Inaugural lecture

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Inaugural lecture (Geography)

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The Geological Sciences in the Service of Nigeria
(University of Ife Press, 1972-01-18) Cooray, P. G.
In the year 1900. Charles Lapworth, the then President of the Geological Society of London, asked from the President's Chair: "What is this geology of which we are so proud and confident? What has it done for the mental or material benefit of the human race? And on what grounds does it justify its claims to respect and support as one of the facts in the advance of humanity?" These questions appear to be as relevant today as they were at the beginning of the century, and my address this evening, as the title indicates, attempts to answer the first rather briefly, the second in some detail in so far as it applies specifically to the people of Nigeria, and the third not at a". as the answer lies with you-mine would be strongly prejudiced in geology's favour! The main body of my address falls naturally into three parts, namely. the manner in which the geological sciences have served Nigeria in the past, the ways in which they will continue to serve her in the future. and the contribution that the Department of Geology and Applied Geology at the University of Ife has made and will continue to make in the provision and growth of this service. But first some definitions are necessary. The science of geology, which is more than 200 years old, springs from two main sources-the consideration of the origin of rocks, and the study of minerals and crystals from the old mining districts of Germany. This is neither the time nor the place to delve into the history of our science-suffice it to say that until relatively recently geology was largely an observational science with little or no relation to the other physical sciences. Today the plctureTs very different. and the barriers between geology and chemistry, geology and physics. and geology and mathematics are being broken down as fast as they are between physics and chemistry. and chemistry and biology. It is for this reason -dissatisfaction with the limitations of the term "geology"-that I have chosen the wider term "geological sciences" for the purpose of this talk. Geology is in essence earth history and it uses every available .rneans to decipher this history. We can therefore say that the geological sciences are the various branches of geology and allied subjects that help to unravel earth history .
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History and Society
(University of Ife Press, 1976-02-24) Oloruntimehin, B. Olatunji
MR VICE-CHANCELLOR. I feel honoured and privileged that I have the opportunity to deliver my inaugural lecture before this distinguished audience. I understand that it is the first to be delivered by a historian in this University. However. I must confess to some diffidence in doing so. For one thing. I am a rather new comer to the University. and newer still as a member of the unit that has formal responsibility for history as a subject. Although I have been a happy member of the community of historians since I came here as a research professor. I became a member of the department of history only when I was redeployed in the recent restructuring and reform of the University as a system. It is against this background of limited experience that I entertain the feeling that. by addressing you now. I might be rushing like a fool where angels have feared to tread. Nonetheless. I feel encouraged by the fact that the world of scholarship is a universal one. and that the real purpose of an inaugural lecture is better served if delivered at the beginning. or as close as possible to the beginning. of one's tenure as a professor. In the tradition of our people. I wish to pay homage to those who have had the duty of cultivating the discipline of history in this University. Dr. Saburi Biobaku must be mentioned first in spite of the fact that he was associated with the department only for a fleeting moment. He did a great deal for history and related disciplines as founder and first director ofthe Institute of African Studies at a time when the African component of the curricula of the University was still scanty and needed tending by a protecting hand. Up till now, Dr. Biobaku has remained tireless in popularising the idea of history and in stimulating public awareness of the value of cultural studies in a technological age. As far as history within the University of Ife is concerned. Professor I. A. Akinjogbin easily comes to the forefront as the longest serving member, and as the single individual who has had the privilege and the challenge to have been the head of the department for almost a decade now. Professor Akinjogbin has devoted his entire career as a' university teacher to the department. Indeed, the image of the department bears clear imprints of his own as a scholar. It could hardly have been otherwise since the department itself is less than fourteen years old. The growth of the department in this relatively short period has been remarkable. and all who, in their varied ways, have contributed to it deserve commendation. I feel honoured to be a member, and, as a believer in collective effort, I pledge my loyalty to the task of developing the discipline in a virile and purposive way. I believe there is a lot still to be done to build an Ife School of history-especially in the area of research and postgraduate training, in the latter of which the department is still very much a toddler.
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Modern Strategy of Educational Planning
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 1976-04-27) Awokoya, S. Oluwole
I have chosen Modern Strategy of Educational Planning as the theme of this lecture because of its relevance to the rigorous battle for survival which all developing countries are facing in this scientific and technological age.
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The Spatial Dimension in Nigerian Agricultural Development
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 1977-02-22) Agbola, S. Akin
The objectives of this augural lecture are as: to show that agriculture permeates all aspects of national life in Nigeria to an extent that only a multi-disciplinary approach can cope with its multi-faceted problems and that geography has a contribution to make to the solution of these problems; to emphasize the significance of the spatial dimension in agricultural development; to draw attention to the lack of justice done to the spatial theme in Nigerian agricultural studies; to assess geographical contributions to the spatial analysis of Nigerian agriculture, and to highlight the gaps which remain to be filled; and to suggest guidelines for space-oriented research in Nigerian agriculture.
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River Basin Management for Optimum Water Yield
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 1978-12-07) Adejuwon, J.O
In the course of this lecture, I intend to outline a set of procedures for refining the well known generalized concept of a river basin into an empirical, predictive model that could 'be manipulated for the purpose of optimizing water yield. As a major objective, this lecture is directed at modelling the river basin for optimum water yield.
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Social Considerations in Political Territorial Organization of Society
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 1980-04-24) Adejuyigbe, Omolade
In choosing the topic Social Consideration in Political Territorial Organization of Society, I intend to highlight the general principles derived from studies of the evolution, organisation and cohesion of political units and discuss their applicability to the solution of relevant problems in this country. To this end the rest of the lecture is divided into five parts, namely: basic units for political territorial organization; social considerations in the merger of the basic units; social considerations encouraging separation from established political units; social considerations in the delimitation of the boundaries of political units; and relevance to Nigeria.
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Replenish the Earth and Subdue it
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 1982-04-20) Aladeko, J.B.
The lecture shows that energy and materials constitute an inseparable entity. While we need materials to replenish our country, we need energy to subdue it and generate new materials. Results of various surveys and scientific investigations have confirmed that Nigeria is blessed with a rich store of materials and energy resources the types that if optimally used can transform it into one of the greatest countries on earth. Mention any element or energy resource and you would find that Nigeria has it. However, if the question is asked as to how these resources have been utilized so far, the answer is likely to be that we have not done what we should but we have wasted those resources we should not and there is no "economic health" in us. For the past decade or so, Nigeria has leaned heavily on a single resource - Petroleum which yields at least 80% of its foreign earnings. It is even doubtful if Nigeria derives full benefits from the oil as most of the sensitive technological aspects of the industry are effectively controlled by foreigners. Nigeria also burns off its rich store of natural gas. All these must stop if we are to survive the present and live to the future. We must develop other resources and re-cycle our materials for best results.
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Waste Recycling in the Food Chain
(University of Ife Press, 1983-01-18) Omole, T. A.
Man's emergence as a successful and resourceful member of the earth's community is largely due to his ability to manipulate and utilize other members of the community to his own advantage. However varied his other preoccupations may have been, obtaining food for survival was his constant concern. It still is. For thousands of years, man was a wandering food gathering animal. Hunger was often his lot and insecurity and uncertainty were his constant companions. His role in the natural scheme of things was that of a consumer, a confirmed omnivore and often that of a scavenger. Aristotle was correct in asserting that procreation and feeding are the main pre-occupations of all living beings. Like the lower animal, whom in many aspects he resembled, early man collected fruits, mosses and tubers, seized eagerly upon such small animals as snakes and lizards and even ate the insects that crawled beneath his feet. In these early days, man reflected nature; he was indeed a part of nature to a greater extent than at the present time. Yesterday he was full, today empty. In sunshine he was merry, in storm wretched and afraid. Life bore a terrible immediacy for him, with little thought of future and none of the past. In the childhood of human race, the mind of man was fixed on the present.
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Landscape Evolution in the Humid Tropics and Implications for Land Resources Evaluation
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 1986-05-13) Jeje, I.K
The organization of landforms into land systems on the basis of genetic factors such as lithology and formative processes like deep weathering and erosional stripping of the weathered material to form a related series of etchplains appears to constitute an important principle in a broad classification of the humid tropical terrain into mappable units; more so where such units can be shown to have associations with soil development and the other elements of the land. Such maps which can be produced from various imageries where topographic mapping at a medium scale is still unaccomplished can be very useful for development and land management purposes.
Open Access
The Heart, Life, and Soul of Technology
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 1988-04-12) Mojola, O. O.
The ivory-tower ritual of delivering an inaugural lecture which I am now called upon to perform was of course transplanted into this country by the British. Within Britain itself, there was some semblance of this activity at the University of Oxford- at least as early as 1623 when, as the first Camden Professor of History, Digory Whear mounted the rostrum to deliver his oratio auspicalis in the Schola Grammaticae. By the time of Edward Thwaites (Regius Professor of Greek, also at Oxford) in 1708, the inaugural lecture had 'become somewhat _forrn alised, and the lecture has since come to be perceived by scholars as something of an intellectual feast prepared by the lecturer according to his own recipe. My recipe for this lecture, the first from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of this University, is a fairly brief e.~osition of some aspects of technology. The expose shall be lightly flavoured with summaries in the appropriate places of some of my contributions to knowledge and activities in the field for more than twenty years. I shall be di~ging into the past, tugging at the present, and (occasionally) crystal-gazing into the future. The thrust of my arguments shall be directed at some of those key elements which I consider to be the real foundations of technology. Hence my choice of a rather basal title: The Heart, Life, and Soul of Technology. According to G.K. Chesterton ( a famous English essayist, novelist, and critic), "All slang is metaphor and all metaphor is poetry." But my use of the metaphors Heart, Life and Soul in the title of this lecture (and of similar metaphors elsewhere in the lecture}, is largely a deliberate attempt to hum anise technology. Afterall, technology, like the sabbath, is made for man and not man for technology.
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The Atomic Nucleus: Janusian Aspects and Human Existence
(Obafeml Awolowo University Press, 1991-01-26) Amusa, A.
An inaugural lecture can take various forms depending on the speaker, his interests, and his disposition to problems in his field. Some of the several forms it can take are as follows: • an exposition of the past and I or ongoing scholastic efforts of the Professor, • an exposition of what one would like to be, a future direction of research and development in one's area of work internationally or within one's nation. • an exposition of past, present works and / or future projections in areas related to, or that could be beneficial to one's specialty. • an exposition of special or specific problems facing one's specialty with a view to -amelioratingthem and thus leading to maximum benefit sbeing derived from efforts in one's field, and • a general historical and philosophical overview of one's specialty for the sole purpose of enlightening the public and perhaps helping to make meaningful future projections in one's field. Before we go into the actual form adopted for this discourse, it would be useful to pass some remarks which could help this august audience in seeing the need for the choice made herein., This speaker became a Professor of Nuclear Physics more than fifteen years ago. He could thus be tagged an 'old' Professor as opposed to a 'recent' or 'eaglet' Professor on campus. Given this length of one's tenure as a Professor, it is/perhaps not totally inappropriate if anyone has a tendency to regard this lecture as belonging to the valedictory genre as opposed to its being an inaugural one. This is, however, an inaugural lecture even though a form suited to a valedictory lecture is adopted here. The obvious advantage of this approach is that one is able to focus better on the peculiarity, and .problems in one's field based on 'one's experience world - wide and in this our Third World setting.
Open Access
Regional Inequalities Socio-Economic Development in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 1992-01-14) Abiodun, J. O.
The topic of my lecture of today is Regional Inequalities in Socio-Economic Development in Nigeria: Problems and-Prospects. Spatial inequality in the level of social and economic development is a universal phenomenon. One major factor that inspired increasing focus on the problems of spatial inequality in the less developed countries is the growing realization that increases in national income per capita is not necessarily accompanied by improvement in the living conditions of the poorest group in any given country. It is also well known that inequalities among units within a nation could lead to disaffection and result in political instability. The experiences of the Republic of Zaire, Sudan, and Ethiopia are cases in point. Prior to 1975, development planning in Nigeria for instance focused on achieving greater rate of economic growth through sectoral investments. In consequence, not much attention was paid to the spatial patterns of inequalities in development.
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Nigeria, France and the Francophone States: the Joy and Anguish of a Regional Power
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 2010-05-25) Omole, Bamitale
To interrogate this Inaugural Lecture, which is entitled "Nigeria, France and the Francophone States: The Joy and Anguish of a Regional Power", I propose to do three things. First, I will examine grosso modo, the concept of power not in the form of an abstraction, but in relation to and in the context of its nexus between Nigeria and the French-speaking states neighbours of West Africa of Benin Republic, Niger, Cameroon, Togo Chad, Cote d'lvoire, Senegal and indeed, on one or two non-Francophone states of West Africa whose diplomatic foray impinge on the relationship between Nigeria and the Francophone states of West Africa. Secondly, I will like to examine Nigeria's claim as a regional power. Is the claim an illusion of grandeur or a Leviathan rhapsody? What really over the years have been the joy and anguish of Nigeria in her diplomatic engagement and relations with the Francophone countries of West Africa? If truly Nigeria's action and inaction with the neighbouring states in the sub-region have rendered her diplomatically inconsequential, then what do we do with this Leviathan with clay legs?
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Two Halves Make a Whole: Gender at the Crossroads of the Nigerian Development Agenda
(Obafemi Awolowo University Press Limited, Ile- lfe, Nigeria, 2012-09-25) Aina, Olabisi Idowu
The overarching effect of poverty across nations drew attention on gender inequality, a concept which has engaged the attention of scholars, development practitioners, policy makers, and civil society organisations for over three decades now. The continued existence of disparities between women and men in access and control over resources, and the overt discrimination against women throughout history, are not only seen as a clog in the wheel of national and international development agendas, importantly, the achievement of gender equality is bound up with all other goals of sustainable development, such as good governance, human rights, environmental sustainability, poverty reduction, and inclusiveness in development planning and practice. At the core of my work is presenting gender equality as a key element in the development process. Development is envisioned not just as a process of creating opportunities for individuals to earn sustainable livelihoods rather, it requires that men and women are able to operate within a conducive policy/social environment that allows them to seize those opportunities.

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