Prior to taking up my fellowship award, I studied medicine in Nigeria and graduated in 2007. I did my first Master’s degree in London as a Chevening scholar in 2014, but I wanted to develop human rights education in my work. Nigeria did not have disability law; at the time disability was only looked at through a medical lens. I was fortunate to then go on to study international disability law at the University of Galway.

I studied the LLM in International Disability Law and Policy because I wanted to study disability from a Human Rights perspective. I reached out to the CBM DID Director for advice, as I was deciding between my course and another course in Dublin, but it was highly recommended to choose the course at the University of Galway because of the relation of the scope of the work and my field. This was the best advice in my career.

The course has changed my perspective about disability and health as a whole. I had a medical approach before and viewed things from the medical model. I learned how to think in an interdisciplinary lens and move out of just focusing on things from a medical perspective. I have the ability to grasp and concept things that relate to disability. It gave me exposure to forums and public health presentations. I don’t think any European country has the same course; it is unique in its entirety, and opens a whole opportunity for Ireland.

My time and memories in Ireland were great. I traveled a lot and made a lot of friends. Rural Ireland is beautiful and Galway is a well-recognized UNESCO site. People are very warm and friendly everywhere all-around Ireland, from Cork to Mayo. I liked the weather, and I prefer Galway weather to Dublin! Some things that surprised me about living in Ireland including learning about the history between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The landscape is beautiful; everywhere in Ireland is green and beautiful. I got to meet a lot of people I regard as heroes, like Mary Robinson, the first female president of Ireland. I never knew Gaelic was a language in Ireland, and I got to learn about the Irish language. I was surprised about the Guinness factory in Ireland as Guinness is very popular in Nigeria. There are also so many pub meetings! I would say that Ireland is very multicultural and welcoming.

When I returned to Nigeria I was in the same position at my job, and I received a salary increase. I worked for one year in that position, and during that year I helped increase the knowledge of disability law and rights in Nigeria. I supported the legislation and the Disability Discrimination Act. Because of my experience and knowledge that I acquired in the course I did at the University of Galway, I got an international job in 2020. I worked in Ethiopia and then moved to Iraq for a while. I worked with the World bank as a consultant and with the United Nations in Somalia. The work I was able to do was all because of my course; especially because it involved law and policy. I am currently a PhD student on a commonwealth scholarship in the UK. My work builds on the course I studied in Ireland. I have been fortunate to be able to train people and develop new policies across sectors. My experience at the University of Galway taught me to be an advocate and understand disability from a human right perspective. In my course, I got to learn new laws and legislations in different countries and continents. We also had exposure to different lecturers from across the globe. My course raised the bar for me. I now give people with disabilities voices and autonomy, and push people with disabilities to be a part of the decision-making process.

I am aiming to work for the United Nations or another international organization to change the disability narrative as a whole and work on disability policy. I would like to change the medical curriculum to ensure disability is always front and centre. I would also like to be involved with fighting the wealth divide and I would like to overall contribute to society.

I highly recommend the Ireland Fellows Programme, in fact I have already done that! I have supported a few mentees to join the Ireland Fellows Programme. Ireland is a good place to study, and I will continue to recommend the Programme.

My advice for someone who is beginning the Ireland Fellows Programme would be: Maximize and focus on your academics.

1. Explore beautiful Ireland and their tourist sites.
2. Keep ties with Ireland. I am still in contact with my friends and colleagues in Ireland and I am part of Alumni Groups at the University of Galway and the Ireland Fellows Programme.
3. Make lifelong friends. I was fortunate to make a lifelong friendship with a classmate from Mozambique, Malawi, Ireland, the US, and across the globe.