A woman is generally a protector, disciplinarian and friend. She is usually a selfless and loving individual who often sacrifice many of her wants and needs for the wants and needs of her children. A woman works hard to make sure her child is equipped with the knowledge, skills and abilities to live a fulfilled life. A good woman is empathetic, compassionate, supportive, and an encouragement to her partner in building a successful relationship. A mother is a housekeeper, cook, teacher, nurse, coach, storyteller, planner, organizer, decorator, best friend, worst enemy, multitasker and a wonder woman, indeed an “Engine”. There is no person stronger than a mother and I am proud to be one! An engine converts one form of energy to other forms in order to make many others work and function appropriately. She tasks herself, challenges and creates deadlines for herself. She admits she does not have all the answers, yet, she asks questions. She is confident in her abilities, although, she can still learn while on the job.
Mothers as engine in the home, expose their children in such a way that is instrumental to the development of their leadership skills. This helped them develop the “can-do-spirit” rather than give up while climbing the ladder of life and surmounting the challenges that line their path to the peak of their different careers. For instance, based on my exposure, I developed a “can-do-spirit” and was the first female Professor and Head of my Department of 58 years of existence of Department of Crop Production and Protection in Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. This has put me in a vantage position as a mentor to help in my largely patriarchal environment. This has also been a major motivation for my children in fighting for their space in life. I usually exchange my ideas with them in order to inspire them to learn and move up in life. I have, as a mother, developed an essential successful mentoring relationship with them such that we jointly identify, define, and honestly articulate our common, as well as individual goals and motives together. This has created a better team and cohesive force between us, to build a legacy with landmark achievements. Mothers are generally mentors and pillars of support to their children in order to build competences and soft skills in life.
A researcher is somebody who carries out academic investigation, whether independently or otherwise as a principal investigator, with the aim of establishing facts in a systematic manner. Combining this with responsibility of motherhood as outlined above is not a mean task. Women researchers work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions. Many women researchers have pioneered several ground-breaking researches across the world. Despite their remarkable discoveries, women still represent just 29 % of researchers globally, and their work sometimes do not gain the recognition it deserves. Only 3 % of Nobel Prizes for science have ever been awarded to women, and only 11 % of senior research roles are held by women in Europe. I am a mother and a researcher, my interest emanates from the fact that as an Academic, every activity that promotes the advancement of knowledge acquisition and its practical application to social, cultural, economic, scientific and technological problems attract special place in my heart. I am determined to prepare my children for future accolades and therefore, create conducive teaching and learning home environment for acquiring skills, knowledge, positive behaviour and attitude for my children.
ROLE OF MOTHERS AS MENTORS IN DEVELOPMENT
Mothers are mentors. Mentoring relationship is a professional activity, in which there is a trusted relationship with meaningful commitment. Women are therefore the best mentors at home given the high level of trust and confidence between children and their mothers. Mentoring, when well done, is a luxury in this fast-paced and unpredictable work environment where good manner and culture should be established. Yes, schools at different levels are known to be experts at offering traditional education to diverse student clientele, but mothers in their roles do more in a more diverse way. I have been able to effect changes by bringing mentorship to my home, students, staff and even farmers in my career. I have built a mentoring relationship in an informal way within collegial associations. In this way, they learn by observation and example in order to structure formal agreements between expert and co-mentors. This allows each of them to develop professionally through the two-way transfer of experience and perspective. This has cumulated to a mentoring relationship of helping and supporting them to “manage their own learning in order to maximize their professional potentials, develop their skills, improve their performance, and become the persons they want to be”.
WHAT AND WHO HAVE BEEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCES ON WHO I AM TODAY-PERSONALLY?
My parent’s belief in me and their bold commitment to the girl child education, their lavish care, as well as the support and example of my husband, Professor Ayobami Salami and Vicki Wilde (Director an International Organizer of AWARD Programme based in U.S.A.) are the most significant influences on my personality and leadership drive today. At the time and in the environment in which I was born, there was a widespread belief that had a deep cultural penetration and acceptance that the education of a girl child is a waste of resources. In terms of care and education therefore, female children were discriminated against and were seen as only to be needful for procreation. But my parents, Mr. and Mrs. S.L. Ladoye, held the belief that all children must be given equal education opportunity and were willing to bear the societal rejection and the isolation that came with their decision to educate their girl children. My father who was an Agricultural Extension Officer made the payment of our school fees from his salary his highest priority while my mother would see to it that we were well fed, adequately kitted and catered for from her meager pastry business income. In cooperation, they were not only committed to taking care of their children and laying solid foundation for my future, they were also full of empathy for the resource-poor children around us then, by sharing our food with them. As a young child, I have vivid memories that people would prefer to drop their children with my parents than any other in our neighborhood. My parents would not complain that what they had might not be enough, rather they would encourage us to share our meals with other kids from the less privileged background than ours. This was my early exposure and induction to community service and it was from these unforgettable early childhood experiences that I determined and purposed to study hard enough to rise to the very top of any career path I find myself in order to be able to take care of my parents in return and give a helping hand to the needy around me. This sense of mission and purpose has remained part of me and has shaped my sense of duty and relationship with others.
My husband, Professor Ayobami Salami, was instrumental to the development of my leadership skills. He helped me develop the “can-do-spirit”. Eventually I became the first female Professor in my Department and I was also appointed the first female Head of Department. This has put me in a vantage position to help others and encourage the female gender in my largely patriarchal society. I am now in a position to exchange my ideas with them, to inspire them to learn and move up in life. Vicki Wilde models for me the ideal of a target-oriented leadership and how to harness the power of multi-level mentorship to achieve the goal of reaching a wider audience. Vicki can be appropriately tagged as a ‘Woman Developer’ who is obsessed with developing women, especially women Agricultural Scientists across Sub-Saharan Africa in order to help smallholder farmers. She has contributed immensely to the well-being of African women Scientists via career-development programs focused on fostering mentoring partnerships, building science skills, and developing leadership capacity. She is a real catalyst for innovations, detecting and bringing up potentials in Sub-Saharan African women Scientists, thus, strengthening their research and leadership skills. All these great influences have equipped me with the instrument that make great things happen in the lives of people around me. bringing mentorship to my home, students, staff and even farmers in my career. I have built a mentoring relationship in an informal way within collegial associations. In this way, they learn by observation and example in order to structure formal agreements between expert and co-mentors. This allows each of them to develop professionally through the two-way transfer of experience and perspective. This has cumulated to a mentoring relationship of helping and supporting them to “manage their own learning in order to maximize their professional potentials, develop their skills, improve their performance, and become the persons they want to be”.
WHAT AND WHO HAVE BEEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCES ON WHO I AM TODAY-PERSONALLY?
My parent’s belief in me and their bold commitment to the girl child education, their lavish care, as well as the support and example of my husband, Professor Ayobami Salami and Vicki Wilde (Director an International Organizer of AWARD Programme based in U.S.A.) are the most significant influences on my personality and leadership drive today. At the time and in the environment in which I was born, there was a widespread belief that had a deep cultural penetration and acceptance that the education of a girl child is a waste of resources. In terms of care and education therefore, female children were discriminated against and were seen as only to be needful for procreation. But my parents, Mr. and Mrs. S.L. Ladoye, held the belief that all children must be given equal education opportunity and were willing to bear the societal rejection and the isolation that came with their decision to educate their girl children. My father who was an Agricultural Extension Officer made the payment of our school fees from his salary his highest priority while my mother would see to it that we were well fed, adequately kitted and catered for from her meager pastry business income. In cooperation, they were not only committed to taking care of their children and laying solid foundation for my future, they were also full of empathy for the resource-poor children around us then, by sharing our food with them. As a young child, I have vivid memories that people would prefer to drop their children with my parents than any other in our neighborhood. My parents would not complain that what they had might not be enough, rather they would encourage us to share our meals with other kids from the less privileged background than ours. This was my early exposure and induction to community service and it was from these unforgettable early childhood experiences that I determined and purposed to study hard enough to rise to the very top of any career path I find myself in order to be able to take care of my parents in return and give a helping hand to the needy around me. This sense of mission and purpose has remained part of me and has shaped my sense of duty and relationship with others.
My husband, Professor Ayobami Salami, was instrumental to the development of my leadership skills. He helped me develop the “can-do-spirit”. Eventually I became the first female Professor in my Department and I was also appointed the first female Head of Department. This has put me in a vantage position to help others and encourage the female gender in my largely patriarchal society. I am now in a position to exchange my ideas with them, to inspire them to learn and move up in life.
Vicki Wilde models for me the ideal of a target-oriented leadership and how to harness the power of multi-level mentorship to achieve the goal of reaching a wider audience. Vicki can be appropriately tagged as a ‘Woman Developer’ who is obsessed with developing women, especially women Agricultural Scientists across Sub-Saharan Africa in order to help smallholder farmers. She has contributed immensely to the well-being of African women Scientists via career-development programs focused on fostering mentoring partnerships, building science skills, and developing leadership capacity. She is a real catalyst for innovations, detecting and bringing up potentials in Sub-Saharan African women Scientists, thus, strengthening their research and leadership skills. All these great influences have equipped me with the instrument that make great things happen in the lives of people around me.