Nazmat Surajudeen-Bakinde, a Nigerian woman, is the vice chancellor of the University of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (USET) in The Gambia, and the first female professor of Electrical/Electronics Engineering at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
By Suleiman Tajudeen
Her leadership acumen and intellectual acuity were noticeable even at a tender age. While a secondary school student at Offa Grammar School, she earned selection as the head girl despite her quiet demeanour. It was the year the Federal Government introduced the 6-3-3-4 system, so she made history by serving as head girl for two years. She combines beauty and brain with the grit common to leaders.
She later attended the University of Ilorin where she studied Electrical Engineering. She was employed by the university as a graduate assistant upon graduation in 2000 due to her strong academic performance. She remained with the university until June this year when she was selected for the two-year Technical Aid Corps (TAC) programme to The Gambia.
Professor Nazmat Surajudeen-Bakinde has been a valuable resource to Unilorin where she rose to become a professor, head of department and occupied several leadership positions. While at the university, she did her Masters in Electrical Engineering and her PhD at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom in 2010.
Prof. Bakinde has attended several academic and capacity-building workshops in the United States and France, among others, and always seemed ready to take on more demanding leadership roles in the academia, as the one she now holds in The Gambia.
While speaking to The Whistler about her participation in the TAC programme, she revealed that a friend sent her the advert and encouraged her to apply.
“I was contacted by a colleague who is currently in Saudi Arabia. She sent the advert to me and encouraged me to apply because they were looking for a professor of electrical engineering,” she said.
“I applied but didn’t take it seriously. I applied online but they did not acknowledge my application. Someone suggested I should also send a hard copy but I was not interested. But my daughter did it and sent it to Abuja by courier. I just received a call one day that I have been selected for the position I applied for, and that’s it.”
Prof. Bakinde was among five professors and 11 other academics who were recruited for the University of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (USET) in The Gambia by the Directorate of Technical Aid Corps under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
They were recruited to help set up a college of science and engineering for the university under a World Bank sponsorship. The institution, the second public university in the country, only started operations four years ago, taking off from the structures of a technical college.
Prof. Bakinde left Nigeria for The Gambia in June this year after fully discharging herself from her various roles at the Unilorin.
When she and the others got to The Gambia, they started teaching and helping the university develop policies and programmes for a college of science and engineering. She and the other professors taught for three months before they were invited for “a discussion” by the chairman of the governing council of the university.
“They told us they wanted to fill the Vice Chancellorship, Deputy VC, Rector and other positions. The chairman of the governing council approached us and told us they will interview us for those positions. Five of us were invited and they did not tell us what positions we were being interviewed for. That was on 24th August,” she narrated.
After the interview which dwelled on general academic issues, she was informed she had been appointed as the substantive vice chancellor of the university! Three other professors were also appointed namely: Prof. Ado Yusuf Abdulfatah, DVC (Academic); Prof. Akinlabi Oyetunji, Director, Research and Grants and Prof. David Terfa Gundu, Director, Academic Planning & Quality Assurance.
On why she was selected to be the VC out of five professors, she said: “Well, I don’t know how to answer this. But let me say that I’m someone who believes that anything that is worth doing is worth doing well.”
She stated further: “When they called us for the interview, they actually said they were inviting us for a discussion, not an interview. I told a mentor of mine in Nigeria about it and he advised that I should prepare my statement of vision and mission for the university.
“He also conducted a mock interview for me. So, I went for the discussion armed with what I planned to do. We had been in The Gambia for about three months before they interviewed us for those positions. So, I tried to align my vision with that of the school and The Gambia.”
Prof. Bakinde also leveraged on her international exposure. “We knew what they had, what they were lacking and what they needed. I have also had the opportunity to travel to countries like the United States, France for capacity building in higher education. So, I think those were the things they were looking for because they were just asking general questions. They also asked me that if I was appointed VC, what would I do for the institution.”
The appointment is for two years, and it’s renewable. But her immediate ambition is to ensure the completion of the university’s permanent site and the installation of necessary equipment for the workshops and laboratories.
“The vision and mission of this university is to graduate engineers that have entrepreneurship mindset,” she stated, adding that the institution has different technical and vocational centres to train students and give them skills.
“By the time they complete the permanent site of the school, we will install all necessary equipment and hire suitable human resources. We want our products to be useful to the society and be able to solve some developmental problems for the people. We can make innovative products that can be sold to the outside world to be able to generate funds for the institution. The goal is to produce graduates that are globally competitive.”
Though she described her job as “enormous responsibilities”, she seemed to have adapted well to her new environment. “We thank God we’re settling down well. The environment is not totally different from Nigeria. I just feel as if I’m in the northern part of Nigeria. But the weather can be very hot.”
Balancing the demands of academic rigours and family life is not an easy task for many. But Prof. Bakinde has been doing this admirably, thanks to a supportive family that include “an amazing husband.”
“My husband has been a constant pillar, and having family members to fall back on during challenging times has made a world of difference,’ she said.
“One of my guiding principles has always been to ensure that my kids come first. This often meant they accompanied me to meetings or work. While I was busy, they would sit in the car or in my office, doing their homework or watching a movie. It wasn’t the traditional route, but it worked for us, and it kept them close.
“I also recognised the importance of getting help where I could. Domestic help with chores eased my load, allowing me to focus on my family and academic responsibilities without burning out. While this balance hasn’t always been perfect, I am grateful to Allah for His continuous support and for the amazing people around me.”
Prof. Bakinde did not give an emphatic answer when asked if she would renew her appointment after completing the two years. She however said she’s focused for now on achieving her vision for the university.
Before she departed from Unilorin, she was actively involved in teaching, research and administrative duties. She has served as Level Adviser, Exam Officer, Head of Department, and Assistant Director, Centre for International Education. She equally served as an Accreditor for COREN for the accreditation exercises of engineering programmes across the country.
She was also a member of the Evaluation Committee for the Telecoms-Based Research Proposals submitted to the Nigerian Communications Commission, Abuja. She has almost a hundred publications in reputable journals, edited conference proceedings and chapters in books.
She has equally won a number of research grants in her research groups, and she is a member of many professional bodies within and outside Nigeria.
Culled from The Whistler.
