WB It was difficult surviving in a male-dominated profession - Engr. Francisca
As a career woman, how are you able to cope with taking care of the home front and your career?
Well, I have delivered a paper on managing home and career borne from challenges and experiences I have passed through because as a woman, I am married to my husband, Kingsley Nwafilogo. He is an Air Force personnel though retired and we have six children.
I can only say that God has been there for me; I tried to strike a balance. I gave maximum attention and I am committed to my duty as a lecturer, and to my home too, I take good care of my children and my husband. It was not easy, but I tried to strike a balance and none of them suffered. My children are grown up now.
Can you give us an insight into your career and how you become the first female Rector of Federal Polytechnic Oko in Anambra State?
It all started far back when I did my primary school in the 1970’s and secondary in the 1980’s. I joined the Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Enugu, where I bagged my National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma (HND). I then proceeded to Kaduna to do my youth service. I served in Kaduna State Polytechnic in the Department of Chemical Engineering and after my service, I was retained, in 1993. That was where the journey started.
In my quest for academic excellence, I proceeded to Federal University of Technology, Minna where I obtained my post graduate diploma in chemical engineering and then proceeded for masters in the same university. After that, I continued as a lecturer in Kaduna State Polytechnic. Later, I still felt the need to continue to develop myself and so in 2008, I enrolled for Ph.D in Chemical Engineering at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria and graduated in 2014.
It has been a very rewarding experience being a female among men because engineering in Nigeria seems to be dominated by the male folk but we want everybody to know that it is not a male issue, females are equally Engineer Francisca Nwafulugo is the Chairperson of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Kaduna State chapter, a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). She is the first female Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State. In this interview, she shares her experience in her career and how upcoming female engineers can overcome the challenges. competent. Our focus in the association of professional women engineers is to bring up females in this field of engineering. We have records of females that have excelled in this profession.
As the chairperson of the association, my next focus is to motivate the girl child to read engineering, that is why we have a lot of events and awareness programmes and most times we go to girl’s secondary schools to advise them and give them career talks because we want to catch them young.
What advice do you have for upcoming female engineers?
I want to tell them that engineering is not a man’s job, it is for everybody. Females can perform better too. I want to encourage them to be strong, engineers are problem solvers, we go ahead to solve problems in the world and women are the pillars of the home and as pillar of home, I know we will do better.
During your days in school, were there many girls in your class?
In my school days, we had about 38 students in my class; 35 were male, only three were female, but these days, the story has changed, we have a lot of female engineers
How optimistic are you that your advocacy for more female engineers will yield positive results?
Actually, we are already getting positive results. Most ladies before felt education ends in the kitchen, but it is not like that anymore. Women have come to see that they can do well, especially in the world of engineering. The main subjects are mathematics and sciences and most feel it is too difficult for them to study this courses.
Today, we have made them to know that it is just determination and more ladies have come on board the field of engineering.
What are some of the challenges you faced as a woman in a maledominated career?
It has not been easy coping with the male engineers, because they still have this belief that the field belongs to them. So when you are with them and you are working with them, they still want to see you as that soft lady. That there are things you cannot handle. They are gender sensitive. They have not really opened their mind to accept that we are all in the field and we can do the same thing which is a problem.
Now that you are about to switch from Kaduna Polytechnic to Federal Polytechnic Oko, what are you taking away from Kaduna that will help you
deliver over there?
Having worked in Kaduna polytechnic for 26 years as a lecturer, I have acquired a lot of experience and I want to tell you that being taught and nurtured in Kaduna Polytechnic, I am packed with lots of experience, so I am going home full and strong to deliver.
As an engineer, what is your advice on how to forestall building collapse in Nigeria?
There are so many factors that could lead to building collapse, including the design, but at times, some collapses are borne out of corruption. When contractors are given work to do, they cut corners and bring substandard materials.
In fact we are trying to come up with something to curtail building collapse because everything boils down to the engineers that are really behind the whole thing. We want to ensure we prevent re-occurrence.