When I get home, I drop Vc’s toga for that of mum, wife —Prof. Yemisi Obilade, VC TASUED

Professor Oluyemisi Oluremi Obilade is the Vice-Chancellor of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ogun State. She is a seasoned educationist and Professor of Education, who holds Executive Business Education Certificates of the Harvard Business School, Harvard University, United States of America as well as that of Judge Business School, Cambridge University, United Kingdom. The former Commissioner for Education and former acting Commissioner for Health in Osun State, in this interview by TAYO GESINDE, shares her success story.

 

Growing up

I was born over 58 years ago to an average family, my father was a teacher and my mother worked in the hospital. I was born in Ile Ogbo, Osun State. At that time, women didn’t aspire to high levels of education. After about two years in the primary school in my town, my father decided to send me to Mayflower School, Ikenne Remo,Ogun State . At that time, my father sent me to a far school so that I could be well educated. He had only girls and there was a lot of pressure on him. People were questioning the wisdom in  spending his money to train girls instead of sourcing for a male child. He realised that one of the best ways to ensure we get good education was to relocate my sister and I. So very early in life, we were relocated and it was difficult for me, I was the first born of the family and was dearly loved by my grandparents and my mum. It was like a punishment but I knew that was the way out for me.

 

Childhood experiences that shaped my life

There were lots of challenges. There were days when I didn’t have money; days when my school fees were delayed. I didn’t have a lot of things that my mates had but I knew I was going to have them one day as I knew that with God on my side, I was going to work hard and ensure that those things I didn’t have then, I could have them when working so I got stuck to school. When I entered the university, I didn’t have a lot of things my mates took for granted but I ensured that didn’t make me  derail like some of  my classmates did. Up till now, I don’t like rice, I prefer solid food or eko because when I was growing up, they were not things that were readily available. I don’t like chicken or turkey, I like fish and ponmo. I taught myself to like things I couldn’t afford.

 

My guiding principles

When I was in school, I committed myself to my study. I knew I couldn’t go and beg for marks or sleep around for marks and the only way one  can be sure that even if one is being harassed by anybody, one will not be failed is to work in such a way that one will have the courage to ask for one’s script. If one is an A student and someone gives one F, one can ask for one’s script. That was how I operated. Also, I live by certain guiding principles, the things I cannot do openly, I will not do in private. I live by the principle of selfless leadership, service and integrity.

 

What motivated me to get to the top? I happened to come from grandmothers and a mother who were not apologetic about  being women.

They never made me believe I was inferior to anybody. So, I grew up believing that I was equal to everybody. I don’t have any inferiority complex. They never made me believe I could not achieve my dreams. My parents taught me to reach for the sky, to break the glass ceilings. I was taught early that with the help of God, I could touch the sky. One of the things I remembered my father did was to take us to Kingsway once in a year and give us some money to buy some things. It could be something small, we will queue and pay. He was a teacher, he will then tell us that, I am investing in you, this is where the children of successful and important people shop, this is where my grandchildren will shop as a matter of right because you will be able to bring them here. So, I held on to that. Kingsway, to me was a dream of economic empowerment. It was a dream of handing over a better future to my children. For me, that was big. My father would be listening to news and they would mention professors and he would say one day, they will mention your name in the radio and they will say professor and I will say that is my daughter. That was another dream of professional excellence.

 

Challenges faced

The major challenge was breaking the cultural barriers. The cultural expectations about women and what they should aspire to be. Some people felt I was overreaching myself. I knew what I wanted; I knew what my parents invested in me. So a lot of the time when girls were messing up, I could not afford to do that because I knew I was not just going to kill only my dreams but the dreams of my parents and grandparents.

Combining the home front with my career

I taught for a few years in the secondary school before I started lecturing at the university. I was doing my postgraduate degree and was married to a very wonderful man. He has been a very strong pillar of support. I cannot imagine being married to someone else. He encouraged me to fly, to spread my wings. I was determined to fly, I was not going to allow anything to kill my dreams and fortunately, he shared that. Otherwise, it could not have worked. I had too much invested in me and I have seven sisters who I had to teach to fly. I knew I had to get to where I would be a role model to my sisters because I knew I was carrying the dreams of a generation on my shoulders. I used to have very difficult pregnancies. I would throw up from day one to the end. I will not be able to eat. I will be reading in the night and my husband will sit down with me, encouraging me. We will read through the night. When I was writing papers, he was my sounding board though we were not in the same faculty. He encouraged me, he was my prayer partner, we discussed issues together. All the time,he was  always on my side of the fence. That made it easier for me. I was able to balance being a post graduate student, a lecturer, a wife and mother with his support because we did everything together

 

Becoming the VC of TASUED

I don’t shy away from responsibilities but for me, it is important to be clear on the sort of responsibility. Everywhere I have worked, I have been convinced that it was where God wanted me to work. If I am not convinced, I won’t take it. I don’t take position for the luxury of being seen or celebrated. I accepted it because I was convinced that that was where God wanted me to make an impact and once I conclude an assignment, I leave. Women in leadership need to be prepared for challenges. Also, other women in leadership need to mentor younger women so as to prepare them for leadership. Leadership is not easy for a woman. There are challenges men will not think of. I remember as a commissioner, I called my messenger and he was so reluctant to answer me. He felt I was not being respectful to him as a man until I clarified the relationship for him that I was  his boss. There are hidden body languages that speak of insubordination, if a woman is not prepared, she will get discouraged or get angry and they will say that is how a woman behaves. If you are in position of leadership as a woman and you misbehave, you close the door for 10 other women because the society believes that women are not fit for leadership and as a result they may not want to try other women. So, it is important to realise that we are not representing ourselves alone, we are representing generations of women, present and future. I happened to have had a wonderful mentor in preparation for this job, Professor Roger Makanjuola, former Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, Osun State. I learnt a lot from him when I was a deputy dean at the university. He taught me lessons in leadership with integrity, transparent leadership.

He opened doors that I never thought existed. When I was working for him, I never knew God was preparing me for this position. While working with him, I went for a fellowship for women in mid career. They specifically prepared us for leadership. They started from basic protocols; how to sit, how to talk, how to use cutlery and so on. They didn’t take anything for granted. It was an international women’s forum leadership foundation based in the United States. We were attached to mentors. They took us to Harvard, Cambridge and we were mentored through the years. The women they prepared are leaders today, women who were not afraid to challenge the status quo. One just completed her term as the dean of Faculty of Technology at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) |Ife, Osun. State She was the first female to achieve such feat. There was another programme Hers in South Africa, they introduced us to men who are leaders in education. One of the graduates of that programme is the present bursar of OAU, Mrs Ronke Akeredolu. When you had experiences like that, you know to whom much is given, much is expected and that was why we came together and decided to start Hers in West Africa. We have launched it. Women will be targeted for leadership training. We will intentionally and consciously prepare women for leadership.

 

Secret of my success

One of the greatest teachers I have learnt alot from  on this job, who has been very supportive and has given me very clear advice and who has chastised me when the need arose is my Pro-Chancellor, Professor Femi  Bamiro and I value him a lot. He has been very supportive and objective. When in position of authority, you need people who will tell you the truth. Also, when I get home, I hang the toga of VC and become grandma, sister, wife, mother. It keeps one’s feet on the ground and helps one to know that all the paraphernalia of office is just for a time. If it gets to our head we will think we are mini gods. There is only one God, He is in heaven. I also believe that we must walk the talk. If you talk of honesty, integrity, people must see it in you