for hours over coffee at his apartment atop the old LBS building in Victoria Island. He challenged me to think bigger and, importantly, he did more than talk. He offered the facilities and resources of Lagos Business School to support our efforts, introduced me to people who could help, and worked to build the networks and business understanding that we needed.

In 2004, he offered to host and personally supported the ITPAN International Forum on Video and Cinema in Africa, which we held at the newly built Lagos Business School auditorium in Lekki. It was a significant moment for us, and his willingness to open the doors of the institution to the creative industry demonstrated his belief that media and business had to engage with each other if Nigerian creativity was to truly thrive.

He also commissioned me to produce a legacy documentary on Lagos Business School, and followed the creative process with a keen and remarkably discerning eye. It was another example of the trust he placed in creative practitioners and of his desire to document and preserve the institutions he had helped build.

A couple of years later, when I was Head of Jury of the Afrinolly Short Film Competition, Prof. Alos readily accepted our invitation to join the jury. He understood that building the future of Nollywood was not only about celebrating established success; it was also about identifying, encouraging and rewarding excellence among emerging filmmakers.
The School of Media and Communication at Pan-Atlantic University today is a practical expression of that same belief in the power of media, creativity and knowledge.

Looking back, I realise how prescient he was. The imagination industry we see today has Prof. Alos’ fingerprints on it. He understood early that the creative economy required not just talent, but institutions, business knowledge, investment, infrastructure and a new generation of capable practitioners. After decades of service to Nigeria, it was fitting that he was granted Nigerian citizenship in 2022. He died recently at age 86, just days before his 87th birthday.

I am grateful to have known him, to have learned from him, and to have shared those long, stimulating conversations about what Nigerian media could become.
Rest well, Professor. Your vision for our creative economy is in view.

*Femi Odugbemi, an award-winning filmmaker, storyteller and film scholar, writes from Lagos