The Old Great Hall at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), Idi-Araba lit up on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, as the Faculty of Pharmacy, UNILAG honoured Professor Rebecca Oritsemaje Soremekun with a Retirement Ceremony which featured an Exaugural Lecture by the honouree.
Provost of CMUL, Prof. Ademola Oremosu who represented the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, FAS, OON, declared the event open. He commended the Faculty of Pharmacy for organising a memorable programme to celebrate Professor Soremekun’s immense contributions to academia and the pharmacy profession.
In his welcome address, the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Professor Adesegun Sunday lauded the Vice-Chancellor for her purposeful leadership, unwavering commitment to academic excellence, and sustained support for the global relevance of the University of Lagos. He described the occasion as a moment of celebration, reflection, and gratitude for decades of Professor Soremekun’s dedicated service, scholarship, and leadership in the University, the pharmacy profession, and the healthcare sector.
The Dean described Professor Soremekun as a highly committed and exceptionally diligent academic in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmacy. He noted her meritorious service in various capacities, including as Head of Department and Chairperson of the Faculty Quality Assurance Unit, where she strengthened accountability, quality assurance, and continuous improvement processes.
For trooping out en-masse for the occasion, Professor Adesegun expressed appreciation to distinguished guests, colleagues from sister institutions, representatives of professional bodies, industry partners, former students, friends, and family members including Professor Kayode Soremekun, former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Oye-Ekiti and a Professor of Political Science at the University of Lagos.
In her Exaugural Lecture titled, “The Clinical Pharmacist: Bridging Bench, Industry, and Academia for Better Drug Therapy Outcomes”, Professor Soremekun synthesised her extensive career in pharmaceutical education and underscored the critical role of clinical pharmacy in improving drug production and therapy outcomes in Nigeria.
She traced her professional journey to her early training in hospital pharmacy through internships at the Lagos State Health Service Commission and the NNPC Staff Clinic, after obtaining her Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) between 1976 and 1980.
Professor Soremekun disclosed that after she earned a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutics and MBA at OAU,she joined Pharma-Deko PLC as a production pharmacist, where she contributed to formulation development and helped the company become the first Nigerian pharmaceutical firm to obtain ISO 9001 certification.The renowned Professor revealled that she transitioned to academia in 2002 as a Lecturer I and rose to the rank of Professor in 2022.
Reflecting on her transition from clinical practice to academia, she acknowledged the role of mentors and institutional challenges while reaffirming her commitment to improving health outcomes in underserved communities. She emphasised health education as a transformative tool for disease prevention across homes, schools, workplaces, and communities.
She concluded by advocating stronger collaboration between academia, industry, and communities through product development and clinical evaluation, noting that clinical pharmacy research in academia seeks to identify factors that optimise medication therapy.
Dignitaries present at the event included the Chairman of the occasion and former Group Chairman of Vitafoam Group of Companies, Dr. Bamidele Makanjuola; as well as Former Director, Distance Learning Institute, UNILAG and ird subtansive Vice-Chancellor of Elizade University, Ondo State, Emeritus Professor Olukayode Oladipo Amund; among others.
Report: Oluwatoyin Ojo-Alo
Photograph: Islamiat Akanni
