Campus News

UNILORIN alumnus, Isiaka, wins Leverhulme Trust Fellowship

By Tajudeen Babamale

A 2016 First Class graduate of Biology Education from the Department of Science Education, University of Ilorin, Dr Abass Isiaka, has been awarded the prestigious Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship to undertake an ambitious research project at the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia (UEA), United Kingdom.

The highly competitive fellowship supports outstanding early career researchers to carry out independent, impactful, and publishable work at UK institutions for a period of three years.

Dr Isiaka, currently serving as a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Higher Education Research Practice Policy and Scholarship at UEA, was selected based on his impressive academic credentials and innovative research proposal.

With his project, entitled “Disabling by Design: Recasting the Future of Higher Education Policies in Africa”, this illustrious alumnus of the University of Ilorin aims to develop a social history of higher education in relation to disability inclusion, by tracing policy and institutional developments from 1940 to the present.

               In a phone chat with UNILORIN Bulletin, Dr Isiaka said that his work will adopt a histo-futurist methodology, which is a combination of historical analysis and future-oriented thinking, to uncover how colonial legacies and contemporary policies have shaped the inclusion (or exclusion) of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in West African higher education systems.

He stated that the research will involve archival and ethnographic work in both the UK and Nigeria and will be carried out in close collaboration with a leading Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO), such as the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities in Nigeria (JONAPWD). According to him, this partnership will ensure that the study is co-produced with the disabled community, enriching its relevance and impact.

Dr Isiaka expressed deep appreciation for the fellowship, describing it as a validation of his long-standing commitment to disability justice and inclusive education. He said, “This award will provide me with the opportunity to explore the connection between coloniality and disability and how it continues to shape disabled people’s access to higher education in West Africa.” He added that “it will also help us reflect on how similar patterns might be visible across other regions of Africa”.

After graduating top of his class at UNILORIN in 2016, Dr Isiaka won the Commonwealth Scholarship in 2018, which enabled him to pursue a Master’s degree in Education, Public Policy and Equity at the University of Glasgow, UK. He subsequently obtained a Ph.D. in Inclusive Education from the University of East Anglia in 2024.

Dr Isiaka has focused on widening participation, decolonising higher education, and improving access for marginalised groups, particularly persons with disabilities. His upcoming Leverhulme-funded study is expected to make a significant contribution to scholarship and policy debates around disability justice and inclusive education in Africa and beyond.

Reflecting on the essence of the project, he said: “It presents innovative approaches to gathering histories and making new possibilities, allowing for a future that acknowledge and attempt to avoid the violence of the past and the present”.

He added that while substantial research exists on the colonial roots of higher education in Africa, little has been done to interrogate the enduring impact of (neo) colonial systems on disabled students’ experiences and aspirations, especially in West Africa. “By uncovering the often-silenced histories of disabled people in the fight for independence and access to education, this project seeks to reimagine inclusive futures,” he said.