Nigerian Curator, Adebowale Named an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society

Yinka Olatunbosun

Nigerian curator and founder, ASIRI Magazine, a histo-cultural publication online, Oludamola Adebowale has been named as an associate fellow of the Royal Historical Society. This new membership category was launched in 2021 to recognise the contribution made by a wide range of historical researchers and advocates for history across many sectors.

“Some of our new Associate Fellows are historians working in Higher Education who have not yet reached the extent of publications, or equivalent, required to join the full fellowship. Other Associate Fellows contribute to history through their work in sectors such as heritage and museums, libraries and archives, teaching, publishing and broadcasting or through private research,’’ the letter stated. 

Using digital media as a tool for educating and preserving archival Nigerian history, Adebowale made ASIRI Magazine Nigeria’s biggest digital repository of history, arts and culture for more than half a decade. An archivist, researcher and writer of Nigerian history, he was moved by the need to interrogate articles of history. Recently, he created a history-themed chess game app around the History of Lagos called “The 1851 Agidingbi Games.”

The term ‘Agidingbi’ is an onomatopoeia for the sounds made during the cannon guns that were fired by British forces in 1851. 

The sound resonated as far as Badagry and Lagos mainland.

 The 1851 Agidingbi game seeks to teach a bit of Lagos history while improving IQ, mental awareness, risk analysis, leadership skills and more.

According to Adebowale, the chess-style game is a way of exporting Lagos to the rest of the world via the digital landscape.