The Great Delusion berths at UI on February 26

On Thursday, February 26th, all roads will lead to the Drapers Hall, Institute of African Studies (IAS), University of Ibadan (UI) where the IAS in collaboration with the Institute of Episteresurrecist Arts (IEA) and the African Studies Students’ Association (ASSA), will host a panel of discussion and live reading of The Great Delusion, winner of the 2025 Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Prize for Drama, as part of activities marking Black History Month 2026. The event is scheduled to commence from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Vice Chancellor (VC) of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Kayode O. Adebowale, will serve as the Chief Host, while IAS Director, Prof. Sola Olorunyomi, will host the gathering. The session will be moderated by Ms. Matilda Adegbola.

Featured discussants include literary critic and Pan-Africanist Hajia Olabisi Adegoke; poet and dramatist Kunle Wizeman Ajayi; President of the African Studies Students’ Association (ASSA), Mr. Alimi Quadril Ifayomi; and author Majekodunmi Oseriemen Ebhohon, whose play The Great Delusion has been described by renowned scholar of African Literature, Prof. G. G. Darah as “a major contribution to the literature of diaspora civilisation.”

Adding a diaspora perspective, Dr. Vibert Issa White, Professor of History at the University of Central Florida, described the work as urgent in its restorative vision.

“The most urgent contribution of The Great Delusion is its act of restoration,” he wrote.

“For Black children—those too often robbed of their rightful heroes—this work is nothing short of an intellectual resurrection.”

The February 26 programme will feature a live reading, review, followed by a critical panel conversation examining the work’s literary structure, political and economic philosophy, and implications for African studies and diaspora scholarship. Attendance is open to scholars, students, theatre practitioners, and members of the public.

ASSA President, Mr. Alimi Ifayomi, describes the event as “an invitation to reconsider history, agency, and the architecture of global dependence” — a conversation he says is particularly urgent in the current geopolitical climate.