"I want to teach politics in my country to train future politicians to have the right values"

Starting last academic year, the Fundación Mujeres por África and the UAB offer one yearly grant to a woman from Africa to study at the UAB and live at the Vila. This year, Martha Ogochukwu from Nigeria was awarded the grant to enrol in the master's degree in Political Science. Now she would like to return to her country and become a lecturer at the University of Nigeria, "and be able to transmit the values needed to do politics, because there is so much corruption today and people do not trust politicians at all".

30/04/2019

"My family and I come from a semi-rural area in northern Nigeria, and they did not believe I had been given a grant to study here; I had to show them the news published on the UAB website!", explains Martha Ogochukwu, the Nigerian student who thanks to a collaboration between Fundación Mujeres por África and the UAB, was able to study the master's degree in Political Science at the UAB.

Martha Ogochukwu earned her bachelor's degree in political science at the university of Nigeria close to her home and was interested in continuing her studies abroad. Martha, who is 27 years old, discovered the grant thanks to a chat group of African students seeking to study abroad, and that is when she saw the call for grants. She submitted her application, but in no way thought she would be the one chosen.

Now she would like to continue onto a PhD programme, with the help of a grant or an aid to help her enrol in another European university. The subject she would like to focus on is public opinion and political behaviour. After getting her PhD, she would like to return to her country and teach political science at the university of Nigeria, a country where "people do not trust politicians at all, and there is corruption everywhere".

"In Nigeria people do not believe in politics because there is so much corrpuption, which is also present in so many other areas, such as public health, justice, etc. That is exactly why I want to teach political science, to be able to transmit the values needed to be a good politiciana", she explains, while also adding "my country does not need money, we have so many natural resources; what we do need are good administrators people who can govern and manage the country correctly, not like now". Martha also adds in a lcear and concise way and in perfect English: "Leaders are the reflection of a society, and if taught adequately, everything could change".

When asked about whether she would like to stay in Europe, her answer is clear: "Europe is a good place to live in, but I want to return to Nigeria because if everyone who leaves to study or work never comes back, we will never be able to advance as a country".

"I knew very little about the UAB before I arrived, to be honest, but I will leave very satisfied. The experience has been fantastic, everyone has treated me well, lecturers and my fellow classmates", says Martha, who ahs lived in one of the residence halls at the Vila Universitària.

Vice Rector Sara Moreno and Director of the the UAB's Solidarity Foundation (FAS) Jordi Prat, alongside the team in charge of her stay, met with Martha on Friday 26 April at the Rectorat building to evaluate her experience.

The agreement between the UAB and the Fundación Mujeres por Áfricav (Women for Africa Foundation) has made it possible for a student such as Martha to enrol in a master's degree programme at the UAB in the 2018/19 academic year. Next year the third African student will arrive thanks to the third edition of the grants programme.

The Fundación Mujeres por África began to offer this grants programme at other universities in Spain a few years ago. The coordination of the grantholder's stay is organised by the Office of the Vice Rector for Students and Employability, and both the FAS and the International Support Service of the International Relations Area collaborate in the initiative by welcoming the student to the UAB and providing all sorts of support services during their stay.