LIKE a star Dr. Henrietta Omo Eshalomi of the University of Ibadan, shined brightest recently following her announcement as the winner of the 2022 Rahamon Bello Best Ph.D. Thesis Award in African Studies by the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies (IADS).
Eshalomi, emerged the first female overall winner of the Award now in its third edition, for her Ph.D. thesis, entitled: ‘Delta State Diaspora and the Ramifications of Ethnic Ambivalence for Homeland Development,’ which focused on diaspora remittances.
Her closest rival and first runner-up was Dr. John Uwa of the University of Lagos, for his thesis titled “Transformation and Transmedialities of Nigerian Popular Drama: The Agency of Nigerian Stand-up Comedy,” and Dr. Kehinde Adepegba of Obafemi Awolowo University, was the second runner-up for his thesis titled “Continuity and Change in the Egungun Costumes in Abeokuta, Nigeria.”
The prize money of $1, 0000 went to the overall winner, Eshalomi while the runners-up, Uwa and Adepegba got a plaque and a certificate.
The Delta-born academia, who revealed that the exercise was both arduous and tasking as it took her a record four years and four months to complete, said what informed the topic of her thesis was her desire to change the narratives and nuanced views about her kinsmen living in the diaspora.
“I wanted to do something that was entirely different from the norm. So, I did a pilot study that actually showed that if I was going to do diaspora remittances, I was going to get stuck. So I needed to do something different that would question the status quo. It was more like I was trying to carve a niche for myself. I wanted to make my research count and not just be rated like every other one out there. As such, that inspired me to go the extra mile to find something unique.”
According to her, most Deltans who sojourn abroad do so for many reasons but yet their sense of nostalgia shows in the way they plough back into the homelands by way of boosting socioeconomic activities and so on.
Pressed further, she said, “The award says a lot. It is going to inspire me to do more and I’m going to use the award to negotiate as well as unlock several opportunities that may come my way.”
In the well-attended ceremony held at the IADS Gallery, J. P. Clark Building, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, top management of the varsity including academic and non-teaching staff were on hand to give their imprimatur of support for the award they described as highly reputable globally.
Speaking earlier, in her opening remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of the UNILAG, Prof Professor Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola described the award as very commendable, and urged the recipients to see it as a stepping stone to reach greater heights within the academia and beyond.
Also Prof. Rahamon Bello, the former Vice Chancellor of UNILAG who coincidentally is the precursor of the awards, hailed the recipients for their commitment to research ideas, stressing that by their singular efforts they are contributing their quota to the existing body of knowledge.
Echoing similar sentiments, the Director of the Institute, Prof. Muyiwa Falaiye in his welcome address scored the three recipients high, stressing that they are worthy ambassadors of the varsities they represent.
The Rahamon Bello Best PhD Thesis in African & Diaspora Studies Award was established to promote the development of more in-depth and targeted contemporary scholarship in African Studies that advances the theoretical and practical limits of academic research. Furthermore, the award, endowed by the person for whom it is named, seeks to honour Professor Rahamon Bello, the 11th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos.