Women Academics From Nigeria

"My father was a Sergeant-Major in Nigeria Police and I think around that time, the rank was the highest position for Nigerians except if you had gone to secondary school. My father did not complete his primary school education, so when he joined the police force, the highest position he could be promoted to was Sergeant-Major. I grew up in the barracks and to know my father as a big man being the Sergeant-Major in charge of the whole barracks. Nobody dared come near our house. Other families were living in one room each in the barracks but we had a complex like when we were at the police barracks along Ogui Road, Enugu."

"After the war, he resumed the scholarship scheme for all of us because there were many of us that were beneficiaries. After the war, I completed my secondary school education, but no longer at Nsukka but at Holy Child Secondary School, Abakaliki. It was after my West African Senior School Certificate Examination in 1971 that he asked what I would want to do and I said I wanted to be a nurse. He said, okay, I will send you to London to be trained as a nurse; that was where I sent my sisters in the 50s. My niece was also going for the same training. He said, I’ll send both of you; that was when he came back after the war. So it was while I was preparing to travel to London for nursing that the story changed and we got married."

"I met him through his scholarship scheme. I danced in my hometown – Afikpo – during the electioneering campaigns of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons in the 60s; there were four of us. We were there to receive politicians coming to Afikpo for campaign, so we danced. In the end, he gave me a scholarship to go to secondary school and other things. My elder sister, who was the leader of the group, was given a job in Lagos. I don’t know what was done for the other two because there were four us. It was before the war, so the war disrupted my education as it did to everybody in the East."

"Fortunately for me, I came into his life when he had made everything one would need in his life as a human being and a man. In 1973 when we got married, he was already everything; he had run his newspapers, been a Premier, Senate President, President and all that. I wouldn’t say I contributed anything at all because he had already achieved all that before I came into his life. So I will not claim that; the only thing I will claim is that I gave him comfort when he was at the age of 60, 70 and when he was old and in the latter part of his life. That was my contribution to his life. He was already successful when I came into his life."

"It was regrettable that the men were still hiding under culture and traditions to relegate women to the background."

"The country was standing on one leg and would hardly make any movement under such condition."

"Why Nigeria is crawling."

"That is why I will stand on behalf of Azikiwe to pray that whatever happens, Nigeria will never disintegrate. Please let us come together. It will make him happy and make some of his other contemporaries happy that Nigeria is one. Please, let our current leaders do something to make sure that Nigeria is one. One Nigeria is what we need."

"Personally, all I want is the best for Nigeria. Anyone who will stop insecurity, poverty and all sorts of indices that often make people avoid Nigeria, I am totally in support of the person."

"When I had my first degree, he wrote Mrs Uche Azikiwe B.Edu, to show you how he valued it. When I got master’s degree, he would write B. English (Education), M. Education (Curriculum) on the envelop. He did the same thing when I had my PhD. When I was able to achieve all that, he was so happy because he had asked if I would be able to combine everything. I am happy he was alive when I got my PhD in 1992."

"I have never heard any research that say the brain of a man is bigger or smarter than that of a woman, it is the society that made the woman not to develop her potentials. Men hold grip of positions and they believe it is the best for the society"

"There is need for advocacy which we can do through our traditional rulers, people need to come together to advance this course; to assist the women to play their role, everybody was born with a potential, God created all of us equal."

"The patriarchy is still in men; it’s like some men are afraid of allowing women to come up; they feel a woman should not be competing with a man, I feel advocacy is needed, that please, men, we are not coming to compete, there is no way a woman can be a man, I have my role to play, due to biological parts, a man has his own role to play, but if it comes to development of the society, both of them should work together."

"Any nation that realizes that women constitutes the other leg, you will see the impact, the country will grow and develop, it is my area sociology of education and gender studies; It has been proven that without women contributing, if you still believe in patriarchy, you are going nowhere."

"One leg is the male, the other leg is the female but in our society, it seems as if it is only one leg we are running with, that’s why we are where we are now."

"If you overlook the women and their contributions, you are going nowhere, it seems as if you have two legs and you are running with just one; you won’t go anywhere."

"That is why I said other countries have found that women are agents for development."

"Women should be allowed to play their role, their role is to help the men to rebuild the society in any form or shape."

"The frame of reference of any society is a function of the logic of its culture as a whole"

"the human submission to the will of the divine”"

"Essentialism makes it impossible to confine biology to one realm. The social world, therefore, cannot truly be socially constructed"

"The upshot of this cultural logic is that men and women are perceived as essentially different creatures. Each category is defined by its own essence. Diane Fuss describes the notion that things have a ‘true essence … as a belief in the real, the invariable and fixed properties which define the whatness of an entity.’ Consequently, whether women are in the labor room or in the boardroom, their essence is said to determine their behavior. In both arenas, then, women’s behavior is by definition different from that of men. Essentialism makes it impossible to confine biology to one realm. The social world, therefore, cannot truly be socially constructed"

"… I argued that the biological determinism in much of Western thought stems from the application of biological explanations in accounting for social hierarchies. This in turn has led to the construction of the social world with biological building blocks. Thus the social and the biological are thoroughly intertwined. This worldview is manifested in male-dominant gender discourses, discourses in which female biological differences are used to explain female sociopolitical disadvantages. The conception of biology as being ‘everywhere’ makes it possible to use it as an explanation in any realm, whether it is directly implicated or not. Whether the question is why women should not vote or why they breast-feed babies, the explanation is one and the same: they are biologically predisposed."

"The Yoruba terms obinrin and okunrin do express a distinction. Reproduction is, obviously, the basis of human existence, and given its import, and the primacy of anafemale [anatomical female] body-type, it is not surprising that the Yoruba language describes the two types of anatomy. The terms okunrin and obinrin, however, merely indicate the physiological differences between the two anatomies as they have to do with procreation and intercourse. They refer, then, to the physically marked and physiologically apparent differences between the two anatomies. They do not refer to gender categories that connote social privileges and disadvantages. Also, they do not express sexual dimorphism because the distinction they indicate is specific to issues of reproduction. To appreciate this point, it would be necessary to go back to the fundamental difference between the conception of the Yoruba social world and that of Western societies."

"For women scholars, the university is not a particularly user-friendly place. Because of this, for us to succeed, it is crucial to have structures in place such as affordable child care. This is not an individual problem that ought to be addressed by one person at a time."

"Collectively as women we need to do something different, we need to support each other. Support the young ones, even as we transition and deal with the whole question of what sort of families do we want because the families are the most basic unit."

"We must emphasise the pathology called the modern man. When you think of modern, it is women they associate it with but when you think of what has happened as a result of colonisation of this continent it is that men have garnered all sorts of resources that were not even traditionally in the hands of men or women, these were collectively owned things."

"The continent is in deep trouble and women must be at the vanguard of all of kinds of struggles. And we must document the ways in which women contribute."

"So I think what African women as a group represent is an example a symbol of Africa’s vulnerability sixty years after independence. There’s violence against women as an offshoot of the general violence in the society."

"Definitely! When my son was younger, I learnt to do a lot of things very quickly, especially if he was having a nap. We are a single parent family so I became a lot more efficient in how I spent my time generally. I found this mindset very useful when I returned to work full time after maternity leave. Part of this was learning to prioritise very quickly what was important and what could wait. I became less of a perfectionist after having my son and realised that ‘good enough’ was what was required – perfectionism is totally unattainable."

"There remains a severe lack of visible, accessible role models in our society"

"I do this work for a cause and not for applause. Improving diversity and maximising potential is my calling and I would still make sacrifices for this cause even if no recognition was forthcoming"

"More affordable childcare provision for working parents. The economic benefits of empowering parents to work is huge yet many families find that it is not worth both parents working due to exorbitant childcare costs. This has a direct impact on the pipeline of women in business and is a huge factor in why we have such a small number of senior, female leaders. I would love the opportunity to radically shape and influence government provision and policy on this as a way of both boosting the UK’s economy and empowering parents."

"To not worry so much about the things I couldn’t control and to focus on changing the things that I could control. This attitude would have saved me many sleepless nights and lots of angst."

"I rarely feel guilty these days as my son is older but when he was younger, I did experience a lot of guilt. This is par for the course when you have very young children whilst also holding down a demanding career – you never feel as if you are doing a good job either at home or at work. However, before you know it, your ‘baby’ is a teenager who needs you less and less and you start yearning for the days when he was more dependant on you!"

"The responsibility that all parents have to shape a young life is truly admirable."

"Initially, it was juggling long hours working as a corporate solicitor in central London with being a mum. Eventually I left London for a regional law firm where I could enjoy a much better life balance."

"It was definitely the first time my son came with me to a speaking engagement at the London office of one of the world’s largest law firms. He was only 9 years old but immediately started ‘working the room’ and networking with others. He spoke to everyone from the receptionist to senior partners of the firm. I have a picture of him sitting on the balcony with the firm’s global chair, having a conversation, a priceless and memorable moment"

"I love combining leadership roles with caring for my son when he can benefit from seeing the impact of my leadership."

"I look at my son and realise that I must have done something right! He is a very mature, 15 year old boy who helps me a lot with chores around the house and is really kind and considerate. He is popular at school with a very loyal and supportive group of friends. We, of course, have silly rows (he is a teenager after all!) but everyone comments on how polite, respectful and articulate he is. He knows right from wrong and has a clear sense of his own identity, always standing up for what he believes in. My diversity campaigning has also clearly rubbed off on him – he is a HeForShe advocate and a strong male gender champion. I am very proud of him."

"Yes. I am less likely to suffer fools and my core values are deeply entrenched. I refused to compromise on my parenting, ultimately leading to me leaving my role as a corporate solicitor in a central London law firm for a similar role with a regional firm. At the same time, I moved out of London to Hertfordshire, creating a much better life balance. I became a lot more decisive (again, because this makes best use of time) and even more driven to deliver and get things done within the time available. Ultimately, having my son improved my leadership style and my overall performance."

"I believe that everyone should be given the opportunity to maximise their potential irrespective of background. Sadly, it is often only those on the field who are aware of the uphill struggle that they face. We need to empower others if we find ourselves in a position of privilege, embracing and celebrating our differences to work towards building a better society"

"I am also a regular media contributor, providing commentary on both BBC TV and radio channels."

"In addition, I provide inspirational talks to thousands of school children and University students annually as well as leadership mentoring & coaching to students and young professionals. A solid, rounded education is of paramount importance and I have twice served as a school governor. I proactively sponsor development opportunities for my mentees whenever I can."

"My focus is on 3 main diversity strands - gender, ethnicity and social background. I am also an LGBTQI and disability ally. I regularly spearhead positive change through various fora and write regularly about diversity and related issues."

"To this end, I personally lead on, sponsor, champion and support a wide range of initiatives and projects, working with a number of organisations to drive change. I have worked with the Law Society, large corporates, various national and global law firms, Aspiring Solicitors, Speakers4Schools and the UK Government to name a few."

"Alongside this, my consistent goal throughout my career is to promote, encourage and campaign for more equality, diversity and inclusion across the corporate world and society as a whole."

"My first career was in law, working as a corporate lawyer. I practised law as a corporate solicitor for 12 years. My second career was in healthcare where I worked as a C-suite healthcare executive for 2 global pharmaceutical organisations for almost a decade."

"My CV is sometime 2-4 pages long.i would never advise anyone to have a CV run 22-23 pages.certainly,my LinkedIn profile runs to 22-23 pages because I have been very creative."

"I found it extremely difficult to secure an entry-level position when I finished the QLTT (now QLTS) transfer test and needed to gain experience before qualification. To get my foot in the door, I drew up a list of the top 100 law firms specialising in corporate law and did the same with the top 50 in- house teams. I then proceeded to cold-call the heads of department at all 150 organisations."