Women and Power: Education, Religion and Identity

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements I thank the Scientific Committee of the 2003 Advanced Research Fellowship Programme of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and the Executive Committee of CODESRIA for their approval of, and support for the research reported in this book. I also thank Virginie Niang, who did not fail to respond to my endless inquiries and pestering, and the editorial team and members of staff of the CODESRIA Publications Unit. I am grateful to Grace Itanyin (then of the Kogi State University, Ayangba), Jumoke Odeyemi (then of the University of Ibadan), Bukola Akinwale (formerly of the Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye), and Bola Olorunyomi (of Information Aid Network, Ibadan) who were my research assistants at different times in the course of the research. They were all enthusiastic about the research. Grace and Jumoke were adept at retrieving information from semi-literate women, and Grace also displayed expertise in the way she coordinated the focus group discussions that were held in Lokoja. To all the women and men who availed time to supply the data needed for this work, I say thank-you. Many of the respondents I met did not just provide data about themselves, their work and their world; they also provided leads to other sources of data because they were very much interested in the study and, ultimately, we developed friendship. Even some of the religious leaders in Lokoja who had initially viewed my mission with suspicion eventually became friendly and were extremely helpful. I thank the authority of the Kogi State Polytechnic in Lokoja, and the top hierarchy of the Kogi State Civil Service and the Oyo State Ministry of Establishments and Training for making data collection in their establishments easy. I am grateful to the authority of the Development Resource Centre at the Old Market in Lokoja and the leaders of the Tailors’ Association in Bodija Market in Ibadan for allowing the use of their offices for some of the focus group discussions and interviews. From the bottom of my heart, I thank my friends and colleagues, whom I also regard as my sisters and brothers, for their critical comments and suggestions in respect of the research reported on here, for their moral support, and for connecting me with some of the respondents in this study. They are: Bose Shaba, Olufemi Taiwo, Oluyemisi and Titilola Obilade, Adeolu Ademoyo, Thomas Fasokun, Dorothy Lander, Patricia Cranton and John Aderinto. The others are: Dele and Peju Layiwola, Women and Power: Education, Religion and Identity xii Sola Olorunyomi, Olutoyin Oyetunji, Sola Owonibi and M.O. Akintayo. I should not fail to thank Abubakar Momoh who ‘provoked’ me into writing about the women’s question. I give a big thumbs up to those scholar-activist sisters whose works I have read in the course of writing, and or whose works I have cited in this book. Their writing, analyses, theorizing, and experiences have been inspiring, transformative and supportive. I appreciate the enthusiasm and critical questions and comments of participants at the 2005 Conference of the International Association of Feminist Economics (IAFFE). It was under the conference’s broad theme of, ‘Education and Empowerment in a Global Economy’, that I presented a section of this report in the middle of June 2005. My sincere gratitude goes to my employer, the Obafemi Awolowo University, IleIfe , for granting the sabbatical leave that allowed me time to carry out fieldwork and finally put the report of the research together. I must thank my unofficial research assistants, my young friend, Ireti Jabarr, who was a postgraduate student at the University of Ibadan; my niece, Opeoluwa Oyetunji, who was a student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure; and my daughter, Ifeolutembi Fashina. They came to my rescue several times during the course of this study by typing and proofreading manuscripts (especially in the context of incessant power outages), and by helping me to sort out percentile scores. Ope and Tembi were at their best whenever I was under great pressure, for they were helpful, quiet and loving. I thank the anonymous reviewer for his/her comprehensive and constructive suggestions, and sometimes sharp comments. I could not have envied anyone who got the task of reviewing the research report that I submitted to CODESRIA to be considered for publication in the CODESRIA book series. I am always so happy that my mother, Mrs Victoria Olufunmilayo Mejiuni, and my father, Mr Emmanuel Jimoh Mejiuni, are alive and well. Throughout the period that this...