Resilience and Success: Dr Aminat Ige’s Inspiring Narrative

When I watched Dr. Aminat Ige -Ariyibi gives her speech at the 54th Convocation ceremony in UNILAG as the overall best Ph.D. Thesis winner, it reminded me of the first Mathematics class she taught me in my first year at Lagos State University, LASU. As a freshman, I had my fair share of experiences with different lecturers and their teaching styles, but there was just something different about Dr. Aminat; she had this regal gait, one that exuded confidence and poise. She introduced herself to the class, but the humming and murmurings of over 600 students in the lecture hall made it hard for me to pick up her name.

As we got right into the class, I saw her ability to connect with students; the lecture hall, which could pass for a community market square, went graveyard silent in seconds. She is an advocate for learning to understand; her style of teaching is 50% lecture and 50% practical example. Of course, it is Mathematics, one of the disciplines famous for complex concepts, yet she had the simplification of these complex concepts at her fingertips. Her passion for Mathematics and lecturing was contagious.

In the past few years, Muslim women have been altering the discourse. Five months ago, Miss Aminat Yusuf made history at Lagos State University, graduating as the best student with a perfect CGPA of 5.0, breaking a 40-year record. Now the spotlight is on Dr Aminat Ige-Ariyibi, a paragon of success in the face of adversities. Her winning Doctoral Thesis titled “O-Metric Spaces: A Novel Unification and Generalization of Metric-Type Spaces With Applications In Fixed Point Theory” has made headlines in Nigeria national newspapers and her story trending on all social media platforms. Her story is a paradigm for the idea that “As Muslim women, we can achieve success if we set our minds to it”.

Dr Aminat Ige-Ariyibi’s achievements are worthy of far more praise than it has received. Balancing the demands of motherhood, marriage, family, work, running a Non-governmental organization and still attaining this remarkable level of success is a testament to her strength and perseverance. It is important to applaud educators like Dr Aminat Ige-Ariyibi who go beyond the traditional role of lecturers and actively contribute to the academic community and the world at large.

It’s an inspiring story for everyone who has ever faced the challenges, a shift in perspective urging us to defy stereotypes and strive for excellence in our chosen paths. Witnessing her achievement sparked a renewed sense of inspiration within me, I am more inspired now than ever to pursue the goals I have set and nurtured since my early years. Her story has shown me that no goal is too big to achieve and no obstacle is insurmountable. She is proof that success is a costly endeavour that requires purposefulness.

Let the women draw inspiration from Dr Aminat’s story to be the best version of themselves, let the Men garner stimulus from her husband, Dr Nasir Ariyibi to give unconditional love and be supportive husbands to their wives. The widowers and Divorcees should dust the past off their shoulders and give life a chance. In the words of Dr Aminat Ige-Ariyibi, “For every step backwards, I took three forward steps of recovery”, this is a cue for everyone to dismantle their barriers and showcase the limitless potential they possess.

Ashiru Abibat Abike  writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

Read Also: Ige Aminat Olawunmi: UNILAG Overall Best Graduating Ph.D. Thesis Award Winner