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Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Until her appointment as the first female rector of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, February this year, Dr. Francisca Unoma Nwafulugo, an engineer, lecturered for 26 years at Kaduna Polytechnic, the largest Polytechnic in Sub-Sahara Africa. She is the chairperson, Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), a division of Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Kaduna chapter and member of so many other professional bodies. She spoke with some journalists when her colleagues hosted her in Kaduna on her road to stardom.
Can you lead us to your career on how you managed to grow to become a female engineer?
It all started when I did my primary school in the 70s and secondary in the 80s. I started my higher education with a polytechnic. I did my National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) at the Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Enugu, Enugu State. After my graduation from IMT, I was deployed to Kaduna for national youth service. After the orientation course, I was posted to Kaduna Polytechnic, Chemical Engineering Department to be precise. And after my service, I was retained in 1993 and that was where my lecturing journey started.
Between that 1993 and now, what has changed about you academically?
Yes, a lot has changed. In my quest for academic excellence, I proceeded to Federal University of Technology, Mina, Niger State where I obtained my post graduate diploma (PGD) in chemical engineering and then, proceeded for masters in the same university and after that, I continued as a lecturer in Kaduna Polytechnic.
After having my masters, and rigorous of activities in the academic sector, I felt there was a need to continue to develop myself. So, in 2008, I enrolled for PhD in Chemical Engineering at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria and I graduated in the year 2014. It has been good for being female among males because engineering in Nigeria seems to be dominated by the male folks. But we want everybody to know that engineering is not a male issue, females are equally competent.
Until your appointment as Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, you are a chief lecturer with Kaduna Polytechnic, the Chairperson of Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) among others, what is the future of engineering especially, with female active involvement?
Our focus in APWEN, which is a division of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), is to bring up female in this field of engineering. We have record of females that have excelled in this profession. As the chairperson of the association, my next focus is to motivate the girl child to study engineering courses. The engineering is not just for the male. To make that happen, we have a lot of events and awareness and most times, we go to girls in secondary schools to advise them, give them career talks because we want to catch them young. We advise them on what to do and how to be focused and determined in order to excel in this field and actually, it has yielded positive results. In my school days, in my class, we were 38 students and 35 were males and 3 females. But, these days, the story has changed; we have a lot of female engineers.
How optimistic are you that your advocacy to females to become engineers will yield expected positive results especially now that some of them believe there role is to get married, raise children and cook for the family?
Actually, we are getting results already. Most ladies felt education ends in the kitchen even when they have got certificates. But that is no longer the case. They have come out to see that they can do well especially in the world of engineering. The main subjects are mathematics and sciences and most of them feel it is so difficult for them to study these courses, but now we have made them realised that it is just by determination. Ladies have come on board in the field of engineering.
As one of the three females of 38 students in your class then, what are some of the challenges that you faced?
It has not been easy coping with the male engineers, because they still have this believe that the field belongs to them. So, when you are with them and you are working with them, they still want to see you as that soft lady. That there are things you cannot handle. They are gender sensitive. They have not really opened their mind to accept that we are all in the field and we can do the same. So it is a problem. Just like you asked about when I was in school, with the ratio of 35 males to three females, it was not easy. Even during assignments, they don’t call us when they are going to do assignments. They thought females cannot cope. They felt we are weak and not as strong as them. But, we were coping in the class. We do some of the assignments in class by ourselves.
The most challenging thing in school was that, the assignments were done in boys’ hostel and we can’t join them. So, we are left alone, just three of us versus 35 males communicating among themselves. So there was communication barrier between us. But God has helped us; these days, the ration is no longer as wide as it was in the past in the classes.
Now that you are about to switch from Kaduna Polytechnic to Federal Polytechnic Oko, what are you taking away from Kaduna Polytechnic that will help you deliver on your mandate over there?
I have worked in Kaduna Polytechnic for 26 years as a lecturer and as such, I have acquired a lot of experiences. I want to tell you that I have been taught and nurtured in Kaduna Polytechnic and I am packed with lots of experiences. So I am going home full and strong to deliver.
Experiences in so many aspects such as academic excellence and administration, as we speak, I am a fellow of Cooperate Affairs Institute of Nigeria. I have served in so many committees both at national and departmental levels. With God being my helper, I know I will cope because I am going with a lot of things. Having lectured for 26 years, I believe I am well experienced.
All these knowledge came from where I worked for close to three decades, relating with students, management and even the union. I have been involved in all these for 26 years in Kaduna Polytechnic and having done my postgraduate degrees in University of Minna and ABU, Zaria, I believe I am well exposed enough to move unto Federal Polytechnic Oko. And you know Federal Polytechnic Oko is having the first female rector this time. This is an old polytechnic. And all this while, there have been male rectors. So, I am coming to be the first female rector there. I know that there will be so many challenges as it will be tasking, but I know God will see me through.
We want to believe you are married. So, how have you been coping with the home and your academic carrier?
Well, I have delivered a paper on managing home and carrier. That paper was borne from challenges and experiences I have passed through. Because, as a woman, I am married to my husband, Princely Nwafulugo, a retired Air Force personnel with whom I have six children. All this while, God has been there for me. I tried to strike a balance. I gave a maximum attention and I am committed to my duty as a lecturer, and I am committed to my home too, I take good care of my children. As a wife and a mother of the home, it was not easy, but I tried to strike a balance and none of them suffered. My children are grown up now.
Is there anyone taking after you among your children?
(Smiles)Well, not many of them are interested, but a lady among them has ambition to become an engineer.
There a lot of cases of building collapse in Nigeria today with latest coming from Lagos and Ibadan, from engineering perspective, what is responsible for this and what can we do to guide against them?
There are so many factors that could lead to that. I know that the design is done by the engineers, but a times, some collapse structures are borne out of corruption. When contractors are given work to do, they want to cut corners and bring substandard materials. In fact, we are trying to come up with something to curtail building collapse because everything boils down to the engineers that are really behind the whole thing. We want to ensure we prevent future occurrence.
What advice do you have for upcoming female engineers?
I want to tell them that engineering is not a man’s work; it is for everybody irrespective of gender. That female can perform better too. I want to encourage them to be strong. Engineers are problem solvers. We go ahead to solve problems in the world and women are the pillars of the home and as pillars of home, I know we will do better. Yes, as women engineer, we will make this nation friendly to all. We are going to do a lot of things to right some wrongs in engineering environment.
