The Director of the Linguistic Immersion Centre, University of Ilorin, Prof. Badmus Olanrewaju Yusuf, last Tuesday (July 2, 2024), led the staff and students of the Centre on a courtesy visit to the Emir of Ilorin, His Royal Highness, Dr Ibrahim Sulu Gambari.

The visit is an integral part of the Centre’s yearly excursion, which is one of the requirements for the award of the language proficiency certificates of the Centre, and it aims at acculturating the foreign students.

Welcoming the visitors to his palace, the Emir commended the successful efforts of the University of Ilorin at internationalisation.

The royal father emphasised the oneness of the entire humanity, while also noting specifically that none of the foreign students could have been identified as a non-Nigerian until they disclosed their various national identities. According to him, “We all look alike as brothers and sisters”. He then urged them to stay rest assured that they are still at home in Ilorin.

Earlier in his remarks, the Director of the Linguistics Immersion Centre, Prof. Yusuf, explained that the visit is a sort of excursion, which is one of the requirements for the award of the language proficiency certificates of the Centre,

Prof. Yusuf, a former Dean of the Postgraduate School, University of Ilorin, praised the good leadership provided by the Emir, saying that this attribute is a significant impetus of the peace and tranquillity, without which free movements in the domain would have been elusive.

The students, who are nationals of Republics of Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, Niger Republic, Togo, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso, were thereafter given the opportunity to introduce themselves one after the other.

On the Director’s entourage were the Assistant Director of the Centre, Dr Segun Oyelabi, and one of the longest-serving facilitators at the Centre, Dr Sola Olatunji.

The Chief of Staff to the Emir also introduced the key Palace staff members to the visitors and explained their respective duties in the palace. He also explained the significance of some of the classic items in the palace to the students. 

Afterwards, the Official Palace Curator was delegated to conduct the visitors round all the significant sites within the expansive palace.