Friends, colleagues and students of Jeleel Olasunkanmi Ojuade, a Professor of Dance Studies at the Performing Arts Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria are upbeat as he is set to deliver the University’s 208th inaugural lecture. The lecture is titled ‘Dance is Life, Life is Dance: A Cyclical Nature of Man on Earth.’
As a child dancer, Ojuade was part of the troupe that danced at the Festival of Arts and Culture held in Nigeria in 1977. The promise he showed back then has come to be fulfilled as the child prodigy has today become a prominent face of dance practice, both as an intellectual proponent and active practitioner. Therefore, in celebration of his countless achievements which saw him elevated to a professorial chair on 1st October, 2017, Professor Jeleel Ojuade will be privileged to deliver the 208th Inaugural Lecture on Thursday November 11, 2021 at the Auditorium of the university.
But the joys for Ojuade will not be limited to this recognition of his arrival at the pinnacle of intellectual attainments. After delivering the inaugural lecture, Ojuade will be installed as the Aare Alasa of Ifetedo, in Osun State, three days later on Saturday 13th November, 2021 at an installation ceremony to be performed by the Olubosin of Ifetedo, HRM Oba Akinola Oyetade Akinrera (Latiri 1).
The Aare Alasa is the President General in Charge of Culture, Arts, Tourism and Festivals in the Kingdom. He oversees them and channels them for the development of the kingdom.