Recently, two brothers –Ahmed Oloduowo Ameen and Mubarak Oloduowo Ameen– were promoted to the rank of professor by the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) on the same day. In this interview, BIOLA AZEEZ spoke with Professor Mubarak Ameen Oloduowo on their elevation, among other issues. Excerpts:
Please, tell us about yourself.
My name is Mubarak Ameen Oloduowo. I was born to the family of Alhaji Aminulahi Olanrewaju and Alhaja Halimat Olanrewaju Oloduowo on September 4, 1973. I’ll be 51 years old in September this year. I attended Anwar Ul Islam Primary School, Oke Imale, Ilorin from 1979 to 1983, and Government Day Secondary School, Okekere, Ilorin from 1984 to 1990. I ended up spending six years instead of five years in secondary school because ours was the first set of students that started Junior Secondary School (JSS) of the 6-3-3-4 system of education. The school is situated at Ogidi, just beside Ansar Ul Islam Primary School.
I joined Bayero University, Kano in 1991 as a remedial student because my O Level result was not that great. So, I had to remedy my result before I could proceed to become an undergraduate. I did a year’s remedial programme and was offered admission into the Chemistry department at Bayero University, Kano. I finished my undergraduate studies in 1997. I proceeded to serve the country in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Cross River State, Basua village in Boki Local Government Area to be precise. I finished the NYSC programme in 1998.
Thereafter, I went back to Lagos because my parents were based in Lagos State. While searching for a job in Lagos, I participated as a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) teacher at Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikoyi, Lagos. I taught and was paid by the PTA of the school and not the government. I started as a PTA teacher in the secondary school in January 1999 and by August same year, I got an appointment as a graduate assistant during the tenure of Professor Oba Abdulraheem as vice chancellor of the university. Professor Abdulraheem played an important role in my career development because he was there catering for us while in Kano and he was also pulling us along, he did not forget us. So, I started my academic journey in August 1999 to be precise as a graduate assistant from the end of the ladder. I rose steadily to become a professor in 2022. The elevation was just recently announced but backdated to 2022.
How has the academic journey been to date?
Being an academic has not been rosy so to speak. However, if one is focused, steadfast and consistent, one would not face many problems. You will find it interesting. The journey has not been so smooth all along. I finished my undergraduate studies as a Second Class Upper candidate. A very strong one, not a weak one and I believe in my ability such that facing other challenges won’t be a problem for me. As an academic, you have to proceed immediately for a higher degree. I was advised to start my Master’s programme immediately. I started as a graduate assistant, which I did immediately in the same department of the University of Ilorin.
I started my MSc in 2000 thereabout and finished in 2004. Before I could move to the next step on my ladder of academic pursuit, I needed to have my MSc degree and immediately after I had that, I was upgraded to assistant lecturer. The next step was to register for a doctoral programme. That was where I had a delay. I wanted to pursue my PhD outside the shores of Nigeria and while trying to do that, I wasted a lot of time. Eventually, I registered for my doctoral programme at the University of Ilorin in 2007. Within that period, I had a promotion because possessing a doctoral degree does not disturb your promotion. I moved from Assistant Lecturer cadre to Lecturer 1 and later to Lecturer 2 within the period. However, to move to the next cadre which is Senior Lecturer, a PhD is necessary. That was not possible for me until I got my PhD in 2015. When I got my certificate, it was a promotion year, so I put in and fortunately for me, I scaled through and became a senior lecturer the same year. The journey of PhD is a very long one. You can imagine from 2007 to 2015, but all praise be to the Almighty that I was able to complete the PhD and obtain my certificate myself.
From Senior Lecturer cadre to becoming a professor is just two steps. From Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor or a reader, as we call it here, is a three-year gap. I had a delay here too. I missed the promotion once because of a lack of vacancy. By the following year, when there was a vacancy and I put in, I scaled through and became a Reader in 2019. I eventually became a professor in 2022. In between this period, it’s not just obtaining a degree for you to get promoted. It’s also about publishing research articles. I have over 79 articles to my credit, but the minimum I needed for each of these is not much. So, I was able to meet promotion requirements, like years of experience, among others.. Some of these publications were caught up in what we call predatory journals. These journals were introduced around 2011/2012 or thereabouts and I had some publications in some of these journals. Those journals had to be discarded and not used for promotion. Fortunately, I “wised” up and got publications in other reputable journals which allowed me to have my promotion as and when due.
What was your feeling when you eventually attained this feat?
To describe my feelings, I will say I give credit to the Almighty Allah. I’m happy I’m a professor today, but like I said it wasn’t an easy journey. I give glory to the Almighty for making it possible for me to have the chair and I also appreciate my parents who have guided me along the way up to this point. I also show my appreciation to people like Professor Oba Abdulraheem, who has been there for us, as our mentor, guiding us. I also appreciate my teachers right from primary school up to the university. Also, my PhD supervisor at the University of Ilorin, Professor G. E. Olatunji. Let me also appreciate Professor O. M. Fatope, my supervisor at the undergraduate level, who introduced me to the act of research at Bayero University, Kano.
Did the environment that you found yourself in encourage this achievement or was it based on your efforts?
I will say this feat as a professor is intertwined with personal efforts and environment. What we are celebrating today is that there are two brothers of the same family becoming professors on the same day at the same university. The eldest brother in our family, though outside the shore of the country, is also an academic. He is a PhD holder. In my family, we’re all gifted academically. I also have a brother who is a medical doctor, He is also outside the shores of the country. We also have another brother, though late, who was also a lawyer.
One of the factors that contributed is that my parents were educators, though not in the Western education line, but in Islamic knowledge. They teach children the science of reading the Quran as well as Islamic culture. I would say that’s one of the factors that propelled us to become what we are today. Another one is that my eldest brother, Dr. Abdullahi Oloduowo. He is a motivator and we look up to be like him. Don’t be surprised that he was the first graduate in our community around Aliagan Quarters, Ilorin. You can imagine that kind of feat and this has continued up till now. So, personal effort and environment contributed to the attainment of the feat we are celebrating today.
What are those research works done so far?
As I said, I have 79 publications. These can be verified on Google Scholar as well as some other platforms which can be checked. My area of interest is medicinal plants, that is extraction, isolation and characterisation of active compounds from medicinal plants. However, I’ve also ventured into research on biodiesel. I’m part of the committee that established the jatropha plantation at the University of Ilorin. However, the plantation is no longer being celebrated again. We know that we can get oil from jatropha seeds that can be converted to biodiesel and some other research like that.
Tell us more about the contributions of your parents to education.
My grandfather, Alhaji Mustapha Oloduowo, was a right-hand man of renowned Islamic preacher, Sheikh Kamaldeen Al-Adabby. May God have mercy on them both. My father was also a student of Sheikh Kamaldeen Al-Adabby. Both my grandfather and my father were educators. They taught knowledge of Islam and the Quran. It’s not far-fetched from my being an educator, and academic. While theirs is in Islamic education, my own is in Western education.
Don’t you think we have too many professors in the country?
I don’t think we have too many professors in the country. Before we can say we have too many professors in the country, we have to compare our number with that of other countries relatively. Also, when you look at universities in the country today, many of them are short-staffed. That’s to tell you that we don’t have an adequate number of professors. Because it’s the professor who will also mentor and train graduate assistants and other cadres of lecturers to become professors or academics who will carve a niche for themselves in their respective academic fields. I will say we don’t have enough yet in the country.
One would say the rigour of attaining a professorship is too stressful and discouraging in Nigeria. Do you agree with this and what can be done to ease off the stress?
The process of becoming a professor is the same elsewhere. Standards have to be maintained, otherwise, we’ll have roadside professors. So, the rigour is not stressful. For example, in my own experience of becoming a professor, there is a minimum number of articles to submit among other spelt-out criteria from one cadre to another. Once you know the criteria needed to fulfil in becoming either a reader or a professor, it won’t be stressful. All you need to do is to work towards attaining that goal. The only delay in becoming either a reader or professor is the issue of external assessors. Your publications and Curriculum Vitae (CV) will be sent out to external assessors for assessment. A blind assessor is somebody you would not know. It’s only the university authorities that will know the person. And the assessment of that person will confirm you as a professor or an associate professor. That also is to maintain standard, quality control. So, I don’t think it’s too stressful. Once you have a goal, you know what you are doing, then you’ll be able to attain your goal very easily.
What’s your advice to aspiring academics trying to attain the professorial level?
I’ll advise my colleagues and aspiring academics to have a focus on what they want to become, know what they’re after and be consistent in whatever they do. Once you’re consistent and people know you for certain ideals, you won’t be discouraged or derailed in attaining your goal. You know the requirements to move from one cadre to the other and you strive hard to work towards fulfilling all the criteria, then the sky will be your limit and you’ll be able to attain your goal.
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