Willys Santos is the director of international affairs at Kwara State University, a Nigerian tertiary educational institution where he has been for the last three years. Willys is a graduate from the University of Pittsburgh where he received an M.A. in Public and International Affairs and a Certificate in Latin American Studies.

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2006 Willys taught and coordinated several study abroad programs in Brazil for students from several universities such as University of California Berkeley, Dartmouth College, and Ohio State University. In this capacity he taught classes on Brazilian history, economy and culture. Having grow up in a Yoruba-Brazilian community Willys developed a particular interest in the Yoruba traditional religion in Brazil and in Nigeria.

When he was offered a position in Kwara State University he did not hesitate and took it. While in Nigeria, Willys has been conducting research in Yoruba traditional religion and comparing it to Candomblé, an African-Brazilian religion developed in Brazil mostly by the Yoruba and their descendants.

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