It’s Dr Tiwa Savage: Nigerian songbird awarded honorary doctorate degree
Nigerian superstar Tiwa Savage is ecstatic after she was recently awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, making her one of 10 to be awarded honorary degrees by the institution.
While receiving the degree, the singer shared a brief account of her journey to achieving this grand milestone.
“Some call me queen, but it’s Dr Savage from now on,” she said in her acceptance speech.
Starting her career in music at just 16 years old, Kent’s shared at the ceremony that
The Somebody’s Son hitmaker also spoke about her failures and being bullied while also listing her achievements over the years. She attributed her success to never giving up.
“I know you’re going to be overwhelmed with decisions of what you’re going to do the minute you walk out of this door… My prayer is that you one day will stand like this addressing students because you too have gone out into the world and you’ve overcome and you never gave up,” she said.
“Her achievements are as lengthy as it is prestigious and such a track record of exceptional and meritorious accomplishments deserves recognition,” Dr Catherine Robinson of University of Kent said about Tiwa.
News of Tiwa’s latest accomplishment follows an announcement in June that she would be a brand ambassador for Chinese smartphone company Tecno Mobile.
The multiple award-winning singer and songwriter is best known for the global hits 49–99 and Somebody’s Son. She is behind five studio collections and is one of Nigeria’s most popular female musicians, securing collaborations with the likes of Beyoncé and Coldplay.
She has also been named among the world’s top 100 inspirational women in fashion by Vogue magazine and graced the cover of Billboard magazine’s first issue devoted entirely to Africa.
Tiwa now joins a growing list of Nigerian entertainers who have been awarded honorary doctorates in recent years. They include one-half of P-Square Mr P, and singer J Martins, who were conferred with academic honours from Escae-Benin University and Estam University, respectively.
In 2016, 2Baba received an honorary master’s degree in music from Igbinedion University in Nigeria.