Obituary: Prof. Grace Alele-Williams – Nigeria’s First Female VC Who Fought Cultism at UNIBEN

Described by many as an astute academic and a trailblazer, Prof. Grace Alele-Williams was a woman of many firsts. She was the first Nigerian woman to hold a doctorate, become a professor of mathematics education, and become a Vice-Chancellor in Nigeria. Rising above gender limitations and breaking glass ceilings, her name is etched in history as a vista who paved the way for African women in academia, and an iron lady who restored peace to a citadel of learning fraught with cultism challenges.

The Committee of female Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities described her as an enigma who liberated the way for all women in academia. Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State described her as a woman of many firsts who “shattered the glass ceiling and didn’t look back thereafter.”

To some of her former students at the University of Benin, she was ‘the Iron Lady of Benin’ who rode the university of cultism and restored sanity to the institution at a time when its name was almost synonymous with cultism and notoriety.

Alele-Williams passed on March 25, 2022, at Victoria Island, Lagos, at the age of 89, but before then, she lived an impactful and inspiring life.

A family statement said she “believed in excellence and strived to inspire all the people around her towards it, and at the same time was gracious and understanding to people irrespective of their background.”

Early Life

Grace Alele-Williams was born in Warri, Delta State, an oil hub within the South-South of Nigeria. She attended Government School in the State and later studied at Queen’s College in Lagos. For her tertiary education, she schooled at the University College, Ibadan, now University of Ibadan.

Unlike the norms for women in the 19th century, Alele-Williams did not stop her formal education after gaining a Bachelor’s degree; she obtained her Master’s degree in Mathematics while teaching at Queen’s School, Ede in Osun State, in 1957. She further bagged a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at the University of Chicago (US) in 1963, making her the first Nigerian woman to hold a doctorate.

After returning to Nigeria from the United States, she got married to Prof. Babatunde Abraham Williams, a political scientist and senior lecturer at the University of Ife, Osun State, now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).

Career

Alele-Williams’s teaching career started at Queen’s School, Ede, Osun State, in 1954. At Queen’s School, she taught mathematics till 1957. Always aspiring to greatness, she left for the University of Vermont, Burlington, to become a graduate assistant and, consequently, an assistant professor.

In 1963, she returned to her alma Mata, the University of Ibadan, where she became a post-graduate research fellow and consequently a faculty member of the University of Lagos (Unilag) in 1965.

While at Unilag, she spent a decade influencing women’s education from 1965 to 1985. She directed the Institute of Education, which introduced innovative non-degree programmes that allowed older women working as elementary school teachers to earn certificates. Due to her incredible impact on UNILAG’S educational system, in 1976, she was appointed a professor of mathematics at the University of Lagos, making her the first Nigerian woman to become a Professor of Mathematics Education.

In 1985, she recorded another first, following her appointment as the first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin. By the appointment, she became the first-ever female to lead a Nigerian University, She spent seven years in office before her tenure ended in 1992.

“The excitement I felt on receiving the news from Professor Jubril Aminu [the Nigerian Minister of Education] had more to do with seeing it opening up the field for women than anything else. I saw it as an opportunity to show that women could rise up to the occasion,” Alele-Williams said in a 2014 interview while recalling her appointment as UNIBEN VC. “Also, I knew what the weight of the expectations of the women was. They were eager to see how things would go, and I would not let them down. Mind you, those who appointed me felt I was qualified for it, so it was not just a case of wanting to satisfy the yearnings of the womenfolk. It wasn’t that simplistic.”

During her service at UNIBEN she restored peace and tranquillity to the University by putting an end to cultism. A BBC documentary in 2021 revealed that one of Africa’s most dreaded cult groups, the Black Axe ‘Aiye’ group, started in UNIBEN before spreading to other institutions.

The confraternity, also known as the Neo-Black Movement of Africa was created during the 1977-1978 academic year by nine UNIBEN undergraduates. The cultists claiming to be concerned about the state of “black men” spent their days looting, killing, and stealing from other students on campus. They constantly engaged in rivalry wars with another confraternity, Eiye, and perpetuated acts of violence.

They casually gouged out the eyes of perceived rivals with a pair of compasses or bathed them with acid. Students were also routinely hacked to pieces in broad daylight, and pots of sacrifices were commonly placed in different sections of the campus.

For several years in the 80s, UNIBEN was a menace. Male Vice-Chancellors appointed during the period struggled to end the horrific reign of cultists at the University. All soon changed when the Iron lady of Benin, as Prof. Alele-Williams was fondly called, came on board. She swiftly implemented strategies to curb all the needless killings and bloodshed by suspending any student related to cultist activities.

She also gave directives to school authorities to publish names of badly behaved students on school bulletin boards. Any student found fraternising, engaging in exam malpractice or disturbance was disgraced and or expelled. Within a few years of her tenure, UNIBEN students had turned a new leaf and the once turbulent campus became a serene place where liberal arts and science flourished.

Beyond Prof. Alele-Williams’ service at the UNIBEN, she made incredible impacts in Nigeria’s education sector. In an academic career spanning over six decades, she published many papers related to the African Mathematics Programme, including The Entebbe Mathematics Project, in International Review of Education, UNESCO, Hamburg, 17, No. 2, 1971, 210-214, and The development of a modern mathematics curriculum in Africa, in Arithmetic Teacher, No. 4, 1976, 254-261.

She further served on many State educational committees. From 1979 to 1985, she served as chairman of the Lagos State curriculum review committee and Lagos State examinations boards. From 1973 to 1979, she was chairman of the curriculum review committee, former Bendel State.

She also served on the board Chevron-Texaco Nigeria, HIP, an Asset Management Company in Lagos, Nigeria and was the Vice President and member of the Executive Board of The Third World Organisation for Women in Science (TWOWS). She was also the Chairwoman of AMUCWMA, the African Mathematical Union Commission for Women in Mathematics.

Lifetime Achievement

Following her outstanding service to different sectors of the Nigerian economy, Alele-Williams was well recognised and honoured. She received the Order of the Niger in 1987, was the Merit Award Winner of Bendel State in Nigeria, and was elected a Fellow of the Mathematical Association of Nigeria and a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Education. On February 28, 2014, she was one of 100 people to receive the Centenary Award, “a special recognition of unique contributions of Nigerians to the socio-cultural, economic and political development of the country in the last 100 years.”

Death and Tributes

Upon her demise on April 25, 2022, the Committee of female Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities in their tribute said:

“As beneficiaries of Professor Alele-Williams’ pioneering role, we are particularly proud of her and her achievements in academic development and nation building. We emulate her demeanour, eloquence, focus, versatility and enduring pride in womanhood. We appreciate her for liberating the way for all women in academia to believe that we can attain the position of Vice-Chancellors of Universities in Nigeria.”

Dr. Ray Chikogu, the chairman of ASUU at UNIBEN, also described Alele-Williams as an icon in the University that would be missed greatly.

“The University misses her because of the remarkable landmarks she left in the University in terms of good infrastructure and human development. She left an indelible footprint, and we are hoping that God will give her immediate family the fortitude to bear the loss, and hope that God will grant her eternal repose.”

Some ex-students of UNIBEN who spoke to Neusroom also shared testimonies of Alele’s legacy of peace and her impact in their lives. They expressed how she restored tranquillity to the institution citadel of learning and made them feel safe.

“She was so protective of her ‘girls’ as she fondly referred to female UNIBEN students. She put measures in place to make sure the vulnerable students did not live under fear and harassment of cultists.” Chinyere Ezirim Nwanoka, who graduated as a student in the English and Literature department in, the faculty of arts, from 1988 to 1992, told Neusroom. “I felt protected as a student under Alele’s leadership.”

Nwanoka Chinyere, now a programmes coordinator in nostalgia, further described her encounter with the ‘Iron Lady of Benin’. She said:

“I was to meet her again years later at a conference in Lagos. I sat close to her and at the end of the event, I proudly walked up to mama Alele and introduced myself as one of her ‘girls’. I told her unequivocally that I admired her a lot and was one of her fans. She was warm, very warm. Rest in peace, a great amazon of our time.”

Jude Ejiofor, who graduated from the physics department from 1990 to 1996, also corroborated Nwanoka’s shared similar sentiments about Prof. Alele-Williams.

“Before her, UNIBEN was a war zone for cultism. With her iron fist that a typical Nigerian community needed, she taught the ‘Big Boys’ what maturity is, such that they learn to imbibe the idea that education is the main reason they are in school.” The IT professional said. “The peace I enjoyed as an undergraduate of UNIBEN was unprecedented.

Thomas Ereyitom, a member of the House of Representatives representing Warri Federal Constituency, said:

“Prof. Alele-Williams was an illustrious daughter of Itsekiri extraction in Delta state. In 2021, she was honoured during the State’s 30th-anniversary celebration. She would be greatly missed by the entire Itsekiri nation and those whose lives she impacted and inspired.”

The University of Benin also flew the institution’s flag at half-mast on Saturday, March 26, 2022, to mourn her death.

Funeral Service

At her funeral service held on April 21, 2022, at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Yinka Omololu, a former provost of the church described Alele-Williams as ‘a woman devoted to God’.

“She cared for humanity and was endeared to various community services, in fact, she surpassed many men in these activities,” Omololu said. “She was passionate about women, and she was a woman who devoted her life to the service of God and was among the first to volunteer for the evangelistic programme at the Cathedral. She was a jewel to the people of God.”

Survived by five children and ten grandchildren, Prof. Grace Alele-Williams was laid to rest on Thursday, April 21, 2022.

One of her colleagues, Amina Oyagbola, believed that “she will never be forgotten,” and with tributes continually pouring in on her web page, her memory lives on.