Lady VC, Prof Ibiyemi Tunji Bello is the current VC of Lagos State University. She is the pretty wife of Mr. Tunji Bello, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello. This amazing woman who attempted to be LASU VC for 5 times before finally scaling through was at the just concluded Arise Women Conference as a special guest where she spoke about all the hurdles she overcame and how her journey to become VC spanned 10 years.
The following are excerpts from her speech at the event.
“I want to thank the Convener, Dr Siju Iluyomade for inviting me here. I thank everyone. My story is something that is worth hearing. I am sure a lot of people have seen and heard in the last 9 months the travails that I have gone through. The topic I am talking about is how I broke the glass ceiling, paving way for other women.
I have a philosophy of life and that is ‘never give up.’
Ladies in the house, never give up on your dreams. Ladies, I have 10 points and I think I will just quickly go through them.
Have a goal from the beginning of your life’s journey, when I came into academia,, when I entered the university, I knew where I was. I was admitted for pharmacology, I wanted to do pharmacy but God said no, and do you know what, BSC Pharmacology at the University of Ibadan was scrapped a year after.
So those of us who were admitted for Pharmacology just put us anywhere. They gave me Physiology and some people were asking me what would you do with Physiology, I said well if to make something out of life of Physiology is to get a PhD, I will get it so I had a goal set, right from the beginning in the university, that I was going to get to the PhD. Level. So that encouraged me, I did not beat about the bush, I was focused and that was why some people will say, she is a very young professor and so on.
Acquire the skill or educational certificate needed for the attainment of your goal which I did. Whatever you have as your goal, please make sure you improve yourself, acquire what is necessary, mine was a PhD. And I made sure I got the PhD. No matter what, even if it means starting from the bottom of the ladder, you have to do so. After my NYSC at the college of medicine at the University of Lagos, I was offered a part-time demonstrator appointment, with a limit of number of hours you can work per week or per month, I did not mind, at least I knew what I wanted, so while I was doing that part-time demonstrator, I was doing my Masters. I did not waste time, I was still focused, I did my Masters, immediately I finished my Masters. I did my PhD. So I used that time to acquire my Masters at the college and as soon as there was an opening, I was asked to apply because I stayed put with them. I was asked to apply and they gave me the position of an assistant lecturer in 1998, and I rose through the ranks, from 1998 to an associate professor in 2005 at the same university.
In a male-dominated world, you have to work twice as hard as your male counterparts. In order not to leave rooms for reasons why you can not to be promoted. And you know in academia, it is either you publish or perish so that means I will have to work extra hard as a mother, as a wife, and also as a scientist, I must be in the laboratory. I must write papers and at the same time, be a mother, do school runs, And also be a wife, make sure the food is ready. So there was a time I sat in the lab one day and I said life is not fair. I was the only female amongst my colleagues and my colleagues were laughing. They said, Yemi you better go and cook for your husband, you know, but it is just that you will have to work twice as much as they do.
Then the god factor is very important, you must love God, you must serve God, you must be able to identify his voice when He speaks to you. And must be able to know that voice and discern it. I listened to a sermon that challenged me, that sermon was “you have stayed too long on this mountain”. That was God telling Moses that they should move to the promise land in Deuteronomy. At that time I was under pressure to come to Lasu, to go to Lasu. They were having problems with accreditation of the medical programmes, they needed a senior person in Physiology, before they could be accredited and I thought that pastor was talking to me. And I decided after that sermon, I was going to apply, that God was talking to me. I knew that sermon was talking to me. I got to Lasu as a full professor in 2007. That was 2 years after I had become an associate professor at the University of Lagos”.
“2007, I became a professor. I was just 43 years old when I became a full professor. And a year later, I was nominated with another professor for the position of Deputy Vice Chancellor of the university, in that same Lasu. If I had stayed in Unilag, I would still be on the queue.
I campaigned vigorously, went to all HODs, the deans and everybody, I went to the 3 campuses, of Lasu, Epe, Ojo, Ikeja and I won by landslide victory, same thing happened, I was renominated again after 2 years, and I won a second term in office and that was when i was the acting vice chancellor. So now, where I am going, never give up. As an acting Vc, I was doing the work i did not know, I was so busy making peace in the university, keeping peace,putting the university forward, i did not know there were some political undertones, so i thought it was going to be natural that I will get a substantive appointment. That was 2011. We applied, I came 2nd, but the person that came 3rd was appointed, I said God knows what He is doing. It is not the right time.
In 2015, since then I have been trying to be a substantive VC, my colleagues went to the other university but because just like I did, during my part-time demonstratorship, I stayed back in Lasu.
I was focused, I said no, this is where God said I should come. I know that God has something for me here so I never applied to any other university except LASU. This is one person you are seeing here, that has done interviews for a VC position 5 times, 10 years of journey, interview of a Vice-Chancellor I think I have broken a record.
2015, I came 3rd. They studied me and provoked me at an interview and I said, you, how can you? I know you now, I was the one that promoted you, I know what I did to promote you, and you are talking to me like that, I fell into their trap, I would have been the first, now because I did very well at the interview, they wanted to stop me from being in the first 3 but as God would have it, I came out 3rd. But of course, the governor appointed the person that came first.
I waited patiently for another 5 years, so I did not apply. So last year, the opportunity came, I applied again, and they said, this woman you should go and sit down, Lasu VC is not for a woman.
And you know what? They schemed and schemed, they told me I will come 4th. That was what they did. I came 4th and men and women rose in protests, ‘we know this woman, we know what she can do’. There were now problems over problems.
We repeated the interview, another time, which was in March so that is my 4th attempt. At that same time, they said she said she does not like the 4th position, we will put her in no 7, so I was in no 7, how are you going to break the glass ceilings? No woman must get there. I have mentors, former and current Vc who were behind me, who said Yemi bring your Cv, this is the way we can do the application that they will not have cause to fault you. They mentored and guarded me and I had one prayer and that prayer was, it is by divine substitution that will move me forward. God let there be a divine substitution.
And God did exactly that, the pro-chancellor was removed, the secretary to the council was removed, and now we had a level playing ground. And when we had the interview, and because I was so determined, I got the best result and the gap was too much, there was no way anybody could fault it. So that is my story. Role of mentors, the role of spouse is important, cooperation. Your spouse is very important if you want to move forward, my spouse allowed me to go all over the country, Africa, world, examining, going for conferences, improving myself and whatnot.
If not for him. I may not be here. If your spouse wants to stop you then you may not attain your goal. He did not stop me, he encouraged me. I don’t think if he had stopped me, I would ever be a VC, so I want to appreciate my governor, he made sure he listened to elders, traditional rulers and all and took the right decision, to God be the glory. I am what I am by the power of our Lord God Almighty. Thank you’.
Let’s take you into her career world.
Prof. Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji-Bello was born in Lagos on the April 23, 1964 to Mrs Jadesola Ibidapo nee Abraham of Ita Kose, Lagos Island and Mr Emiola Ibidapo-Okunrinboye of Owo, Ondo State. She attended Anglican Girls Primary School, Surulere, from 1970 to 1974 and Lagos Anglican Girls Grammar School, Surulere, between 1974 and 1979. She proceeded to Methodist Girls High School, Yaba, and Lagos State College of Science and Technology, Ikosi Campus where she did her “A” levels in 1982.
Prof Olatunji-Bello attended the University of Ibadan where she bagged a B.Sc (Hons) Physiology in 1985. She was awarded MSc Physiology in 1987 at the University of Lagos. She attended a six-month research training at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in the U.S. in 1994, followed with Ph.D in Physiology of the University of Lagos in 1998.
She obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Theology from the Bible College of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in 2001 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education PGDE of the Lagos State University in 2018. In 2012, Professor Olatunji-Bello attended the Course 34 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Kuru, the highest policy advisory body of the Federal Government, as a nominee of the National Universities Commission NUC where she was awarded the certificate as a Member of the National Institute (mni). She was awarded a fellowship of the Physiological Society UK.
Fellow of the Physiological Society of Nigeria and the Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Mitigation.
Prof. Olatunji-Bello rose through the ranks from Assistant Lecturer (1988-1991), Lecturer II between 1991 and 1996, Lecturer I from 1996 to 1999, Senior Lecturer (1999 – 2005), Associate Professor between 2005 and October 1, 2007, all in the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, Idi Araba. She assumed duty as the First Professor of Physiology at the Lagos State University College of Medicine on October 2, 2007.
She has held several professional and administrative positions both at UNILAG and LASU. Until her election as the First Female Deputy Vice-Chancellor of LASU, she was the First Substantive Head of the Department of Physiology, LASUCOM. Other University managerial positions held by Professor Olatunji-Bello include Acting Vice-Chancellor (July –December 21, 2010, January 30 – October 31st, 2011). Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Dec 2008 to December 2010), Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), LASU (November 2011- January 2013, Head, Department of Physiology, LASUCOM (October 2007 to December 2008)
Currently, she is the pioneering Director of the LASU Directorate of Advancement which was established by the Vice-Chancellor Prof Lanre Fagbohun in the year 2016.
She is a member of many professional bodies and she was the first female Second Vice President, Physiological Society of Nigeria, and the First Vice President, also the first female to hold that position up to the year 2019.
Prof Olatunji-Bello was Government representative on the Lagos State University (LASU) Governing Council, 2004 to October 2008 and currently a Senate Representative on the Governing Council of Lagos State University.
She has graduated PhDs and 37 MSc candidates, while still supervising more PhD students. She has over 53 publications to her credit; excluding papers, she has read at both local and international conferences.
Prof. Olatunji-Bello is happily married to Tunji Bello, a journalist and lawyer, and Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, who is a former Secretary to Lagos State Government. They are blessed with children.
Prof. Olatunji-Bello is the Area Pastor in charge of the Testimony Chapel, an area under Lagos Province 1 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
– TAYO OYEDIJI
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