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| Prof. Peter Olapegba |
As Nigeria grapples with intensifying climate pressures—erratic rainfall, urban flooding, heatwaves, and the slow degradation of farmlands and forests—a private university in Ibadan is preparing to host a gathering that seeks to do more than diagnose the crisis. The third Biennial Multidisciplinary Conference of the Faculty of Arts at Lead City University, themed “From Ibadan to the World: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate Change and Sustainability,” is scheduled for November 4, 2026, at Adeline Hall, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Organised under the deanship of Professor Anjola Robbin, the event aims to catalyse conversations that treat climate change not merely as a scientific or policy problem, but as a cultural, ethical, historical, and human one.
The conference arrives at a pivotal moment for Nigerian higher education and for the city of Ibadan itself. Nigeria’s second-largest city by landmass has seen rapid urban expansion, with built-up areas growing significantly over recent decades while forest cover has declined. Studies document rising land surface temperatures, with urban zones recording peaks above 47°C, alongside increased flooding, erosion, and pressure on water sources and agriculture.
Farmers in Oyo State report prolonged dry spells, unpredictable rains, soil degradation, and shrinking planting windows. These local realities mirror national trends: Nigeria has experienced some of its warmest years on record, devastating floods that have killed hundreds and displaced millions, and growing vulnerability among the urban poor whose livelihoods depend on informal trade, farming, and small-scale enterprise.
Against this backdrop, the Faculty of Arts at Lead City University is deliberately framing the conversation through the emerging lens of Environmental Humanities. This interdisciplinary field, already institutionalised in places such as the University of Cape Town’s Environmental Humanities South programme and the African Observatory for Environmental Humanities at the University of Pretoria, explores how literature, history, philosophy, language, culture, and the arts shape—and can reshape—human relationships with the natural world. In Nigeria, the field remains relatively underdeveloped institutionally, though scholars have long examined ecological themes in literature and indigenous knowledge systems.
Lead City’s conference explicitly hopes to stimulate the development of Environmental Humanities as both a discourse and a potential institutional unit within the university, positioning the arts and humanities as essential partners in sustainability efforts rather than peripheral commentators.
A Keynote from Nigeria’s Newest Premier University Leader
The keynote address will be delivered by Professor Peter Olamakinde Olapegba, who assumes office as the 14th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan on November 1, 2026. His appearance at Lead City just days after taking the helm of Nigeria’s premier university carries symbolic weight. Olapegba, a professor of psychology and the outgoing Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), emerges from a competitive selection process involving eight candidates. Born in Ibadan in 1970 and hailing from Igbole Quarters in Igboora, Oyo State, he is a pure product of the University of Ibadan: he earned his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in psychology there, joined the faculty as an assistant lecturer in 2000, and rose to professor in 2014. He has previously served as Dean of the Faculty of the Social Sciences and Director of Alumni Relations. His scholarly output exceeds 100 publications, and he is a Fellow of the Nigerian Psychological Association.
As a social psychologist, Olapegba brings a distinctive perspective to climate discussions.
Human behaviour, institutional culture, risk perception, collective action, and organisational change are central to any successful sustainability transition. His keynote is expected to frame climate resilience not only in technical or economic terms but also through the lens of social dynamics—how communities perceive environmental threats, how universities can model sustainable practices, and how leadership can foster the behavioural shifts required for adaptation and mitigation.
International and Continental Expertise on the Programme
Complementing the keynote are lead paper presenters with deep expertise in the intersections of environment, development, law, and society.
Professor Philipp Öhlmann, Director of the Wittenberg Center for Advanced Studies at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, specialises in religion, sustainable development, and ecological sustainability, particularly in African contexts. His research examines African Initiated Churches as potential development actors, the ecological turn in religious traditions, and the role of religious communities in environmental stewardship across Southern Africa and beyond. The Wittenberg Center itself focuses on transformation, religion, and civil society, linking historical legacies with contemporary global challenges—an orientation that aligns closely with the conference’s interdisciplinary ambitions.
Professor Eghosa Ekhator of the University of Derby in the United Kingdom, an Associate Professor of International Environmental Law, brings legal and justice-oriented analysis. His work centres on environmental justice, climate litigation, natural resources governance, and the intersection of human rights and environmental protection in the Global South, with particular attention to Nigeria and the African Union. He has written on climate change and the rights of the Nigerian child, corporate accountability in the oil and gas sector, and the development of environmental justice frameworks. His presence underscores the legal dimensions of sustainability—questions of accountability, rights, and governance that pure scientific approaches often leave unaddressed.
Other confirmed participants add further depth.
Professor Labode Popoola, Executive Secretary and CEO of the African Forest Forum (AFF) and former Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, is a forest economist with decades of experience in sustainable forest management across the continent. Under his leadership, the AFF has highlighted the potential of Africa’s forests to generate substantial economic value through sustainable management and bioeconomy models while warning of continued high rates of forest loss.
Popoola has emphasised that feeding people and protecting forests need not be opposing goals, and he has advocated for youth-led, nature-based solutions linked to climate finance.
Rashidat Sanusi, Programme Manager for Environmental Sustainability and Resilience at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation in Abuja, represents the non-governmental and practice-oriented sector. Professor Oladosu Olusegun of the Institute of Cultural Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, brings cultural and indigenous knowledge perspectives. The Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Professor Musibau Babatunde, is expected as a distinguished guest, signalling potential policy engagement at the state level. Lead City’s own leadership—Vice-Chancellor Professor Kabiru Aderemi Adeyemo and Registrar Dr. Oyebola Ayeni—will host the proceedings.
Why Environmental Humanities Matter Now
The decision to locate this conversation in the Faculty of Arts is itself significant. Climate change is often framed as a problem for scientists, engineers, and economists. Yet the most stubborn barriers to action frequently lie in culture, values, narratives, power relations, and historical memory. Indigenous knowledge systems in Nigeria have long encoded practices of conservation—sacred groves, species taboos, and seasonal regulations—that modern development has sometimes marginalised.
Literature, oral traditions, and the arts offer languages for grief, hope, responsibility, and imagination that technical reports alone cannot supply. By initiating Environmental Humanities as a formal discourse and potential unit, Lead City University is joining a continental movement that seeks to decolonise environmental knowledge and centre African experiences and epistemologies.
The conference title—“From Ibadan to the World”—captures a productive tension. Ibadan’s challenges are local and specific: flood-prone neighbourhoods, heat stress amplified by urban form, pressure on surrounding agricultural lands, and the everyday adaptations of its residents. At the same time, these issues connect to global systems of energy, trade, finance, and governance. Bringing scholars and practitioners from Germany, the United Kingdom, continental forestry networks, Nigerian cultural studies, and civil society into one room in Ibadan creates the possibility of reciprocal learning rather than one-way transfer of expertise.
Looking Ahead
Whether the conference succeeds in launching a sustained Environmental Humanities initiative at Lead City will depend on follow-through—curriculum development, research clusters, partnerships, and institutional commitment. Yet the gathering itself represents a clear statement of intent. At a time when Nigerian universities face pressures of funding, infrastructure, and relevance, the Faculty of Arts is asserting that the humanities have a critical role in addressing the defining challenge of the era.
Professor Anjola Robbin, the Dean and a scholar of English language, linguistics, and theatre who has pioneered innovative cultural initiatives at the university, has positioned the Faculty of Arts as a space for interdisciplinary experimentation. The third Biennial Multidisciplinary Conference continues that trajectory. By inviting the incoming Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, international specialists in religion and environment, legal scholars of climate justice, and African forestry leaders, Lead City is staging a conversation that treats climate change as a shared human predicament requiring the full range of intellectual and cultural resources.
On November 4, 2026, Adeline Hall will host not merely another academic conference, but an attempt to reframe how a Nigerian university understands its responsibility in a warming world. The outcomes—ideas, collaborations, and perhaps the seeds of a new institutional unit—will determine whether “From Ibadan to the World” remains an aspirational theme or becomes a genuine contribution to the global search for sustainable and just futures.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Politics and Technology.
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