Edewor’s inaugural: ‘Where God and Mortals Meet… in a Nation Soiled by Oil’
By Editor
PROFESSOR of visual arts and Reverend Canon Nelson Uyoyou Edewor will deliver the 119th Inaugural Lecture of Delta State University, Abraka on February 5, 2026 at the 750 A Lecture Theatre. This milestone event marks Edewor’s inaugural lecture since his promotion to the rank of professor a few years ago. The lecture, titled ‘Where God and Mortals Meet: Nelson Edewor’s Odyssey of Recontextualized Ivri Corpus in a Nation Soiled by Oil,’ draws from the renowned carver’s research, offering critical insights and policy-relevant implications grounded in his scholarly work. A distinguished scholar, Edewor’s academic journey has attained a significant milestone that culminates in this special academic outing.
Friends, colleagues, and the public are invited to attend this momentous occasion to honour a man whose public art engenders lively discussion in cultural, religious and scholarship settings. The lecture will commence at 11:00am, with guests expected to be seated by 10:30am.
Edewor’s creative works offer a critique of society, leadership and approaches to religion. Edewor argues that religious groups that take pride in burning shrines were wasting their time, stating that demons do not live in shrines but inside people fo whatever persuasions.
“The truth is, we know the trajectory of the story, of how missionaries were burning these things (idols),” he’d said in an interview with The Guardian. “As far as I know, the demon is not in the works that are burnt. It is in the people themselves. It is the people that need deliverance. It is not the artworks in shrines that need to be burnt. When you burn the artworks, then you have not done anything.”
The inaugural lecture will allow Edewor to flesh out these thoughts, as encapsulated in his chosen theme, ‘Where God and Mortals Meet: Nelson Edewor’s Odyssey of Recontextualized Ivri Corpus in a Nation Soiled by Oil.’
A priest of the Anglical Communion Edewor holds a BA (Hons), MFA (University of Benin), Dip.Th, MA, PhD (Delta State University, Abraka), and a postdoctoral qualification from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK.
