Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi, the Vice- Chancellor of Federal University Lokoja, says there will be no appointment for any professor who does not have inaugural lecture to his or her credit in the institution.
He gave the warning during the university’s eighth inaugural lecture with the topic: “If you wish to go FAR, go FAIRY: Reconnoitering an Emerging Computing Paradigm” presented by Prof. Francisca Oladipo at the University Adankolo campus, Lokoja.
He noted that as a culture for the growth and advancement of university education, professors must not shy away from delivering their inaugural lectures.
“Henceforth, appointment into positions in the institution will depend on presentation of inaugural lectures by professors of our esteemed university.
“Inaugural lecture is sacrosanct to university education and we must make sure that all professors in our university deliver their inaugural lectures unfailingly, giving its significance.
“You should know from today that it’s no more business as usual but that elective and appointed positions in this university are based on presentation of inaugural lectures.
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“This, I believe, will encourage and motivate our professors to prepare and deliver their lectures without further delay.
“It’s disheartening that many professors in the university have yet to present their inaugural lectures in spite of the fact that it’s one of the prominent university culture.
“All the same, I will not relent in my effort to ensure that there is total compliance in order to uphold the university’s culture for our educational growth and development,” he said.
Akinwumi noted that many universities in Nigeria are gradually losing the flare of the university culture and thereby dropping in educational standard.
He, however, described the 8th inaugural lecture as one of the best in the history of the institution even though the topic was a difficult area of studies yet simplified for the understanding of the audience.
He commended Prof. Oladipo for a well researched job and charged other professors in the institution, who had yet to present their inaugural lectures, to do so without further delay.
Oladipo, a computer scientist who is the current vice-chancellor of Thomas Adewumi University, Oko in Kwara state, charged researchers in the country to develop passion and tenacity before embarking on research work in order to achieve the desired goals.
She also admonished African researchers to always ensure that data collected during research work were findable, accessable, interoperable, reusable and made available for prospective researchers.
According to her, FAIR Data management principle is one of the core areas of research and data collections and analysis, which could lead to a world of limitless possibilities.
“Data collected can be used in many ways to positively impact on human life through creation of personalised services by recommendations, drive strategies, assess impacts, ensure safety among others.
“It’s in this light that I am urging the lecturers of the university to be focused and prioritised their students to make them good ambassador of the institution after graduation,” she said.
