The Vice-Chancellor, Professor K.O. Adebowale, FAS, mni, cordially invites you to the 629th Inaugural Lecture to be delivered by Professor Taiwo A. LAWAL of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI).
TITLE: CREATING PASSAGEWAYS IN DARK ALLEYS: THE BUMPS, THE SPURS AND THE SPEED-BREAKERS
DATE: THURSDAY, 15TH OCTOBER, 2026
TIME: 3:00 P.M. West Central Africa
VENUE: TRENCHARD HALL, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
You can also join virtually using the details below:
YouTube Link:
Zoom Link: Click Here
Meeting ID: 810 4502 4328
Password: INAUGURAL
Thank you
Prof. Temidayo Ogundiran FAS
Provost
629TH INAUGURAL LECTURE, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, BY PROFESSOR TAIWO A. LAWAL
Taiwo Akeem Lawal was born into the family of Alhaji (Engineer) and Alhaja B. A. Lawal of Oje-Alafara, Ibadan, Nigeria. He attended Abadina Primary School, located on the premises of the University of Ibadan, from 1980 to 1986, and Methodist Grammar School, Bodija, Ibadan, from 1986 to 1992. He was later admitted to the University of Ibadan to study Medicine, graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree in May 2000. Afterward, he completed his housemanship between July 2000 and June 2001 at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, and served in the National Youth Service Corps scheme from July 2001 to June 2002 in Keffi and Obi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.
He started his residency training in Surgery at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, in October 2002, and completed the programme in October 2008 after passing the Final Fellowship Examination of the West African College of Surgeons in Paediatric Surgery. He was appointed Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, in May 2009. Subsequently, he joined the services of the University of Ibadan as a Lecturer I in February 2012, before being promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2015 and Professor of Surgery on 1 October 2020.
Professor Lawal holds a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology and Medical Statistics from the University of Ibadan and a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the Hannover Medical School in Hannover, Germany. He has also completed certificate training in Leadership and Management in Health, Project Management in Global Health, and the Fundamentals of Implementation Science from the University of Washington, alongside several certificate courses from various institutions across the globe.
He was awarded a DAAD Scholarship by the German Government in 2006, a Paediatric Colorectal Research Fellowship at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2009, the International Society of Surgery Foundation Scholarship in Yokohama, Japan (2012), the International Paediatric Association Scholarship in Melbourne, Australia (2013), and the International Guest Scholarship of the American College of Surgeons in 2015, among others. Additionally, he was selected for the highly competitive International Deans’ Course Africa—part of the Innovative Dialogue on Higher Education Strategies—for the 2023/2024 cohort. He has successfully attracted competitive external research grants to the University of Ibadan and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and the International College of Surgeons. He was elected a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Medicine, the Academy of Medical Sciences, and the African Academy of Sciences in 2025. Most recently, in September 2026, he was honoured with a Fellowship of the Liberia Academy of Sciences in recognition of his contributions to paediatric surgery, clinical research, medical education, and academic leadership in West Africa.
Professor Lawal has served the University of Ibadan in various capacities. At the Departmental level, he has served as the Undergraduate Coordinator, Examination Officer, Chairman of the E-Learning Committee, Coordinator of Term Papers, Coordinator of the Journal Club, Chief Organiser of the Basic Trauma Care Course, and as a member of several other committees. Furthermore, he was the Sub-Dean (Undergraduate) MBBS in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences from August 2014 to July 2018, and the Sub-Dean (Postgraduate) from August 2020 to July 2024. He also served as the Co-Chairman of the Faculty Committee on Undergraduate Students Mentoring between 2018 and 2020.
At the College of Medicine, he has served in numerous capacities, including as the College UpToDate Champion (2021–2024) and the Coordinator of the Clinical Skills Subunit of the College of Medicine Education Unit (2021–2024). Additionally, he was an elected member of the College Academic Board (2016–2020) and a member of several key committees, including the: College of Medicine Education Unit, College Development Committee, College Curriculum Committee, College of Medicine E-Learning Committee, College of Medicine Internationalisation Committee, College of Medicine Committee on Promotion Software among others.
He has served as Member, Senate Committee on the General Studies Programme, Member, Senate Admissions Committee, Congregation Representative on the University Senate (2016–2020), Member, Business Committee of Congregation (2020–2022), Member, Committee on Research Strength Profile of the University of Ibadan (2017), Member, Committee on Production of “A Compendium of the Societal Impact of the University of Ibadan at 70” (2018), Member, Business Committee of the Postgraduate College (2021–2024) among several roles. He has been the Dean, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University of Ibadan since 1 August 2024.
Outside the University of Ibadan, he has served as an examiner for the West African College of Surgeons (WACS), where he has also been the Paediatric Surgery Representative on the Faculty Board of Surgery since July 2022. His international engagements include serving as a Visiting Professor to the Department of Biomedical Engineering (McCormick School of Engineering) and the Center for Global Health (Feinberg School of Medicine) at Northwestern University, Chicago, in 2013. In 2015, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Division of General Pediatric Surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, and the Center for Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Furthermore, he has served on accreditation panels for various training institutions and has assessed candidates for promotion to the professorial cadre at universities across Nigeria. He is also a member of the Simulation Technical Working Group of the Consortium of Medical Schools in Africa, contributing to the advancement of contemporary approaches to medical education and training.
Professor Lawal has served as the Staff Adviser to the University of Ibadan Medical Students Association (UIMSA) since 2017. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the SmileBuilders NGO and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the UIMSA Endowment Fund. Within the Nigeria Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, he served as a Councillor from 2019 to 2021 and as Treasurer from 2021 to 2023; he is currently the Chairman of its Membership Committee.
Professor Lawal holds two patents and has published more than 170 journal articles, accumulating over 10,000 citations on Google Scholar with an h-index of 45. He is ranked among the top 2% of scientists worldwide according to the Elsevier/Stanford University database. He has attended and presented at numerous scientific conferences and has chaired many scientific meetings and symposia both within and outside Nigeria. Additionally, he has served as an Associate Editor for the African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences and the African Journal of Paediatric Surgery. He was formerly the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Prime Medics Journal, the flagship journal of the UCH, Ibadan.
Professor Lawal is happily married to Folake Lawal, a Professor of Community Dentistry at the same university, and their union is blessed with children.