Meet the Man behind the University of Ilorin’s moniker!
Professor Jacob Olorunfemi joined the services of the University of Ilorin on 28th October 1976. He retired on 2nd November 2022 when he turned 70 years old. The title of his Inaugural Lecture was “Better By Far” and it was delivered on 29th November 2001.
The idea, “Better By Far” came to mind in 1998 when he had not been pronounced a professor. As a professor of remote sensing and population studies and consultant on census organisation, it occurred to him that conducting a census is better than avoiding it. To use the map in census conduct is better than using no map.
He said, “The aim was to convince the federal government of Nigeria that regular census should become our culture instead of avoidance at the least flimsy excuse. In other words, even if you view something as best, there will always be a better way of doing it. That is, there is always room for improvement.
“In summary, that was how the thought came out. It is better by far to make an effort than to die because of the fear of the unknown! Of course, the University of Ilorin became better without the monthly strikes that were prevalent at that time. The university was better off without strikes.”
This became applicable to many other areas of our lives because of the fundamental principle that there is always room for improvement.
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