Dr Onyekachi Iroanya, a lecturer and course adviser in the Cell Biology and Genetics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Lagos, interacts with BIODUN BUSARI about how she inspired 14 first-class graduates, among other issues.
How did you find yourself in the academia?
My father, Dr. Iwuoha Aligwewe, was a lecturer. He lectured at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I grew up in the university community. He died when I was 12 years old, but I admired him so much. His office was close to the university’s primary school, which I attended. Once school hours were over, my friends and I would run to his office.
At that time, I fell in love with his personality – how he talked and behaved. However, along the line, I didn’t want to become a lecturer anymore because lecturers were among the poorest in society. They were not well-paid. When I married, I told my husband I wanted to go into business, but he wisely encouraged me to embrace a lecturing job, which was my childhood ambition.
How did he do it?
My husband, Ogbonnaya Iroanya, and I grew up together in the UNN community. He knew what I wanted to do from childhood. Anytime other children sang the song, ‘I’m a doctor in my country’, I always said, ‘I’m a lecturer in my country.’ He told me to obtain my Master’s first at UNN and, after that, I could venture into business. I relocated to UNN because my mother was still alive at the time and living on the campus.
I went with my two kids. My husband stayed back in Lagos but came to check on us every month during the year I spent there. He gave me N1m and said I should not spend it until I finished the Master’s programme. I wanted to impress him and worked very hard. At that time, there was a strike after my project topic was given to me, which gave me enough time to work on it. All the technical laboratory workers were at my beck and call.
This helped me a lot. Before I returned from UNN, he borrowed the N1m he had given me, saying it should be invested in a business rather than lying waste. He said he would give me the profits from the business, and I agreed. He advised, “Why don’t you obtain your PhD, and by the time you finish, you can start your business?”
He added that after my PhD, we could have two more children. He said that because I wanted to have eight children. My husband asked us to practice family planning, and by the time I finished my PhD, I had seen the wisdom in what he said about getting back to what I truly wanted to do.
He just said, “Get it for me. I want you to have it.” He said I would feel fulfilled when people addressed me as ‘Dr (Mrs)’ in the business world or political circle. So, that was how I found myself lecturing. My father was the first driving force, and my husband gave me the support I needed to achieve it.
Did you eventually have eight children?
No. After the procedure, I couldn’t get pregnant again. However, my love for children helped me mentor my students. When I took them in, I was more like a mother hen to them. They called me ‘Mummy’.
What is Cell Biology and Genetics all about?
Every living thing is made up of cells. When you study the biology of a cell, it encompasses every living thing. That’s why we have environmental science, genetics, molecular biology, and the forensic aspect. For instance, some of my work was with road transport workers who had accidents. We wanted to study the expression level of their genes. I also worked on those with prostate enlargements.
What were the secrets to producing two of the best-graduating students among the 14 first-class graduates you mentored?
I think the most important thing for us was passion. You must have a passion for what you’re doing. Another thing is empathy. You must put yourself in the shoes of those you’re dealing with. From the start, I held meetings with them. I told them they were young and could channel their energy into making themselves proud. I also encouraged them with my story because I had gone through thick and thin.
I shared the good, the bad, and the ugly. I told them I didn’t get a first class because I barely graduated with a Second-Class Lower. I let them know that the things people regret most in life are the things they had the opportunity to do but didn’t. I also told them to have a social life but to know their limits. I spoke to them respectfully in a way that they would end up apologising once they realised their mistakes.
I created a bond with them from the beginning. I put them in clusters, and we had WhatsApp groups. There were five or six students in each group. They studied together whatever they were taught the previous day. This helped them. We did this with every group, and everyone participated. It was tiring and time-consuming. I mentored over 80 students.
Some people joined in their second year. By graduation, there were over 100 graduates. When those who couldn’t cope with Medicine or Pharmacy joined, it became even more work for me. At that time, I was dealing with young students who were traumatised. Some of them might have been in 300-level or 400-level but had to start over in the 200-level with a course they never wanted to do. I had to always talk to them.
What exactly did you tell them?
I would tell them my life stories. I would show them my first-degree transcript, and despite my failures, I still amounted to something in life. I encouraged them never to give up because of life’s challenges. We were our brothers’ keepers; we looked out for one another. We encouraged those who were lagging behind. We made the class an interactive one. Some were indigent students with financial issues, and I had to pay their fees.
I gave some a stipend every month. In class, everyone explained things in turn while others listened and asked questions. I would check to ensure everyone was aligned. We also arranged signing for Lab 217. The students stayed together for revision and tutorials, which helped a lot. For my class, we called the 2024 graduating class the Alpha Helix class. There was no competition.
We created a collaborative learning environment where the students were encouraged to work together, share ideas, and learn from one another through group projects, peer reviews, and collaborative assignments. During COVID, I encouraged them to learn crafts. We all did it together.
Every semester, I gave presents to all students who had a CGPA of 4.5 and above. It was the support of everyone, including other lecturers and technical staff. I signed up to get the key to a postgraduate class with many seats, which was underutilised. I would take them there for their tutorials. We worked hard, and God crowned our efforts with success.
How about those who didn’t graduate with a first class?
It was as if the whole class did very well. Some left during COVID, while others travelled abroad. More than half of the class graduated with a Second-Class Upper Division.
Did you feel burdened at any point?
No. When the first-semester results came out, we did well. Some of them were struggling. At that time, I had two people with a 5.0 CGPA. But we kept pushing and supporting one another. You can imagine a class where a parent of a student was ill, and others donated money for the parent. They paid for their colleague’s mother’s hospital bills. There was another time when one of the students fell ill and needed five pints of blood. They came to me and said, “Mummy, let’s go and donate.”
After checks and cross-matching, five people donated five pints of blood. It was more like a family. So, I never felt discouraged or overwhelmed. They gave me comfort. Whenever my mood wasn’t encouraging, they would ask me questions, and I would tell them. They would pray for me, whether Christians or Muslims.
There were many times I would go and fight for their laboratory scores if they were not properly documented or if some of them complained they couldn’t find their scores. The technicians saw me in the lab all the time. Some of them would ask why I didn’t rest. My answer would be that even God, who created billions of people, wouldn’t rest if one of them was missing.
Was that your first time as a course adviser?
I had never done it before. It was my first time. I became a course adviser in the 2018/19 session. I should have been a course adviser earlier, but four of my juniors were appointed before me. However, when Professor Bola Oboh emerged as the Head of Department, she gave it to me. When I got it, I asked God to give me the grace to make it work and impact lives. That’s why I tried my best. I cherished it and the students in my care.
How did your family react to the fact that 14 students under your mentorship graduated with first class?
My children sent me money from abroad. They said, “Mummy, we are really proud of you.” My husband said I really worked hard for it, and God rewarded my sincerity. My children were happy. I often told them how I helped indigent students.
Can you share remarkable storiesof some of these students?
There was a student, Ishaq-Balogun Anisa Oluwatobi, who was a sickler; almost all her exams were done on a sickbed at the Medical Centre. I organised two people – morning, afternoon, and evening – to do revisions with her. She graduated with first class.
There was another student, Otudero Emmanuel. We called him ‘Emmanuel, the Dreamer’. He was on a 2.8 CGPA in his first year, and he graduated with a first class and a 4.58 CGPA. The male and female best-graduating students were from the class. These students, Haroun Adebakin and Blessing Agomu, were among those who went to revise with Anisa.
How do you feel being a lecturer in Nigeria?
It’s actually frustrating; it is the passion for the job that has kept me going. I had my Ph.D. at least 13 or 14 years ago, and with all the increases in minimum wage and the 25 per cent increment, I still don’t earn N400,000 a month. So a take-home salary doesn’t really take you home. That’s why when people talk about ‘japa’, I can’t talk against it. Perhaps I’m still here because I’m not the breadwinner.
What I earn doesn’t matter. My husband still pays my bills, fuels my car, and takes care of some of my needs. I just use my money for charity and other things. I look at the younger ones in the profession and feel bad. I ask how they cope. Some junior lecturers live in Bariga, and at the end of the week, on Friday, after their lectures, they return to Ikorodu, Iyana Ipaja, and even as far as Sango-Otta because they want to survive.
Some live in Badagry, but two rent a room in Bariga to stay there because the salary is meagre. Lecturers in Nigeria are caught between the devil and the devil, not between the devil and the deep blue sea. Anyone who is doing well only has a passion for the job, not for the salary.
So, I want to use this opportunity to plead with our leaders to improve the welfare packages. We are the ones training others. When I go to other countries and tell them I’m a lecturer, they give me respect. But here, we are treated like nothing. I buy my reagents myself. My siblings, my husband, and my children support me.
How many others can get that support? It’s a sad situation. When people talk, I tell them, I’m not a typical example of a lecturer. It’s because my husband is paying the price for leading me to my passion. When I complain to him about money, he just encourages me with whatever he has.
Let me tell you, no professor goes home with up to N800,000. Do you know how many years it takes to become a professor? There are about five or six steps, and each step takes three years. You go through all those steps and become a professor after 20 years.
And yet, you don’t earn up to N800,000. My advice to young lecturers is to just love what they do and give their best with passion. Anyone coming into lecturing should be ready to make sacrifices.
