A former presidential candidate, Prof Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, speaks to TOBI AWORINDE on her motivations for joining politics after several decades in academia
You were born on October 15, 1962 in Ira, Kwara State. What was your childhood like?
Childhood was quite interesting. I grew up in a nuclear family with seven children. I attended Saint John’s Primary School, Ilorin, Kwara State and finished in 1974. From there, I went to Saint Clare’s Grammar School Offa, Kwara State, where I graduated in 1979. St. Clare’s was quite interesting. It is a girls’ school, so we had to act both as boys and girls, playing double roles. It was quite demanding. Our Principal, the late Mrs Felicia Bello, was a great role model and a woman of great character.
What was very interesting about my life when I was about 12 years old was joining the Scripture Union (Fellowship of Christian Students) because my parents were Baptist deacons, so church and prayer meetings were compulsory in those days. So, I found myself in the SU early in life. Looking back today, it set a pace for my life because when others were doing ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ stuff, I faced my studies. It was not just part of my lifestyle because of the FCS background. It’s all we had, and all that made and moulded us.
What moments defined your years as a pupil?
I was in Saint Clare’s at 12 years old, spent five years there. The moment I enjoyed most was my experience of being a born-again Christian and choosing a standard of living that helped me to concentrate on God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ. That led to my academic life choice, as I just concentrated on my studies. But in Form Five, I was sick. It was during the rainy season and I had to retake my examination at Queen Elizabeth Secondary School, Ilorin. I wasn’t in school for one year, so after working as a receptionist at Philip Morris Nigeria Limited, Ilorin, Kwara State, I went back to Queens School for one year where I retook my West African Senior School Certificate Examination. I had good grades with seven credits. It was a very good result –mostly A’s – and then I passed my University Matriculation Examination (now Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination) and ended up at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Osun State in 1981 and graduated in 1985.
What event at that time of your life do you think most influenced your decision to become an academic?
I really didn’t plan to be an academic, although my parents were teachers. I liked the lifestyle of teachers because we had a great family while I was growing up. I considered having a nursing career in those days. I loved their white uniform. I was a science student but my mum discouraged me from doing that. She said, ‘You don’t like things that are dirty. You can’t work in a hospital environment. I know you more than you know yourself, and I would like you to be a teacher.’ So, I agreed.
You earned a B.A (Combined Honours) in English and Yoruba. Why did you study that?
I actually applied to study Fine Art at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, but my acceptance letter arrived late and you had to also do an interview to get admission to read Fine Art. So, by the time I got to ABU, Zaria by flight, they said since I missed the interview, there was nothing they could do about it. It was time to go to my second university of choice, which was Ife. So, I did. I was at University of Ife, African Studies, Faculty of Humanities. That was where I opted for Yoruba Studies, in combination with English and, in four years, I had combined honours in English and Yoruba. And looking back now, I have no regrets that I didn’t study Fine Art. It’s part of me and has remained my hobby. I still like to draw at leisure but now I’m involved in linguistic studies.
What extracurricular activities were you engaged in on campus?
I participated in a lot of extracurricular activities, both spiritual and physical – FCS and sports, in those days. I was slim and trim, so I did long-distance running. I didn’t do the short distance; anything that was painstaking and long was my stuff. Nobody competed with me in long jump. I also loved singing. I was in the choir – the FCS choir in school. I was also in the Ambassadors for Christ Singers. I liked writing and reading. I liked speaking and listening. I liked communication skills; I loved to listen to stories. I knew one day, I was going to become a pastor and start a church because I was very functional in the Scripture Union. Today, I like swimming very much.
You obtained your master’s degree in English Language from the University of Ilorin, Kwara State in 1987, a postgraduate diploma in English Education in 2000, as well as a doctorate in Linguistics and Communication at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria in 2003. How did you juggle all of that with your personal life?
Yes, I obtained a first degree in English Language with option in Applied Linguistics at UNILORIN in 1987. By then, I was in courtship – so juggling it was not so easy because there was a choice between going for a PhD after the master’s or getting married. So, I opted to get married first in 1988. The reason was that my parents had a very happy married life, so I’d always looked forward to being like my mother and having a great home, so I was not ready to continue with a PhD without getting married first. I started having kids from 1989. When I started the PhD, it was a bit hectic with the family and raising kids. Today, all the kids are grown. God saw me through. Immediately after I’d defended the PhD, I just opted for the PGDE. It was quite interesting and I am happy I did because I became a professional teacher, not just by experience but by training, and the postgraduate diploma in UNIPORT was a very rich programme.
As an educator, what are your thoughts on the level of unemployment in the country?
The problem of unemployment in Nigeria is a very serious one and, of course, I can attest to it because I have watched so many students graduate from the university as a lecturer, in the past 35 years. Whenever I see my former students years later, I keep asking them, what are you doing now? Most of them answer, ‘Nothing.’ They are jobless and this is quite disturbing. So, the problem of unemployment in Nigeria is a scary one. Students graduate year in, year out and they do nothing. So, I think it is an issue in our society that we need to seriously manage. We need to plan and project into the future and plan how our students could be employed. That is why I believe in a curriculum that is not just science and art-driven but commercial, technical and computer-driven. We need to give them skills and teach them what they can do with their hands, in addition to books.
We need a functional approach in our educational system that will help them secure jobs, be self-employed or even be innovative and creative to do things by themselves, get them employed, in addition to the government or the state giving them white-collar jobs. The countries of the world are deviating from the search for white-collar jobs. For instance, in those days, I got a job at Kwara State College of Technology, Ilorin to teach, immediately after my master’s degree, before I was off to Rivers State College of Education to continue my career, so I never had to look for jobs. But in today’s Nigeria, it is not so. And that is the problem, especially for those in education. Work should be waiting for them as university graduates; that’s the Nigeria we look forward to having by the grace of God.
What is the ultimate solution to the incessant strikes that have plagued tertiary institutions for decades?
Ultimately, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has not been happy with the government over the years for several reasons – from ‘give us university autonomy’ to ‘support the students with enough facilities to improve on our salaries’ and several problems like that. Some of the agreements with the Federal Government in five years have still not been met. It’s been all about promises after promises. I think the Federal Government, for instance, can put the fixing of education on its priority list in the national budget. These incessant strikes – like the one we have now – could now be managed. But when the government keeps making promises and failing and does not place education on its list of priorities, there will be no solution to the incessant strikes.
What is your response to the Federal Government saying ASUU members should consider farming as a profession?
The Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has actually urged members of the ASUU to leave the teaching profession and consider going into farming, stressing that more farmers are needed in the country. I think the statement is disrespectful and he should first live by example by resigning his job to become a farmer too. How would you advise lecturers in the departments of medicine, engineering, accounting, etc., to go into farming? These are senior lecturers, associate professors and professors of over 30 years’ service in the ivory towers. Maybe he should be reminded that the universities also have faculties of agricultural sciences with Animal Science, Crop Science, Soil Science, etc., where professional farmers are being trained. Remarkably, he added that the Federal Government has shown commitment to ASUU’s demands, acknowledging that the union has the right to express itself and make demands. The minister noted that up till July 2020, all academic staff had been paid salaries. But ASUU members’ salaries were actually withdrawn initially, unfortunately, over time.
What led you to join politics?
It’s by destiny, venture and determination. My late father was a politician as a teacher in the 60s. I learnt he was the secretary for his party, National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons, at home in those days. By 1966, our family house was set on fire because of his involvement in politics. I learnt I was a young child left inside the house they had set on fire, but they finally smuggled me out, so my dad used to tell us not to venture into politics as he did. But it was already in the blood!
Today, I watch the large society from my quietness of the ivory towers and wonder what I can contribute to make a change in practical terms, in addition to holding the chalk. Teaching in the ideal academic society is quite the opposite of participating in politics. I feel like, one day, I’m going to go out there to correct some of the ills in our society. That’s my greatest challenge and concern to date. I think the large society needs teachers, lecturers, professors, professionals and technocrats. I think I owe a lot to Nigeria and deserve to pay the nation back. Recently, when there was a call for constitutional review by an ad hoc committee, I picked up my pen and wrote. I have since submitted over 20 positional papers towards the constitution review. I am concerned about Nigeria getting it right as a country.
Why did you decide to run for president in 2015 and 2019?
I was determined in 2015 to run for president as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. But former President Goodluck Jonathan became a consensus candidate and so I didn’t run because we had a consensus candidate in the person of then President Jonathan, who was my colleague at Rivers State University of Education, where he lectured for 10 years. I’ve remained there for 32 years. So, in 2015, I didn’t pick the form again to run, though I had thought 2015 would be strategic for me, especially as Dame Patience Jonathan had invited every woman who was interested in the 2015 elections for a meeting at Presidential Villa. My birthday was on October 15 and she invited us on October 15. Also, President Muhammadu Buhari declared his intention to run for president on my birthday. I just said, ‘Okay, delay is not denial. I’m going to try again in 2019.’ It was an audacious bid as I left PDP for Mass Action Joint Alliance, where I finally got the presidential ticket. I give all the glory to God for the moves. And I have still not given up as I hope to be Nigeria’s first female president one day.
How do you respond when people express doubts about a woman becoming Nigeria’s president?
I remember when I decided to contest the election, I chatted with Mama Peace (Patience Jonathan), former President Jonathan’s wife. She expressed doubt that a woman would get the ticket of the PDP. I had also spoken with Dr. Sarah Jibril, who was the first woman in Nigeria to contest to become Nigeria’s president and what Mama Sarah said and did to me was quite interesting. She just handed over her PDP Aso-Oke (fabric) and everything else from the PDP and said to me, ‘I am 70 years plus now. I don’t intend to contest again, but my prayer follows you. I have paid my dues by contesting like three times, so if any female president will emerge in Nigeria, it will be from our state, Kwara.’ I was very encouraged. She said, ‘Why not go for it?’ So, I never had people who asked me that question, ‘Why are you contesting the presidential election?’
The last president of Liberia was a female and if Liberia could have a female president, Nigeria too can. I use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that I’m still interested in becoming Nigeria’s president. I think it’s time for a female president in Nigeria. Moreover, it was quite exciting that I got the 2019 endorsement of the National Association of Nigerian Students for the presidency.
When it’s time to empower the youth and impact the children, then it’s time to give power to their mother. Power to the woman is power to them all. So, to our fathers, I will also say they’ve tried enough like I said during my campaigns, Nigeria is 60 years old and the men have governed for 60 years; it’s time to give women a chance. It’s time for a female president in Nigeria and I’m ready to present myself for that.

A former presidential candidate, Prof Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, speaks to TOBI AWORINDE on her motivations for joining politics after several decades in academia
You were born on October 15, 1962 in Ira, Kwara State. What was your childhood like?
Childhood was quite interesting. I grew up in a nuclear family with seven children. I attended Saint John’s Primary School, Ilorin, Kwara State and finished in 1974. From there, I went to Saint Clare’s Grammar School Offa, Kwara State, where I graduated in 1979. St. Clare’s was quite interesting. It is a girls’ school, so we had to act both as boys and girls, playing double roles. It was quite demanding. Our Principal, the late Mrs Felicia Bello, was a great role model and a woman of great character.
What was very interesting about my life when I was about 12 years old was joining the Scripture Union (Fellowship of Christian Students) because my parents were Baptist deacons, so church and prayer meetings were compulsory in those days. So, I found myself in the SU early in life. Looking back today, it set a pace for my life because when others were doing ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ stuff, I faced my studies. It was not just part of my lifestyle because of the FCS background. It’s all we had, and all that made and moulded us.
What moments defined your years as a pupil?
I was in Saint Clare’s at 12 years old, spent five years there. The moment I enjoyed most was my experience of being a born-again Christian and choosing a standard of living that helped me to concentrate on God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ. That led to my academic life choice, as I just concentrated on my studies. But in Form Five, I was sick. It was during the rainy season and I had to retake my examination at Queen Elizabeth Secondary School, Ilorin. I wasn’t in school for one year, so after working as a receptionist at Philip Morris Nigeria Limited, Ilorin, Kwara State, I went back to Queens School for one year where I retook my West African Senior School Certificate Examination. I had good grades with seven credits. It was a very good result –mostly A’s – and then I passed my University Matriculation Examination (now Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination) and ended up at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Osun State in 1981 and graduated in 1985.
What event at that time of your life do you think most influenced your decision to become an academic?
I really didn’t plan to be an academic, although my parents were teachers. I liked the lifestyle of teachers because we had a great family while I was growing up. I considered having a nursing career in those days. I loved their white uniform. I was a science student but my mum discouraged me from doing that. She said, ‘You don’t like things that are dirty. You can’t work in a hospital environment. I know you more than you know yourself, and I would like you to be a teacher.’ So, I agreed.
You earned a B.A (Combined Honours) in English and Yoruba. Why did you study that?
I actually applied to study Fine Art at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, but my acceptance letter arrived late and you had to also do an interview to get admission to read Fine Art. So, by the time I got to ABU, Zaria by flight, they said since I missed the interview, there was nothing they could do about it. It was time to go to my second university of choice, which was Ife. So, I did. I was at University of Ife, African Studies, Faculty of Humanities. That was where I opted for Yoruba Studies, in combination with English and, in four years, I had combined honours in English and Yoruba. And looking back now, I have no regrets that I didn’t study Fine Art. It’s part of me and has remained my hobby. I still like to draw at leisure but now I’m involved in linguistic studies.
What extracurricular activities were you engaged in on campus?
I participated in a lot of extracurricular activities, both spiritual and physical – FCS and sports, in those days. I was slim and trim, so I did long-distance running. I didn’t do the short distance; anything that was painstaking and long was my stuff. Nobody competed with me in long jump. I also loved singing. I was in the choir – the FCS choir in school. I was also in the Ambassadors for Christ Singers. I liked writing and reading. I liked speaking and listening. I liked communication skills; I loved to listen to stories. I knew one day, I was going to become a pastor and start a church because I was very functional in the Scripture Union. Today, I like swimming very much.
You obtained your master’s degree in English Language from the University of Ilorin, Kwara State in 1987, a postgraduate diploma in English Education in 2000, as well as a doctorate in Linguistics and Communication at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria in 2003. How did you juggle all of that with your personal life?
Yes, I obtained a first degree in English Language with option in Applied Linguistics at UNILORIN in 1987. By then, I was in courtship – so juggling it was not so easy because there was a choice between going for a PhD after the master’s or getting married. So, I opted to get married first in 1988. The reason was that my parents had a very happy married life, so I’d always looked forward to being like my mother and having a great home, so I was not ready to continue with a PhD without getting married first. I started having kids from 1989. When I started the PhD, it was a bit hectic with the family and raising kids. Today, all the kids are grown. God saw me through. Immediately after I’d defended the PhD, I just opted for the PGDE. It was quite interesting and I am happy I did because I became a professional teacher, not just by experience but by training, and the postgraduate diploma in UNIPORT was a very rich programme.
As an educator, what are your thoughts on the level of unemployment in the country?
The problem of unemployment in Nigeria is a very serious one and, of course, I can attest to it because I have watched so many students graduate from the university as a lecturer, in the past 35 years. Whenever I see my former students years later, I keep asking them, what are you doing now? Most of them answer, ‘Nothing.’ They are jobless and this is quite disturbing. So, the problem of unemployment in Nigeria is a scary one. Students graduate year in, year out and they do nothing. So, I think it is an issue in our society that we need to seriously manage. We need to plan and project into the future and plan how our students could be employed. That is why I believe in a curriculum that is not just science and art-driven but commercial, technical and computer-driven. We need to give them skills and teach them what they can do with their hands, in addition to books.
We need a functional approach in our educational system that will help them secure jobs, be self-employed or even be innovative and creative to do things by themselves, get them employed, in addition to the government or the state giving them white-collar jobs. The countries of the world are deviating from the search for white-collar jobs. For instance, in those days, I got a job at Kwara State College of Technology, Ilorin to teach, immediately after my master’s degree, before I was off to Rivers State College of Education to continue my career, so I never had to look for jobs. But in today’s Nigeria, it is not so. And that is the problem, especially for those in education. Work should be waiting for them as university graduates; that’s the Nigeria we look forward to having by the grace of God.
What is the ultimate solution to the incessant strikes that have plagued tertiary institutions for decades?
Ultimately, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has not been happy with the government over the years for several reasons – from ‘give us university autonomy’ to ‘support the students with enough facilities to improve on our salaries’ and several problems like that. Some of the agreements with the Federal Government in five years have still not been met. It’s been all about promises after promises. I think the Federal Government, for instance, can put the fixing of education on its priority list in the national budget. These incessant strikes – like the one we have now – could now be managed. But when the government keeps making promises and failing and does not place education on its list of priorities, there will be no solution to the incessant strikes.
What is your response to the Federal Government saying ASUU members should consider farming as a profession?
The Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has actually urged members of the ASUU to leave the teaching profession and consider going into farming, stressing that more farmers are needed in the country. I think the statement is disrespectful and he should first live by example by resigning his job to become a farmer too. How would you advise lecturers in the departments of medicine, engineering, accounting, etc., to go into farming? These are senior lecturers, associate professors and professors of over 30 years’ service in the ivory towers. Maybe he should be reminded that the universities also have faculties of agricultural sciences with Animal Science, Crop Science, Soil Science, etc., where professional farmers are being trained. Remarkably, he added that the Federal Government has shown commitment to ASUU’s demands, acknowledging that the union has the right to express itself and make demands. The minister noted that up till July 2020, all academic staff had been paid salaries. But ASUU members’ salaries were actually withdrawn initially, unfortunately, over time.
What led you to join politics?
It’s by destiny, venture and determination. My late father was a politician as a teacher in the 60s. I learnt he was the secretary for his party, National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons, at home in those days. By 1966, our family house was set on fire because of his involvement in politics. I learnt I was a young child left inside the house they had set on fire, but they finally smuggled me out, so my dad used to tell us not to venture into politics as he did. But it was already in the blood!
Today, I watch the large society from my quietness of the ivory towers and wonder what I can contribute to make a change in practical terms, in addition to holding the chalk. Teaching in the ideal academic society is quite the opposite of participating in politics. I feel like, one day, I’m going to go out there to correct some of the ills in our society. That’s my greatest challenge and concern to date. I think the large society needs teachers, lecturers, professors, professionals and technocrats. I think I owe a lot to Nigeria and deserve to pay the nation back. Recently, when there was a call for constitutional review by an ad hoc committee, I picked up my pen and wrote. I have since submitted over 20 positional papers towards the constitution review. I am concerned about Nigeria getting it right as a country.
Why did you decide to run for president in 2015 and 2019?
I was determined in 2015 to run for president as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. But former President Goodluck Jonathan became a consensus candidate and so I didn’t run because we had a consensus candidate in the person of then President Jonathan, who was my colleague at Rivers State University of Education, where he lectured for 10 years. I’ve remained there for 32 years. So, in 2015, I didn’t pick the form again to run, though I had thought 2015 would be strategic for me, especially as Dame Patience Jonathan had invited every woman who was interested in the 2015 elections for a meeting at Presidential Villa. My birthday was on October 15 and she invited us on October 15. Also, President Muhammadu Buhari declared his intention to run for president on my birthday. I just said, ‘Okay, delay is not denial. I’m going to try again in 2019.’ It was an audacious bid as I left PDP for Mass Action Joint Alliance, where I finally got the presidential ticket. I give all the glory to God for the moves. And I have still not given up as I hope to be Nigeria’s first female president one day.
How do you respond when people express doubts about a woman becoming Nigeria’s president?
I remember when I decided to contest the election, I chatted with Mama Peace (Patience Jonathan), former President Jonathan’s wife. She expressed doubt that a woman would get the ticket of the PDP. I had also spoken with Dr. Sarah Jibril, who was the first woman in Nigeria to contest to become Nigeria’s president and what Mama Sarah said and did to me was quite interesting. She just handed over her PDP Aso-Oke (fabric) and everything else from the PDP and said to me, ‘I am 70 years plus now. I don’t intend to contest again, but my prayer follows you. I have paid my dues by contesting like three times, so if any female president will emerge in Nigeria, it will be from our state, Kwara.’ I was very encouraged. She said, ‘Why not go for it?’ So, I never had people who asked me that question, ‘Why are you contesting the presidential election?’
The last president of Liberia was a female and if Liberia could have a female president, Nigeria too can. I use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that I’m still interested in becoming Nigeria’s president. I think it’s time for a female president in Nigeria. Moreover, it was quite exciting that I got the 2019 endorsement of the National Association of Nigerian Students for the presidency.
When it’s time to empower the youth and impact the children, then it’s time to give power to their mother. Power to the woman is power to them all. So, to our fathers, I will also say they’ve tried enough like I said during my campaigns, Nigeria is 60 years old and the men have governed for 60 years; it’s time to give women a chance. It’s time for a female president in Nigeria and I’m ready to present myself for that.