The womenfolk recently drew world’s attention to their plights with the platform offered by the International Day for Women. Groups and advocacy organisations highlighted the need to give equal opportunities to women in every area of life to enable them maximise their potential. For Professor (Mrs) Chinedum Peace Babalola, the journey is still far because only few women are excelling in science and in the boardroom. A professor of Pharmaceuticals Chemistry and Pharmaco-kinetics at the University of Ibadan and currently the Vice Chancellor of Chrisland University, Abeokuta, the recent winner of the African Union/Kwame Nkruma Regional Prize Award for Scientific Excellence is passionate about seeing more women at the top executive level of organisations, doing the same exploits like men. She told our Southwest Bureau Chief, BISI OLADELE, which women should rise above the popular belief that they are only meant to support men and the family and also learn to find a balance as they break the barriers erected by cultural and social beliefs.
Given her simple nature and unassuming mien, Prof. Chinedum Babalola would easily pass as an ordinary woman. Yet, behind her smiles and feminine softness lies a steel will to attain goals in life. Being a woman never stands in her way to becoming exemplary.
Groomed in deep Nigerian culture, Prof. Babalola is a happy wife, mother, academic and mentor to many, breaking real and imaginary barriers to gain fulfillment. Our opening question on her perception about women in African setting elicited her inner being.
She said: “Women, according to some people, are meant to raise a home; they are home makers and it is so difficult to change that mindset.
“But I am not of that school of thought. I’m of the school of thought that we should give more opportunities to women.
“Some are of the opinion that women are second class citizens and they should be treated as such. But I don’t see them as such.
“We have to create more opportunities for them to excel in their chosen careers because they are good managers.
“Women are more intelligent. They are able to multi-task more than men. They manage the home, children, husband and jobs.
“They are home-makers, and so many other things. That’s exactly how their brain works.
“They can do whatever men are doing. The only problem is the structural aspect and physical stuffs. But if it were to be a brain stuff, as in to apply brain to something to make it work, women are better in that aspect than men.
“I actually believe that women can do what men can do. The reason why we have less patronage of women in science and innovation is because some parents still don’t want their female children to study science.
“The older generation people wanted their female children to be teachers, nurses and all sorts. They do not want their children to go for real science.
“It is a mindset that the people were brought up with. That was how it was in the beginning, until recently.
“If women are given support, they can go into science and come up with some of the best inventions.
“Women can be supportive in innovation, in science and technology. They can be supportive in inventing in engineering.
“You can imagine that my husband is not even a professor. He is in the ministry but he supports me. If women are given full support, they will be there.”
She believes that the real reason women are not many in the sciences is the mindset of our people, saying: “We have to change the notion that women must be nurses, secretaries or teachers, hence, no empowerment. There is what is called glass ceiling. You can say I want to break the glass ceiling.
“Women can really do better in science if they have the support, and there’s need to be balanced. As a woman, you must marry someone who understands, you must be ready for home chores, you help each other to be your best.
“I have shopped as I was coming here. Immediately I leave here, I must make sure I cook for my husband. A woman must be able to manage both home and career.”
It may not be commonplace to see women who are successful as wives and mothers win international academic awards. But Babalola thinks it is an area women need to wake up and occupy.
Her words: “African Union set up the award many years ago to recognise those that have performed excellently in various aspects of research, and annually they do call for nominations. I was nominated.
“When you are nominated, you have to present your works, the impact you have made and your research; the key things you have done.
“It is usually scored by top-level scholars in Africa. So, I was privileged to be selected as one of the six winners in 2019, but the award was presented in February this year.
“I have been doing my research since. I have done in pharmaceutical sector and pharmaceutical science. I do research in pharmaco-kinetics, and pharmaco-genetics, in quality assurance.
“I have also worked on African population and I have realised that we are genetically different.
“Many times, drugs development, drug discovery and traial take place in developed countries with other races, and at the end of the day, the drugs are pushed into the marketplace in Africa. Everybody begins to buy it.
“So little is done on drug trial and drug disposition research in Africa. So, I took interest in that – looking at the drug disposition in Africa.
“Just because we are genetically different, if we can know the kind of disposition then we can tailor-make their drug regimen. Someone’s meat is another man’s poison.
“I have done a lot of work on African population, and in African population, we have a lot of variations. Africans are a race that has high variabilities. We have genetic variations, so we need to study drugs in Africa so that we can give them the best.”
As a teacher, Prof. Babalola provides an insight as to the reason many women do not go or stay in science.
She said: “Naturally I came to love science maybe because of my background. My mum was a teacher and she ensured that all of us had love for Mathematics. We had no choice because she was a disciplinarian.
“She used to tell us then that if you know Maths, you will know everything. She was our home work teacher. By the time I was leaving primary school, I was already saying that I would study Maths in the university. So by the time I got to secondary school, I just loved to be a science student.
“I don’t want to believe that women are not coming up in science. I know that the statistics is there in Nigeria, and northern Africa is doing very well. In India, they are doing very well.
“However, in every area, when you get to the executive level, you then see fewer women.
“I don’t know if there are up to 10 women who are vice chancellors. So, at such level, women begin to reduce in number, and that could be linked to our progress rate, which is slower in nature.
“At times you will get married and have children. You cannot throw all those times away.
“Some people are luckier they can have all what they dream to achieve in their 20s and 30s. So, the zeal to go at the same pace with men dwindle at some point in time.
“How many of us are CEOs of companies? When you get to an organisation, you will see so many women. But when it gets to the decision-making level, the boardroom level, It is hard to see women. This has to improve.
“Our girls need to be taught that science is also for them, and that the top is open for everyone that is qualified and willing to make it there. That is the more reason I am promoting women in science.”
The booming medicine (drugs) market in Nigeria is of serious concern for Babalola. As a researcher of over 30 years in Pharmacy, the outstanding academic deplored how Nigeria has handed the huge sector to China and other nations, making the country a mere dumping site for drugs, while the manufacturing nations make humongous money and create jobs for their nationals. For her, Nigeria can redress the ugly trend by taking a number of simple steps.
Her words: “In Nigeria, we import a lot. Eighty per cent of what we use is imported. That is why this coronavirus outbreak will affect us a lot.
“I have secured a grant for research on African drugs discovery. The centre is still functional at the University of Ibadan. It was set to train more people. We are still going to do more of such by the grace of God.
“I’m trying to set up a place where we will be looking at the quality of drugs that are going into the market.
“The way out of drugs importation in Nigeria is to start promoting our local manufacturers. That’s just the only way we can do it, and we can actually achieve it.
“Our people just go to China to produce drugs for malaria and other types of ailments. This is not helpful.
“Part of the problem is also that the cost production here in Nigeria is too high. That is why I always say that power supply alone is okay for us as government achievement. If government can give us sufficient and stable power, Nigeria will be great, everybody will be happy.
“We go abroad, there is always 24-hour power supply. If government can replicate that here in Nigeria, things will be better. Cost of living will be okay – the barbers, the welders, those artisans will be happy to work and they will begin to charge less for their services.
“We need just four things to make Nigeria work. They are power, water, good roads and security.
“Do you know how much our government spends on security? Yet we are not secure. If government provides all of them, people will be happy to pay taxes, and cost of production will be as low as we don’t think of. “As a chief executive of a university in Nigeria, I spend a lot on power on a daily basis, and the power company keeps bringing their bills despite the irregularities in power supply.
“I pay a lot for power, and I still have to generate our own water. To power water is even a problem.
“We should stop importing paracetamol, to start with. Ghana has stopped importing paracetamol since, and they now locally produce their own paracetamol. We can decide and say this must be made in Nigeria.
“Do you know that we have coal and we can get chemical, find amephinol, and we can use it as a starting material for paracetamol?
“We have coal in Enugu. So, it’s taking drastic decisions that importation of such drugs should be stopped.
“Most of the drug industries here are not producing here because of the high cost of production. What they rather do is repacking.
“All the big drug industries have shut down. May & Baker and the likes have gone. Government needs to give more priority to the local manufacturers in order to create jobs and stop importation.
“Nigeria is such a large market that whatever you want to sell, you will sell and make a good profit.
“Government should also reduce taxes for the manufacturing companies. They should make it easier for them to produce.”
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