BREAKING: University of Ibadan's 600th Inaugural Lecture

 In a thought-provoking address that stirred the intellectual atmosphere of Trenchard Hall, Professor Olusola Oyeyinka Oyewo of the Department of Communication and Language Arts delivered the landmark 600th Inaugural Lecture today,  November 20, 2025. The lecture commenced with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode Oyebode Adebowale, who chaired the event, opening the ceremony by highlighting the lecturer's personal journey, noting that Professor Oyewo is the last child of his family and lost his father at a young age.

The lecture,  titled "Rumour, a coat of many colours ; a rainbow of hearsay" was an in-depth exploration of unverified messages, moving them from the realm of mere falsehoods into a critical component of public discourse and communication studies.

Through his speech, Professor Oyewo set out to  redefine the popular and often negative perception of rumour. He gave a few definitions to rumour and they are:

•   A public communication that neglects private hypothesis about how the world works, embellished by allegations based on circumstantial evidence.
•  An attempt to make sense of uncertain situations.
•  A message passed from person to person ; a substitute for news that does not develop in institutional channels.
•   A phenomenon characterized by a retelling process through a succession of individuals.

This definitions gives rumour 3 identities namely:  Hope, Fear, and Division

During his presentation, Professor Oyewo categorized rumour into three distinct types:

1.  Pipe Dreams: Rumours that express hopes or desires, often about a possible solution to a problem or a positive event.
2.   Bogies: Rumours based on anxiety or fear, often about a potential negative event or outcome.
3.  Wedge Driving Rumours: Rumours intended to cause division and fear by inciting hostility. 

The Professor concluded his captivating lecture with a series CTAs in form of  rhetorical questions, challenging the audience to re-evaluate the social function and nature of rumour: "I wish to leave us with these questions as I end this lecture, What do you think of rumour? A monster? A tiger? A wolf? Or A Dove? Is Rumour indeed a coat of many colours and a rainbow of hearsay?"

In his vote of thanks, Professor Oyewo expressed immense gratitude to the Dean of the Faculty of Arts for the recommendation, as well as his own department, Communication and Language Arts (CLA). The  Professor also acknowledged his family, revealing an impressive academic lineage. He hailed his elder brother, Professor Segun Oyeleke Oyewo, who is  the head of the family and a Professor of Performing Arts at the University of Ilorin. He also thanked his sister, Professor Ronke Oyewo. He further went to  pay a heartfelt tribute to his wife, Mrs. Olufunmi Oyewo, the Provost of Oyo State college of hygiene, stating how he could not imagine his life without her.

Finally, Professor Oyewo celebrated all of his children of whom are all graduates starting from Ayanfeoluwa, his first child, who studied communication like him to his second born who read business administration. He acknowledged his third child and lastly, he praised his last born whose academic pursuit is in public health.

 The 600th Inaugural Lecture marks a significant milestone for the University of Ibadan and provides a critical framework for future studies into the complex, yet pervasive, role of rumour in human and societal communication.

What part of the lecture stood out the most for you? The  the definition of rumour,  its classification of the outstanding profile of Professor Oyewo? Let us know in the comments!