Mrs Sekinat Yusuf is the Chief Executive Officer of Mobile Knowledge Solutions Limited. In this interview with MAUREEN AZUH, she speaks on women empowerment and e-learning as the solution to problems in the education sector, among other issues
Information Technology in education is relatively new in Nigeria, what inspired you to go into such an area of business?
I was inspired by the fact that the condition of education in the country is deteriorating very fast and the desire and urgency to do something about it. The failure rate in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and National Examination Council examination has been quite alarming and we can’t just sit back and watch everything go down. We have to make sure that we provide solution to these problems confronting our country. The question is, how do we fashion out a workable solution, especially since a lot of those in the vulnerable group probably don’t have access to the tools and materials they can use. They are probably streamlined along a particular way of learning and they are not exposed to relevant study materials. This has affected the performance of students over the years and that led us into prospecting for how to use information technology as a tool for learning to make the students do better. We were inspired to adopt the tablet for this purpose based on our research, know-how and international experience. Most of the students have mobile phones which are almost similar to the tablet, and they are familiar with them. With PETSS (Personal Education Tablet for Secondary School) we have a product with study materials and audio-visual tutorials prepared by lecturers in line with the approved curricula by the NERDC. As you know, each time examination results are released, the general woeful performance often elicits disappointment by many. But one of the challenges is that there are not just enough teachers. We are nowhere near the United Nations’ recommendation, so we must explore other alternatives for these students to learn.
Considering the distracting nature of the internet, do you think e-learning is the right answer to problems in the education sector?
I strongly believe e-learning is the answer to the problem in education. The internet is a double- edged sword; it is good, but at the same time it has some negatives which can be curbed. Access to certain websites can be restricted. But we should not forget also that the Internet is a repository of knowledge, there are lots of information there. I think we have more to learn from the Internet than anywhere else.
On e-learning, we have thousands of people who are yearning for education, who want to learn and acquire skills but cannot afford to leave what they are doing to go into full time studies in the university because the jobs are not there. Now consider the number of people who write UTME, at the most, 400, 000 thousand people will gain admission, what will the others do? So, it is essential for us to recognise e-learning and ensure that more people benefit from it; you can learn more and spend less. You can download materials for your use without having to depend absolutely on hard copies of books.
You had a career in banking and later joined public service before venturing into private business. What informed these movements?
I started my professional career as a teacher of mathematics and science. I later went into banking. I worked with the information technology departments of some banks and also did corporate banking, but my core area was IT. Then I was called to public service in Lagos State during the era of General Buba Marwa as the first Commissioner for Women Affairs. I was later deployed to the Ministry of Education where I was opportuned to see the decadence and level of deterioration in the sector. I resolved not to go back to banking. I decided to make my own little contribution to bring about improvement in the sector. However, I started in my own little way by establishing the International Learning Systems which introduced into Nigeria, via franchise, international educational platforms that opened up opportunities to a number of people, hitherto shut out from the mainstream of the educational system.
In addition, I teamed up with the Lagos State University to manage part-time campuses because I believe it is peoples’ right to have education. Any society that has above 60 per cent of illiteracy is in trouble. So I decided to go into education fully, to bring about the desired change. I am not looking at it from the angle of making money, if you research well, you will find that education is a non-profit making business, the reason being that, as you make money you want to improve standards and plough back into the business, I don’t see it as a business venture, I see it as a call to duty. My children are grown up so I am not looking for business, the primary reason why I am in business, is to provide education.
As a former Commissioner of Women Affairs, Youth And Social Development, what policies do you think can be put in place to keep the youth out of the streets?
We have to engage them positively. Lagos State is doing a lot but when something is overwhelming, it takes time for the efforts made to reflect. The paramount thing is the need for the youths to interact. That is why I like the social networks, though the youths can abuse it to some extent, but they can also gain a lot from it. To keep our youths engaged and their minds developed, we need to create learning and information technology centres all over the country so they can go there and learn, seek for knowledge.
When I was commissioner, the level of awareness for social networks was minimal, but we made the area boys and girls to work, we took them off the street. If you don’t engage them, you can’t blame them; we need to do a lot of things to engage them. Have a one on one with them and make them see the need to be off the streets. We can create mechanised farming for instance, where they can be engaged.
Do you also think the Nigerian woman has been adequately empowered?
I believe that the Nigerian woman should not wait for anyone to empower her, you should go out to empower yourself, the terrain may be difficult but then, you fight your way through. I don’t believe in people looking at themselves as less privileged because they are women. As a woman, you can be creative. That was what I tried to do with all the programmes I had then. Women can go all out and do things for themselves. That is why I said the Nigerian woman needs to be computer literate. In some other countries, women don’t have to go out to make money.
Nigerian women should imbibe the opportunities in information technology. Fortunately, Nigeria now has an ICT policy and the most important aspect is for the country to become a knowledge-based society, how do we achieve that if we are clueless about information technology which governs everything we do today. We have passed the era of women sitting down and waiting for employment, we should be thinking of how to compete with the outside world.
A lot of women outside Nigeria buy, sell and provide services on the Internet, why are our women not taking advantage of that. We need to create awareness, no doubt.
Each time I watch the programme – “ Leading Women” on CNN, I wish to see a Nigerian there. We have people who are capable, I want women to be in the forefront of affairs.
A lot of people talk about lack of fund as the bane of small businesses in this part of the world, what is your take on this?
You see, we should do our home work very well. Knowing the right channel through which they can contact finance houses is very important. Commercial banks want quick returns, they work with depositors’ funds which they can’t give out for too long.
We also need to revive our culture. In those days, our mothers formed co-operative societies to aid their businesses, but this is no longer as vibrant. I think we should be creative and look at the root causes; it could be something on our own part, perhaps there is something we are not doing right.
Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a Lagosian, born into the Ojikutu family. I had my primary and secondary schools here in Lagos before going to the University of Ibadan where I graduated with a second class upper degree in computer science after which I started teaching in a secondary school in Ibadan.
I later moved to Lagos and joined the banking sector. I worked with four banks as an IT manager. I even set up the entire IT department of one of the banks. I was still working at Access Bank as head of IT before I was called to work for Lagos State. When I was in the bank I wanted to understand my work environment, so I went to University of Lagos for my masters in Business Administration and my bias was for finance.
When I was called into Lagos State cabinet, I realised I needed to do more, so I went for a Masters Degree in Public Administration with bias in human resources management, because my tenure as commissioner for women affairs exposed me to a lot of things that we normally take for granted.
But I give glory to God Almighty because no matter what you do or how good you are, if that big force is not there to propel you, then you are nothing.
With this kind of profile, how did you cope with family life?
My husband, fortunately, is into IT as well, so he understands. Secondly, my children are grown up, I only support them if need be. While I was working, my husband was there to support me hundred per cent and I thank God for his life. He is a wonderful husband and father.