I’m fulfilled in my life

Aisha Madawaki Isah (MFR) is a Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Foundation, Faculty of Education and Extension Services, at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDU), Sokoto and also, Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Sokoto. She is happily married to Honourable Abdulkadir Sayyidu Tambuwal, the Grand Khadi of Sokoto State. She has six children and four grandchildren.

I attended Sarkin Kudu Primary School, Gusau, then Government Girls Secondary School Kwatarkwashi, now Unity College Kwatarkwashi. From there, I went to College of Education, Sokoto, now Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto. I did my first degree at UDU and later joined the masters programme. From there, I proceeded to Bayero University, Kano for a PhD, then went to University of Birmingham for a post doctorate programme.

After my first degree, I started as a lecturer with Shehu Shagari College of Education: it was an automatic offer. I later joined School of Business Studies in Bauchi State. From there I came back to join the state Teaching Service Board for a few months before going back to UDU as a lecturer. I was there when Governor Attahiru Bafarawa appointed me Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare. After that tenure, I was given the Sokoto Teaching Service Board to head.

From there, I went back to UDU. I served as the Coordinator of BEd part time programme that had more than 300 courses. It is a tenured appointment, so after my tenure, I was appointed Head of the Department of Educational Foundation. After my tenure, I applied for a sabbatical and I joined the State Basic and Secondary Education Ministry for one year, after which I went back to the university. Presently, I have been called again by the Sokoto State Government to serve as a Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education in Sokoto.

Aaaaah! Very interesting, it is always good to set or break a record; especially in the situation where the northern part of the country; and Sokoto State in particular, is seen as a backward state, and is seen as a state that emphasises boy child education rather than girl child education. So it was surprising for many to see somebody from Sokoto State climbing the ladder to the last stage.

I was the first to attain PhD in Educational Psychology, people were surprised and some asked “Is she really from Sokoto State?” It is an interesting experience, and I must say I thank Almighty Allah and always pray for His guidance.

Not at all: maybe because of the environment. I told you I started as a lecturer with College of Education, Sokoto, from there I moved to School of Business Studies, from there to UDU. So the academic environment is an environment that has a level playing field for everybody, so it has never been an issue. The high expectation from the society: “Let us see how far she can go.” Sometimes you are called upon to talk or to say something or to be involved in an area that is not even yours, so you have to do a thorough homework, but those challenges were really the challenges that enabled me to be who I am and where I am, honestly, I tightened up my belt.

This is not the first time. I was a commissioner in 1999 during Bafarawa’s administration. It was so tasking being the first experience. I had to do a lot of work, do a lot of consultation, getting a lot of advice, doing the homework, how do I handle my ministry and what have you. But from the feedback we have been receiving, at least it was very clear that the performance was just okay. So this second coming will not be a big problem, although it depends on the ministry, but I am sure one would not be taken outside his/her jurisdiction. I believe wherever I am posted to, I am there to serve my people, I am there to serve humanity and whatever I am going to do in that service, I will always have it at the back of my mind that I am a Muslim and there are Islamic principles, rules and regulations guiding your behaviour, and I think with that and with Almighty God by my side, I am sure things will go on very well.

The first I will say is my marriage: it was a big challenge to manage my matrimonial home, my children. You know child upbringing is a serious task. The second is my office. So, they were my challenges.

You need serious prayers, lots of discipline and you need to programme yourself. We thank God I was able to scale through.

I have learnt a lot from people; especially finding myself from academic environment to the political arena; dealing with politicians is not that easy, it is not like in the classroom that you lecture, give notes, questions and what have you. Here you have all sorts of people.

However, I thank God because of my area of specialisation, Educational Psychology, I have gone through the psychological principles, so at least one is able to know how to interact and how to address the people. However, it was really a challenge for me to be able to fix myself, I have learnt that. I have also learnt to be very tolerant because when you are dealing with people, you need to tolerate a lot. I have also learnt to be a good listener, I can stay for a while just listening to you. I also learnt to be very analytical; it is not just after getting a situation, you rush over it, I have learnt to sit down and analyse issues before I finally give my feedback or respond to whatever situation. So I have learnt a lot.

The most rewarding part of my career is what I have achieved so far. When it comes to the academic line, I have climbed the ladder, I have achieved a Ph.D. When it comes to career, I have attained the seat of professor, and when it comes to marriage, I am happily married with six children and four grandchildren. So I will say in all aspects of life, it’s God that I will give thanks to: I am fulfilled. One was given the orientation that you were a woman and the ultimate goal of every woman was to be married. I grew up with that idea. My ambition was that after secondary education I would just move into marriage. The interesting thing that I will share with you is that in our final year, a friend got a form from a friend of hers for admission into the university. You know what! About four or five of us sat her down and called her all sorts of names. We said she wasn’t going anywhere, we took the form and tore it; she is a nurse now. And you would be surprised; she was the first to be married. So honestly, initially, the aim was really to just go into marriage and that was the end of it. However, later you begin to think of contributing your own quota to the development of the society. After secondary education, before WAEC, we were on extension. We had these nurses coming from the School of Nursing, Sokoto. They gave us career talks. That was the beginning of my interest to join the nursing profession. So when I came back, I told my parents what happened in school and that I was interested in becoming a nurse. Fortunately, a sister of mine got a form and they called me for interview and when they asked why I wanted to join the nursing profession, I said it was just because of the uniform. My father did not allow me to join the nursing profession.

Dr. Nadama was then the Provost of the College of Education. He is married to my elder sister. He collected my result from my father. I was given automatic admission because I was had a good result. So it was really Dr. Nadama that pushed me into doing NCE.

At that time, after NCE, you go for National Youth Service. So when I went for NYSC, they posted me to Cross River State, but because I was married, (I got married in the second year of my NCE programme), my husband strove for me to come back to Sokoto to continue with it.

So I did my NYSC orientation there and later joined Nana Girls Secondary School, Sokoto.

At the end of it, based on my NCE result, I was called upon again for a degree programme and I was offered a two-year degree programme by the then University of Sokoto. After the degree, I was motivated again by my result and a friend, Dr. Kulu Haruna.

I gave birth to my second child then and she came to the house. She told me she had just filled the admission form for a masters programme and that very soon the shortlisted names would be out. I said I was interested, but she said I could not be there because it was mandatory to put in two years of service before you proceeded, and I had one year. She had some years of experience that would qualify her to proceed and to be sponsored by the college.

So, she said I could not fill any form until the following year. I told her to keep all her notes for me. As she left, Amina Garba, the present Registrar of Sokoto State University, came. I said, “Amina, you are with the university, I want you to show me that you are really somebody in that university. This your selling of forms that closed yesterday; I want to fill them.” She said it’s not yet over “but can you do it and submit today because today is the deadline.” I said I could. We had not even done the naming ceremony. So, we went out with her, I collected the form, filled it, went to a café and photocopied my credentials. We went back and submitted the form. Surprisingly, when the shortlisted names came out, my name was there.

Kulu Haruna asked how it happened, I said that very day I filled the form, it had not closed, I was fortunate to get the form and fill. She said that was not the end because it was going to the college council and that it was the college council that would do the selection and determine who and who would be sponsored by the college. I was so fortunate, majority of them filled Admin and Planning, I was the only one who filled Educational Psychology.

So when they came, they said these three areas-Science Education, Admin and Planning, Educational Psychology, the college of education was ready to shoulder the responsibility of one teacher per programme.

For Admin and Planning, they had to do screening before they determined who to sponsor, for Science Education the same thing, for Educational Psychology, I was the only one, and they said this was somebody that had been with the college for just one year, so they said I was disqualified automatically, but some said no, “She is the only one, let’s just give her a chance, and we need this. So, you see how it has all been. I went for the masters. After it, I followed my husband to Bauchi; that was when I joined the School of Business Studies.

You know, as somebody that is so much interested in reading and in sitting in the classroom, I was not comfortable with just the teaching I was doing at O levels. So initially I set up a nursery primary school there. Still I was not very occupied; I wanted something that was challenging. I came back to UDU and told them I wanted to go for a PhD. They told me to submit my proposal. I submitted