Oloyede: Muslim Women Can Attain Highest Academic Rank — History Proves It

Former JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede and university don Prof. Kamaldeen Balogun have charged newly elevated Professor Habibat Oladosu-Uthman to view her new rank as a responsibility to humanity rather than a status symbol.

Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and university don Prof. Kamaldeen Balogun have charged the newly elevated Professor Habibat Oladosu-Uthman to regard her professorship as a responsibility to humanity rather than a privilege or status symbol. Oladosu-Uthman was recently elevated to the rank of Professor at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan. The event was marked with a reception and thanksgiving ceremony held at the University of Ibadan Central Mosque in Ibadan, Oyo State, bringing together members of the academic community, Muslim scholars, family members, friends and associates to honour her contributions to scholarship.

Oloyede, who chaired the ceremony celebrating her elevation, described professorship as the formal recognition of years of intellectual labour, disciplined scholarship, teaching, mentorship and service, stressing that the rank also comes with greater responsibility. “An occasion such as this is much more than a celebration of a new title. It is the formal recognition of sustained intellectual labour, disciplined scholarship, teaching, mentorship, service and contribution to knowledge. It is, at the same time, the beginning of a heavier responsibility,” he said. The former JAMB boss lauded Oladosu-Uthman’s academic journey and scholarly contributions, noting her specialisation in Islamic thought and civilisation, gender studies, comparative religion, Christian-Muslim relations, cultural criticism, Islam in West Africa, and interreligious and intercultural dialogue. He urged her to continue to mentor younger academics, stressing that the true measure of a professor should include the ability to produce other scholars. According to him, “A Professor must produce other scholars. A Professor who publishes extensively but produces no intellectual successors has achieved only part of the assignment.”

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Oloyede also commended the achievement of Oladosu-Uthman as a Muslim woman attaining the highest academic rank, noting that Islamic history provides ample evidence of women making significant contributions to scholarship. He said the question should not be whether women are capable of attaining the highest level of scholarship, adding that history had already provided the answer. The former JAMB registrar also urged the new professor to use her scholarship to promote interreligious and intercultural understanding, stressing that religious scholarship should contribute to truth, justice, compassion and human dignity.

On his part, Prof. Balogun, who delivered the thanksgiving lecture at the reception, cautioned her against allowing her new status to create a distance between her and others. He urged her to remain humble, receptive to corrections and conscious of the limitations of human knowledge. Balogun said: “Remember always that the Professor does not know everything. A student may ask a question that the Professor cannot answer.” He added: “Remember also that humility is the glory of mortals. Humility affects how we respond to corrections, supervise our students, relate with our colleagues and lead our research teams.” Balogun also reminded Oladosu-Uthman that academic titles and appointments were not permanent, urging her to focus on the impact she would make through her new position. “No condition is permanent. Appointments end. Titles change. People will always remember how you treated them and what they were able to achieve through you now that you are a Professor,” he said.

The don also urged her to see humanity as her constituency, regardless of her academic achievements. “No matter how high you rise in academia, remain human. Consider the entire humanity as your constituency,” Balogun said. He described knowledge as an amanah (trust), saying scholars had a responsibility to ensure that knowledge was deployed for the good of society.

Prof. Habibat Oladosu-Uthman obtained her PhD in Islamic Thought and Civilization from the International Islamic University of Malaysia in 2011. Her research interests span comparative religion, Christian-Muslim relations, cultural criticism, Islam in West Africa, and gender studies. She is currently one of the focal persons at the University of Ibadan Gender Mainstreaming Office. She is also an International Fellow of the King Abdullah bin AbdulAziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) in Lisbon, Portugal (2019 cohort). In July 2026, Oladosu-Uthman delivered a lecture calling for the adoption of Qur’anic and Prophetic models as effective strategies for preventing gender-based violence against women and girls. She argued that adherence to Islamic principles would promote peace, justice and respect for human dignity, stating that “the Qur’anic and Prophetic models celebrate human dignity whether male or female.” She also condemned harmful cultural practices that violate the rights and dignity of women, including widowhood rites and festivals that restrict women’s movement. Balogun also paid tribute to pioneers of Arabic and Islamic scholarship, including Musa Oladipupo Ajilogba Abdul and Ismail Ayinla Babatunde Balogun, as well as other scholars whose contributions helped shape the development of Islamic studies in Nigerian universities.

Oloyede: Muslim Women Can Attain Highest Academic Rank — History Proves It