Awolowo Foundation Sets 2026 Memorial Lecture Date

The Obafemi Awolowo Foundation has officially announced its 2026 annual memorial lecture, set to take place on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 10:00 AM in the historic Efunyela Hall, Ikenne. This year's lecture will focus on the theme "Political Future: Making Awolowo's Leadership Theory Actionable." Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, the Executive Director of the Foundation, emphasized the significance of this theme in light of the pressing need for visionary and ethical leadership across Africa.

The lecture aims to interrogate and illuminate the enduring relevance of Chief Obafemi Awolowo's political philosophy, particularly his concepts of purposeful leadership and social transformation. The event will be chaired by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, GCON, GCVO, CFR, a former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, whose lifelong commitment to public service reflects the values upheld by the Foundation.

The guest lecturer will be Wale Adebanwi, a distinguished scholar and public intellectual, who is the President of the Penn Compact and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. He is expected to deliver a thought-provoking address situating Awolowo's ideas within contemporary debates on statecraft and democratic governance.