Nigeria will prosper if women are given leadership positions – UNICAL VC, Prof. Obi

Prof. Florence Obi, Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar (UNICAL),  believes that putting women in positions of leadership will bring more beneficial developments in Nigeria.

Obi made the remarks on Saturday in Calabar during the First National Conference and Roundtable of the Association of Female Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two-day conference, which started on Friday, has the theme: “Female Leadership in Higher Education Governance: Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges”.

She said that as the nation elects two or three female governors, everyone would see the difference, adding that women are good managers of human and material resources.

The Vice-Chancellor said that she was not referring to women who lacked capacity, but those who merited the opportunity but were discriminated against because of their gender.

According to her, the conference becomes necessary for them to mentor young women in education governance and also encourage them to aspire to any position they desire in academics, politics and other spheres.

“Higher education governance has been in the hands of men since the days of University College, Ibadan, and as at today, only about 40 women have been allowed to lead institutions of learning, since the inception of university education in Nigeria.

“From inception, we have had close to 500 or more men head such institutions. So, now that for the first time, we are having 24 women serving as vice-chancellors, we taught it wise to mentor other women to aspire for greatness,” she said.

Obi said that being a female leader in a Nigerian university came with peculiar challenges, as some men did not believe that a woman should be on top.

Obi said that they would also use the opportunity to network among themselves, which would open up more opportunities for the women.

On her part, Prof. Lilian Salami, the Chairperson of the conference, said that women are dogged and gradually many organisations were picking women to head.

Salami, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin (UniBen), said the conference would also serve as a ground where women in academics get encouraged.

She said that sharing experiences was a significant method in mentoring more women to aspire to get to the peak of their educational pursuits.

“We will share experiences to help other women surmount their challenges in their institutions.

“The communique of this conference will not just end on the shelves, but will be used for the development of the nation’s universities,” she said.