Shukurat Olajire
Dr. Bimbo Fafowora completed her PhD in 2020 at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. She is currently a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. In this interview with our correspondent, Shukurat Olajire, she reminisced on her struggles to achieve her educational ambition sharing the outcomes of her PhD work. Here are the excerpts of the interview
AC: Congratulations on your recent feat of achieving a PhD. Could you please tell us about yourself? Thank you. My name is Bimbo Fafowora. I am a researcher. My research interest includes media studies, gender, media literacy, disability and digital inclusion. I am an alumna of The Polytechnic of Ibadan where I obtained a National Diploma in Mass Communication. I also studied at the University of Ibadan where I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degree respectively. I also have a doctoral degree in Journalism from Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
AC: What was the focus of your PhD research and what were the insights from the study?
My PhD research focused on the construction and representation of women politicians in selected national newspapers in Nigeria. The research uncovered some interesting perspectives about the stereotypical representation and marginalisation of women in political leadership positions in the Nigerian media space. The most fascinating aspect of the findings of my study is that socio-cultural gender norms and economic challenges combined with low awareness of the nuances of gender inequality, contribute to the misrepresentation and low visibility of women political leaders in Nigerian media. In addition to this, I also found out that the absence of women in certain key positions within political parties contributes to women’s low visibility in the media sphere. I found it interesting that, despite efforts by international and local non-governmental organisations to create awareness about women’s issues, there is low but gradually increasing awareness among Nigerian journalists about the complex role language plays in the perpetuation of gender stereotypes and inequality. I observed that some Nigerian journalists or media organisations assume that they are gender-sensitive because they have given certain women coverage or have assigned certain pages in their newspapers for the publication of women’s stories. Therefore, they fail to notice that some of the words they use in stories about women or even the type of questions they ask women tend to promote and perpetuate gender stereotypes or gender role dichotomy. So, I concluded in my dissertation that it is important to pay attention not only to increasing the numerical representation of women political leaders in the media, but attention must also be paid to improving the framing of such stories. I consider my doctoral research as an important addition to the efforts of women who seek not only to create awareness about the challenges that Nigerian women grapple with but who also seek ways to attenuate the challenges and close up the gender inequality gap in Nigeria.
AC: From Ibadan to Stellenbosch to Rhodes, could you tell us the story behind this academic career trajectory?
The journey from Ibadan to where I am today is a long and strenuous one but an inspiring one. I would try to summarise it as best as I can. After completing secondary school, it took me about six years to get admission into a tertiary institution in Nigeria. The reason for the delay is still unclear to me because I had a good WAEC result in the first sitting. My JAMB/UTME scores were not bad as well, but I just could not secure admission. Despite my failure to secure admission on time, I did not give up. I kept on applying and trying. At one point, some people thought that I was building a castle in the air. Some people mocked me and gave me various kinds of advice – some told me to go and learn a trade while others told me to go and get married because women become unmarriageable as the beauty of a woman fades with time. Although the malicious advice and snide remarks were painful, they didn’t deter me from trying again and again until I got admission to study Mass Communication at the Polytechnic Ibadan. After obtaining my National Diploma, I had a few unanticipated gap years again before gaining admission into the University of Ibadan through its distance learning programme. The defining moment of my academic pursuit happened during my degree programme. Dr Bisi Olawuyi was the Distance Learning Programme, Departmental Coordinator, at the time when he came across my exam scores while compiling our results. I guess he was impressed by my exceptional performance. So, he called me to the front of the class during one of his lectures and commended me. After that, he told me that I must do a PhD. I just chuckled and thanked him – my life’s plans till that moment did not include a PhD. After my first degree, Uncle Bisi came after me again insisting that I register immediately for a master’s degree. I reluctantly obeyed him and purchased the form. I wrote the entrance exams and was offered admission for a master’s degree programme in Communication and Language Arts. Immediately after my master’s degree, I applied for a few PhD scholarships abroad. Fortunately, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University, South Africa awarded me a scholarship for a doctoral degree programme in the department of Journalism. I have since completed my doctorate and I am currently on a postdoctoral fellowship programme at Rhodes University.
AC: How did you cope with juggling your roles as a mother, wife, teacher, and doctoral student?
I consider myself lucky because I did not need to juggle any of these roles. When I got shortlisted for the doctoral programme, none of the jobs I had was full-time or permanent. So, I couldn’t hold on to any of the positions even if I wanted to. Also, the scholarship’s terms and conditions did not permit awardees to take on paid employment during the duration of the programme. The doctoral degree programme was an in-residence full-time programme that required all the awardees to be fully present on campus for the most part of the programme. So, I did not juggle a lot of things other than the various aspects of my doctoral research work, my personal and spiritual life.
AC: It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. How many people did it take to produce your PhD? What are your words of gratitude to them?
As you said, it takes a village to raise a child. The list of those whose support culminated in the attainment of my PhD is inexhaustive. Almost everyone whose path has crossed with mine has had an impact, either directly or indirectly, on the advancement of my academic career. On a general note, I appreciate everyone whom God has used to make this extraordinary feat possible. Specifically, I want to thank my late father who made me develop a passion for education from a young age, and my mum for her unflinching support and commitment to fulfilling my dad’s desire for me even after his death. Also worthy of appreciation is my uncle, Daddy Sanya Fafowora whose support is unquantifiable.I am also grateful to all my teachers from primary school to the university level, especially my lecturers at the Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan for the defining role they played in shaping my academic journey. I am most indebted to Dr Bisi Olawuyi who did not only discover my potential during my undergraduate programme but also supported and prevented me from chickening out. I am also grateful to Dr Wole Oladapo who encouraged me to apply for PhD scholarship programmes outside the country and also committed himself to sending scholarship links to me without fail. My gratitude also goes to Prof Ojebode and Dr Ojebuyi who taught me research at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels respectively. They were also part of the people who wrote the convincing referral letters that got me the scholarship award. Most importantly, I also owe the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Graduate School, Stellenbosch University immense gratitude for funding my doctoral programme. My PhD supervisor, Prof Lizette Rabe, is also deserving of my deepest appreciation for the tireless and exceptional supervision that led to the timely completion of my doctoral programme and the production of an excellent dissertation. I owe all these people and many more, whom I could not mention in this single space, an immense debt of gratitude.
AC: Moving forward, what is next for you after the PhD?
Currently, I am an academic researcher with a special focus on media studies, however, I hope to venture into other areas like gender advocacy, politics and community development among other things in the future if God permits.