I never wavered for one minute about whether I was in the right position or not, because right from when I was young, I knew that I wanted to be a te… - Abiola Odejide

Discipline was a major thing in our home, especially from my mum; she just didn’t take any nonsense. She was a loving person but liked people to be punctual, do whatever was assigned to them on time and without excuses. I think that must have rubbed off on my siblings and me.

I was ready for retirement. I loved the job, the students and liked interacting with them, though they may have said other things. I loved challenging them to be their best. Before retirement came, I was mentally prepared for it. I had also managed my resources carefully so that it would not be a major shock financially.

For many years we have agitated for adequate representation at all tiers of government. The figures are depressing. In 2011, only 9 women senators were representing 54 million women in Nigeria; the immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan appointed women to 33 per cent of cabinet positions, up from 10 per cent in President Obasanjo’s government. Now, under the current government, women’s representation has gone down further and both verbal pronouncements and the body language of our leaders indicate a lessening of the importance of the critical roles of women to the growth and health of our country.