NAVIGATING THE SEAS: WOMEN IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

In the view of respondents the major constraints to women's advancement to leadership positions in higher education were 'cultural' and linked to women's interpersonal relationships. Many mentioned 'men's superiority complex', and social pressures on women not to move into the public sphere. Other common perceptions were of a widespread preference for male leadership, and general apathy among women with regard to taking on leadership. Nigeria's long history of militarisation inextricably linked leadership with authoritarianism, a quality that is not defined as feminine. In addition the volatile nature of staff and student activism in Nigerian higher education institutions often involves physical and psychological violence. This makes it easy for a community to designate university management as a terrain best suited to males. Other "disabilities" that emerged related to a woman's ethnicity, unmarried status or radical politics. Ethnicity, religious affiliation, and ideological orientation might be important determinants of opportunities to engage in decision making and succeed in leadership posts. These are not unambiguously beneficial for the women who occupy them Mbanefoh's study (1995) mentions the loneliness of women who find themselves in management positions in Nigeria. This study corroborates this. Participants in leadership position mentioned how often they had to have recourse to coping strategies, such as accessing family support, ignoring male prejudices, utilizing good time management, and "proving oneself often by working long hours or acquiring additional training. None thought of challenging the status quo or initiating systemic change. This was in spite of the fact that they could read the power relations within the system fairly accurately. Moreover, since these women acquired their posts through what they regarded as merit, they were wary of supporting affirmative action for women. While a few respondents commented on the old boy networks in facilitating men's success, they did not take due cognizance of how the organizational structure has been largely defined by men and often alienated women or that there were processes that could challenge the influence of these informal networks Women's groups have played an ambiguous role in projects to support women students and staff in higher education in Nigeria. In the 1970s conservative women's groups like the National Council of Women's Societies and the socialist feminist group, Women in Nige