Inaugural Lectures

The University of Ilorin Inaugural Lecture tradition is the most regular in the country today. The first in the series was given by a Professor in the Faculty of Arts, Professor Oladele Awobuluyi. The Lecture titled "The New National Policy on Education in Linguistic Perspective" was delivered on 15th February, 1979. The following inaugural lectures by professors in the Faculty of Arts have been delivered since that seminal appearance:

1. Prof. A. Awobuluyi 15th February, 1979 "The New National Policy on Educatio In Linguistic Perspective"
   2. Prof. I. A. B. Balogun 22nd January, 1981 "Utilising Religion for Peaceful Unity and Progress"
   3. Prof. Ade Obayemi 19th January, 1984 "Historiographical Reflections"
   4. Prof. David Cook 30th January, 1986 "The English Competition: Interloper or Intermediary in Nigeria"
   5. Prof. Oludare Olajubu 10th December, 1987 "The Voice of the Artist: The Voice of the People"
   6. Prof. (Mrs) Zulu Sofola 28th March, 1991 "The Artist and the Tragedy of A Nation"
   7. Prof. H. B. Capo 23rd January, 1992 "Let us Joke Over it: Nigeria as a Towel of Babel"
   8. Prof. Olu Obafemi 30th July, 1997 "Literature and Society on the Border of Discourse"
   9. Prof. Tunde Ajiboye 24th January, 2002 "Nigeria and French: A Paradox of Closeness and Distance"
10. Prof. Z. I. Oseni 31st January, 2002 "Prose and Drama in Nigerian Literature in Arabic: The Journey so far"
11. Prof. R. A. Raji 28th February, 2002 "Tangled Complexities: Muslim Christian Relation and the Issues of Arabic Language in Nigeria"
12. Prof. Sam .A. Adewoye 16th May, 2002 "The Uncritical Critical: The Case of African Literature"
13. Prof. R. D. Abubakre 13th June, 2002 "Survival of Arabic in Difficult Terrain"
14. Prof. R. A. Akanmidu 26th February, 2004 "Poverty Alleviation Programme and the Politics of Ethical Despair in Nigeria"
15. Prof. Yekeen Ajibade Ajayi 19th March, 2009 "Yoruba Cosmology and Aesthetics:The Cultural Confluence of Divination, Incantation and Drum-Talking"