By Aminah Bangbala/Osogbo
The Head of Department (HOD), Mass Communication, Fountain University, Mr. Kamoru Aremu Salaudeen has obtained a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) from the University of Ibadan.
Muslim News gathered that the feat was recorded on Friday, December 31, 2021 after he successfully defended his thesis in Strategic Communication with focus on Health Communication Intervention Strategies from the Department of Communication and Language Arts, Faculty of Arts.
The Ayetoro, Ogun State born lecturer expressed excitement in an interview with Muslim News, as he joined family, friends and professional colleagues on social media to celebrate his Phd achievements.
He said, “I feel on top of the world. This is because UI is the premier university in Nigeria and to bag a PhD preceded with BA and MA in the same institution and the Department of Communication and Language Arts, one must really be happy about it.”
The eloquent public speaker told Muslim News that it wasn’t easy shuttling between Osogbo – where he lectures and Ibadan – where he receives lectures, during the programme, which lasted for eight years. He however, noted that he was able to surmount the challenge with high level of sacrifice.
According to him, “You know research is one of the tripartite responsibilities of a lecturer. Although it wasn’t so easy since I became the Head of Department in the last three years, I surmounted the challenge with high level of sacrifice, time management and sense of organisation.
“Sometimes I worked round the clock keeping awake at night after a long day work in the office. You know, my mother trained me with the spirit of endurance and focus. No pain, no gain was her usual advice”, he stated.
Dr. Salaudeen recalled that at a particular time during his programme, he took loans and contributions to pay school fees in order to ensure his family didn’t suffer.
He said, “Nothing good comes without challenges and obstacles. First was finance. Running a PhD programme without funding amidst other financial responsibilities wasn’t easy at all. But self-discipline and financial literacy helped. Sometimes I took loans and contributions to pay school fees in order to ensure the family didn’t suffer too much. But, I must appreciate my wife for her understanding.
“Also, combining work with PhD study was a herculean task because my classes mustn’t be kwashiokored in terms of lecture contents, practical coordination, student project supervision and so on. I must also confess that teaching some courses assisted in the formulation of the PhD study,” he said.
Speaking further, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Golden Communication Consult said one of the greatest challenges was that the PhD programme snatched him away from his family.
“My greatest challenge was that PhD snatched me away from my children and wife. I didn’t have quality time for them. I was always unavailable because my time was choked. There were some spiritual aspects of the programme which I was forced to accept at the tail of the programme. I had always debunked this idea until my personal experience around one month to the end of the programme when my thesis document got infected with virus. All efforts to redeem it was to no avail. I had to go a month backward with an available version to continue the work. But it eventually paid off because it gave me the opportunity to improve on certain parts of the thesis. It turned out to be the case of the proverbial burnt palace.
Dr. Salaudeen had his OND in Public Administration from The Polytechnic, Ibadan. He bagged BA, MA, in Communication and Language Arts, from the University of Ibadan. He proceeded to Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State where he bagged MSc in Mass Communication. He then returned to UI to pursue his PhD in Applied/Strategic Communication.
He belongs to several professional bodies which include African Council for Communication Education (ACCE); International Association of Media Communication Research (IAMCR); Society for Interdisciplinary Research (SIR) and Muslim Lecturers’ Association (MLA).
Dr Salaudeen extended his appreciation to his parents, wife and the leadership of The Muslim Congress (TMC), the religious organization he belongs.
“It is important for me to show gratitude to people who contributed to my career. First are my parents who laid a solid foundation of home training and elementary education. My mother told me after the defense that she prayed to Allah to make her children reach the peak in education and this is a testimony to the acceptance of the prayer. If my father did not pay my WAEC fee years back, I couldn’t have reached this stage.
“I appreciate my wife, Hajia Musharafah Wakili-Salaudeen for her cooperation without which this attainment would not have been possible. She owns the certificate. It is just going to be written in my name.
“I also thank the leadership of The Muslim Congress (TMC) worldwide, especially in Oyo State. I must confess that TMC made me. The Congress helped in the formation of my total personality and shaping of my career-focus with unflinching commitment. I have learnt through the process that being a devout Muslim doesn’t impede one’s career or achievement. My exposure through TMC also gives me the opportunity to try out my training and skills to the level of being a professional,” he added.
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