By Agatha Emeadi
Dr. Omoayena Rosemary Odunbaku is a strong advocate for girl-child education and empowerment. She is deeply committed to youth development. Odunbaku, who describes herself as a simple person with an intense appetite for knowledge, is showing her intellectual plume at the UN-Habitat, a specialised agency of the United Nations, where she is recording success through sheer determination to achieve worthy results as the Human Settlements Officer in-charge of Anglophone, West Africa. Prior to landing her current position, she had stints at the British Council, Master Plan Consult and Henrich Boll Stitfung Foundation, which all contributed practical experience that fleshed out what she learnt in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Lagos.
As an alumna of University of Lagos, UNILAG, where you also lectured in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, how do you feel about the female leadership in place now?
I personally think that the mind is not gendered. UNILAG has always been a gender friendly working and intellectual environment. We are proud that the glass ceilings are being shattered and have the confidence that with Professor Ogunsola’s leadership, UNILAG will continue to grow in leaps and bounds as the university of first choice and nation’s pride.
Taking into consideration your own achievements, how can women make a difference in other professions?
Well, it is very unfortunate that even after much efforts have been made at the global stage, the girl child especially in sub-Saharan Africa is still making headlines for the wrong reasons due to the societal components which do not make provisions for an enabling environment for success, like their gender counterparts in other parts of the world. It is sufficient to say that the girl-child is battling with the hangover of centuries of subjugation, subservience, and silence just for being specially created and uniquely built. This has resulted in a metaphysical ceiling turned self-doubt which has continuously hindered her ability to aspire for greatness and attain her potentials. Despite these negatives, girls still strive to engage with relevant stakeholders in the quest for emancipation and have continually proven that they are unscripted and unstoppable. These efforts are mostly in silos and uncoordinated groups. A woman’s ability is inspired by the eight indicators of the platform of Action Nine indicators for girls. “Promote girls’ awareness and participation in social, economic and political life.” And it’s conceptualized to create a central platform for girl-child networking and also connects multiple girl-child community hubs.
What has the experience been like working with UN-Habitat?
The experience is quite fulfilling. I started as the Project Officer for the Africa Urban Agenda, later I was the liaison for relevant agencies before I became the Human Settlements Officer in charge of Anglophone West Africa countries. The opportunity and experience have enabled me to engage with all relevant state and non-state actors. From the hawkers, traders, heads of agencies and high government personnel. Others include the academia, non-governmental groups and financial institutions. The reaffirmation that proper management and ordering of land use, complemented with contextualized economic intervention, is the antidote to extensive, slum proliferation, insecurity, poverty, and most vices associated with African human settlements, especially Nigeria.
Recall some of your memorable moments as a lecturer at the University of Lagos and Moshood Abiola polytechnic, Ogere, Ogun State.
At Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ojere, Ogun State I taught during my service year and while marking a test script of a student, I got an answer that shocking and hilarious. In that test, I set a question which required them to list five natural mineral resources that could be found in Nigeria. A student gave this answer: “Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Pepsi and Miranda. Quite shocking it was because the academic culture was a contrast from my alma mater, University of Lagos. Moshood Abiola Polytechnic really prepared me to lecture at the University of Lagos.
At UNILAG, I adopted a different approach to teaching and administering the courses which majority of my students embraced warmly. During classes, we had very interesting exchanges because the students became quite very free with me. We had an exchange platform called EasyClass. Adopting EasyClass as an educational social media, allowed pre-and post-physical lectures and seamless flow of information; and ideally informed the temperament during the next class. I recall during one session on Spatial Economics where we were analysing the market structure of Lagos traditional settlements, I witnessed the power of collective-innovative thinking. Even the so-called laggard students gave in their best and that helped in improving the quality of presentations.
What inspired your book, OMOH?
‘OMOH’ is an exciting chronicle of my life in the past four decades. It captures me as a dogged, lovable, quirky and funny young mother who despite living through the pain of my parent’s separation, assumed the parenting role as a minor and still defied all odds to become who I am today. Every chapter is complemented by anecdotes from family members, friends, colleagues, classmates, mentors and mentees. It profiles my person as a young African female professional, the choices I have made and to what extent they have affected or influenced my persona. Again, it highlighted the values of relationships we build and how the people we meet in life play a pivotal role in who we become. I particularly like the foreword by Justice Nkemdilim Izuako, former President of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and my husband’s interview; both parties highlighted a salient part of me not open to so many. My religious tolerance (a Catholic married to a devoted Muslim) and dedication and devotion to my faith. Quite an interesting piece of work, I have read it twice and each time I do, I wonder where that young go-getter girl is, it always leaves me inspired.
Then again, I was wondering what to do for my 40th birthday, but one of my former students and mentee, Mohammed Abdul-Rahman, suggested that I should write a book. He gave reasons for doing so and even sourced for the relevant resource persons like the publisher and videographer. The thought of writing the book posed an initial challenge but with an authentic approval from my husband, Olayinka Odunbaku, I unenthusiastically accepted. I want Abdul-Rahman for his unwavering support, towards realizing the dream called OMOH.
So far, what has been the challenges?
Challenges have been quite numerous but I confronted all the odds and swam against the tide. The challenges range from having to experience my parents’ breakup, failing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (JAMB-UTME) at first attempt, not studying the course of my choice, to not being able to secure a job after the national youth service. The list goes no. Life indeed is not a bed of roses for it could be difficult. My dad always told me that life is what you make out of it, and I should not leave luck for chance. I understood that probably not early enough though, but in a good time when a lot of people were basing their future solely on chance and miracles, my father taught me to be focused and keep at it. I also identified that we are all unique in our own different ways and I needed to concentrate on my strength and comparative advantage rather than on my weaknesses.
How do you create a balance for the other things that occupy your time?
Apart from my family, work and ‘HerAbility Hub’ I also dedicate a significant percentage of my spare time to girl-child empowerment and advocacy. This gave birth to HerAbility Hub, and thanks to my family and amiable team for ensuring that the dream was actualized. HerAbility Hub is a female community platform whose objective is to empower females to make good life choices through career talks channelled towards mentorship of young female secondary school students, interactive forums to steer critical thinking skills, mentor-pairing for inspiration and real-life sound boards. Again, we focus on complementary civic engagement lessons for desired positive societal change. I have an inherent interest in teenage development, especially the girl-child and the role they play in society. Young people from less privileged backgrounds typically have a disadvantaged head-start, and therefore it is imperative to continually advocate, build capacity and make provisions for positive platforms that allow them to rise beyond the hurdles which typically stall them from maximizing their potentials and attaining their desired professions. Again, I love to spend time with my beloved family, my husband and children. I read a lot as well and try to catch the much-needed rest. It will surprise you to hear that one of my hobbies is sleeping.
How would you assess the performance of the average Nigerian woman today?
The Nigerian woman is the backbone of Nigeria’s economy despite the challenges she faces daily. Go to the market, hospitals, schools, churches, etc. Majority of the workers, staff members and traders are women. The women just need a paradigm shift in their approaches to life, complementing the determination and dexterity with increased formal education. They need emancipation of the mind that they can achieve their dreams and actualize full potentials, rather than having truncated life trajectories due to peculiar challenges and societal norms, bias and stereotypes.
What has life taught you?
In my understanding, there is a lesson for every phase. I constantly remind myself about this: “Focus, there is no limit.” Even when everyone is against you; don’t be against yourself; you need to believe in yourself. I have also learnt that the world doesn’t like outliers, but once they are successful, they are celebrated.
Who do you consider as the greatest influence in your life?
My father- Prince Gabriel Akomoh Yadua. He selflessly extended his values entrenched in empowering others, imparting knowledge selflessness, in all spheres of life to ensure I saw the world for what it is. His resolute commitment in making sure that I never felt like an outlier rather, an enigma is one of the secrets to most of my achievements till date. I make bold to say his legacies will live on, because my siblings and I have founded “The Gabriel Akomoh Yadua Foundation (aka Gabby Foundation) as a Nigerian based non-profit educational organization created in 2021 with the goal of creating an enabling environment for mathematically distinguished students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We have a STEM Laboratory located in Shomolu LGA and it serves as an additional school model to offer a pathway for students to be better prepared for college, career and life. The foundation supports teaching and learning while strengthening the technology skills of students in the incorporation of cooperative learning strategies, authentic assessments, technology integration, and problem-based learning into lesson and unit plans.