Organised by the Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights at the Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada, the Oputa Lecture is named in honour of Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and Chair of the Human Rights Investigation Commission. Justice Oputa launched the Supreme Court of Nigeria into its golden age in the 1980s and left an indelible mark on its jurisprudence. The Oputa Lectures provide a forum in which Africans who are involved with governance on the continent can interact and exchange ideas with the York University community and the larger Canadian audience, to the mutual benefit of both Canada and African societies, on the challenges and triumphs of governance on the continent.

The speaker of this edition of the Oputa Lecture was Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Industry, Trade and Investment in the Office of the Vice President. She was holder of the Prince Claus Chair in development and equity 2013-2015 at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), The Hague, the Netherlands. She is currently on leave of absence from the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Faculty of Law of University of Lagos, Nigeria, where she is a senior lecturer.

The Lecture took place on Friday, January 27, 2017 from 12:30pm to 2:30pm at the Ignat Kaneff Building, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada. The lecture also engaged Nigerians via Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #OputaLecture