By Adeyinka Adeniran
“East or West, home is home”. Those were the words of Aderonke Ige, one of the 44 Nigerian Chevening scholars who returned to Nigeria from the United Kingdom where they had gone to study for Master’s degree in various sectors on the prestigious Chevening scholarship award.
Speaking on Thursday, at a welcome event organised for the Chevening and Commonwealth Scholars at the British residence in Lagos Nigeria, the scholars shared about their time and diverse experiences in the United Kingdom. Aderonke Ige, who was awarded MSc. Development Studies from the critically acclaimed School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London, said that her UK experience was “well-rounded, expository and challenging in many meaningful ways”. She went further to say that the systemic investment in the mental wellbeing of students, beyond academic pursuit was one of the key factors she found most impressive for rethinking people-centered systems and structures. The scholar who lived in Central London, East London and South London, all within the space of one year hailed the multicultural persona of London city and its inclusive system.
The British Deputy High Commissioner, Jonny Baxter, while welcoming the Chevening and Commonwealth scholars back home expressed excitement at the various achievements of the scholars and encouraged the cohort to leverage the rich Chevening Alumni network and other opportunities afforded by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
On what is next, beaming with passion and palpable drive, Aderonke disclosed that her contribution to society is only about to skyrocket. According to the visibly optimistic scholar, “To whom much is given, much is expected”. She said that Nigeria and the African continent are dear to her heart. She is therefore determined to use her non-profit platform, Help Initiative for Social Justice and Humanitarian Development for greater good and promotion of worthy causes.
According to Aderonke, not for once did she lose sight of her grounding values and the enormous work that lies ahead in the areas of human rights and the intersections of climate justice, water access, gender justice and youth development. While abroad, she continued to mobilise power within local communities. She emphasized that technology came in handy, and she was able to organise her constituents for climate action, including at the climate conference (COP 28), where she campaigned on issues of adaptation, mitigation and climate finance and reparations, and at the Pan-African Youth Forum in Algeria, where she addressed the issue of “Youth Democratic Disconnect in Africa”.
The scholar said since her return, she has been part of the process to validate a model climate change law for Africa, a task she undertook with two of her fellow Chevening scholars, Olufunke Oyinlola who studied Crime, Justice and Psychology at the University of Leicester and Miracle Ogba who studied Human Rights Law at the Queen Mary University of London. The joint task, the three Chevening scholars said, was a collaborative effort with the National Institute for legislative and Democratic Institute of Nigeria (NILDS) and the Africa Group of Negotiators Support, led by Professor George Wamukoya from Kenya. According to Aderonke, being invited by the institution to be part of such a crucial process is a serious assignment that could not have been taken with levity. She also shared that it demonstrated the willingness of stakeholders on climate change in Nigeria and Africa as a whole to accommodate robust views and recognise human rights as an undeniable tenet in the climate discourse.
Speaking to our correspondence on what the future holds, Aderonke said she is optimistic about the positive possibilities that lie ahead for Nigeria as a leading global force and Africa to regain its pride of place. She emphasized that individuals must take on the task and commit to “project Nigeria” and “project Africa” in meaningful ways, for both and long-term impacts.
Aderonke has begun in earnest as she and team are taking their value-reorientation initiative into communities across Nigeria, hoping to restore value systems and hopes of the youth population in systemic change.
