Her mum was 44 and her dad was 55 when they died. But today, Professor Abiola Awosika-Fapetu the quintessential e-learning expert and daughter of a minister in the first republic of Nigeria has broken the jinx of early death in the family. She clocks 70 on July 28.
She believes living to age 70 is made possible by the grace of God. “I look back at these 70 years and I could not have planned it better than this. There were ups and downs, tears and joy, but all in all, God has been faithful.” She remisced.
Early Years
Awosika-Fapetu had spent her early years in Nigeria before traveling out of the country and eventually coming back home again just like Nehemiah to build the fallen walls of Nigeria’s educational system.
Reflecting on her early years in Nigeria, she says, “ I remember a distinct period between when my dad was alive and after he died. The delineation was very harsh. It was such a dream when dad was alive but things got quickly harsh after he died. Nonetheless, we still had a good time because we were a happy family and our mom, Mrs. Caroline Idowu Awosika made sure we never wanted for anything essential though she took died at 44”
Born to the family of nine children, Awosika-Fapetu had travelled to England for studies and from there moved to the US following instruction by the Nigerian government that students in England should transfer to the home country of their university because it would not recognise degrees from satellite campuses. Then she was in the satellite campus of a school in the US. So she had to move to the US.
In the US she studied till she earned her doctorate. After about five years of working she returned Nigeria only to go back to the US again.
Academic heights
This time she stayed in the academic environment rising from Assistant Professor, to Associate Professor and finally to full Professor.
“As I grew academically, my career as a professor in Christian Higher Education also progressed from Department Chair, to Associate Dean, to Director of the MBA programme and finally to Vice President and Dean of Academics of Montreat College in the United States.”
Being Vice President of Montreat College taught her a great deal about people, and relationships.
She recalled, ‘Some of my best friends till today were my colleagues. That period taught me to be open to learning anything that might benefit my staff and faculty. To put their feelings and well-being first. I learnt everything about educational technology in that position. I never knew how monumentally important that knowledge would be for my future in Nigeria.”
E-learning
It was that experience that came handy when she finally decided to return to Nigeria in 2009.
Upon her return she became one of the pioneers of distant and e-learning in the country.
The same month she arrived, she found out that Obafemi Awolowo University had a need in Education technology that she could meet with the least of her tech skills. That was the beginning of her propagation of e-Learning.
“We were successful in getting OAU, ABU, Babcock, and Covenant University on board. We were able to train hundreds of faculty members in the design and curricular development for such unis as National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)”
The innovation was greeted with scepticism. People were afraid they would lose their jobs. “Some lecturers and professors even felt threatened. Some had laptops but didn’t know what to do with them until we came along.
“Some of the notes we found among faculty members were over 30 years old and so we had to help them develop new ones. With e-Learning permeating the environment now, some of those stories have changed.
“Nigerians learn very fast and so we have seen the story change. Especially with younger lecturers and Professors coming on board. Then thank God for Covid-19, we all quickly realized that there’s a lot we could do with e-Learning technology.”
She believes the future of remote and hybrid education in Africa is already here.
Legacy projects
Since coming back to Nigeria to stay she has established some legacy projects which include Sanctum Start-Up College and Olawoyin Awosika School of Innovative Studies (OASIS) named after her father, Chief Festus Olawoyin Awosika who was a honourable minister in the first republic from Ondo State.
Her father held various offices in education, cocoa marketing board and finance ministry. He was a director of the central bank and actually signed a currency which the children cherish so much.
OASIS which was designed to immortalise the name of her father houses her Innovative Enterprise Institution (IEI) and her e-Learning outfit, and more recently it became a Monotechnic which was approved by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
The schools according to her were created to meet the yawning gap in Nigeria’s educational system. These gaps are the appropriate use of technology and exposure of students to entrepreneurship.
Entreprenuers
She counselled entrepreneurs to be resilient if they truly want to win the fight in the business world. “As entrepreneurs you will fight the government, fight the competitors, and fight the suppliers, even the customers. So you have to be resilient and stay the course.
“Yes there may be times when you may have to exit the business, but it has to be as a very last resort.” She stated.
Faith life
As a trustee of the Army of David Ministries, Awosika Fapetu says her faith is everything to to her. ‘It is the whole of my existence. Even before I gave my life to Christ, the Christian upbringing that I grew up with was authentic. Our mom made sure of that.
“Though we attended a white garment church at the time, our Bishop, Bishop Adeyemi Odutayo taught us expository Bible teaching. He would take a verse and explain it. No cutting and pasting.
“So I had a very strong faith based on a very solid foundation. I consider all my business engagements as a ministry onto the Lord and so that’s how I treat them. I try to lead and live like Jesus would.”
Over the years she has been able to effectively provide a balance for her family, business and spiritual life.
“My balance comes from one source. God. My faith guides everything I do. I guard all my roles jealously. I ask myself what Jesus would do in every situation. I invite the Holy Spirit into every meeting and every conversation.
“When you talk to me in the hallway and ask if you could see me, there and then, I raise a heart of prayers and ask the Holy Spirit to give me a word for you, and He usually does.
Leadership and generosity
She believes generosity plays a major role in leadership . “Any form of service must require a sacrifice. It could be time, money, or any other resources. The same goes for leadership. I try to practice servant leadership. It entails service as such it demands your generosity.”
One of the big questions she has had to answer over and over again was why she returned to Nigeria despite the bright world before her in the US.
She explains “After rising to the position of Vice President and Dean of Academics at Montreat College in North Carolina, and after I had just returned to the US from a holiday in Nigeria, where I saw the need in the education sector, I prayed to God that if He saw that I could be useful in the sector, just as Nehemiah prayed for God to use him to build the walls of Jerusalem, that He should send me back home.
“When He now made it easy for me to return to Nigeria in 2009, I knew why I was here. True to form, He was with me.”
Having interacted with the educational system in Nigeria, she believes things are looking up though not as up to expectation.
Challenges in our educational system
“We still have 15 to 20 million kids out of school. We are still turning out some unemployable graduates. However, many hands are on deck to improve graduate turnout. Internships, trainings, short courses are being offered the graduates to bridge the gap.” She said.
Life at 70
At 70, Awosika-Fapetu says she has had to slow down on her activities. “ I used to travel a lot for projects and training, but not as much anymore. Now I focus on my online teaching with Liberty University in Lynchburg Virginia, as well as OASIS and Sanctum.
“Some days I go to Sanctum school assembly just to see my young ones, then I return home to do online work. Some days I have meetings which are mostly virtual these days. Then I go to Church on Sundays and Tuesdays. I love the weekends in Nigeria! That’s when I enjoy owanbe party! We always have something to celebrate.
One of the scriptures she cherishes most is Philippians 3:10 “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering”
She says, “I have reduced all my prayer requests to that. If I know Him, I can focus on Him and obey Him, everything will be fine because He will make everything work together for my good, whether they started off as good or bad.”
She places a lot of premium on her role as a mother. “I believe God gives us our children to raise for Him. As a result of that, we will give an account of how we raised them. This includes both my biological children as well as everyone whom my life has touched. Every student whose path has crossed mine.”
Looking ahead
Being 70 has also not blurred her vision and capacity to keep going. She is part of a group of people trying to start an Online University. She still has plans to build a permanent site for Sanctum and OASIS! “I still dream and I know God will keep me till I have accomplished those dreams.” She asserts.
She encourages young people to “stay focused. Be persistent! Be resilient. Think about others before yourself.” She counselled.
As she marks 70 on July 28 her desire is to be remembered as a lover of God while also stating that God has been faithful in making her be the person she is today.