Prof. Jane-Frances Obiageli Agbu: The psychologist using open to heal the world around her
Prof. Jane-Frances Obiageli Agbu is intentional about spreading joy and happiness. As a kid who grew up with lots of love from her family, she just wants to spread it and open education was the right vehicle she needed. She speaks to Inspiring Open’s Betty Kankam-Boadu.
Many years ago, Prof. Jane-Frances Obiageli Agbu intimated to her mother that she’d become a professor. It was meant to be a joke, but little did she know that the gods of the future were listening and would turn that jest into reality.
Decades on from that light conversation, she is now a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). It is a journey that has required determination, overcoming stereotypes and rejection at some point, and spreading a lot of love.
But like every story, Prof. Obiageli Agbu’s character stems from her upbringing. Born in Onitsha, a city near the Niger River in Nigeria’s Anambra State, she is the eighth of 10 children birthed by her parents.
The influential psychologist is the type whose presence is readily felt whenever she walks into any room. She’s captivating, radiates positive energy and is very open – traits that endear her to anyone who is lucky to encounter her.
These affable characteristics, however, didn’t come to her by chance. Prof. Obiageli Agbu grew up as a ‘mummy’s girl’ and when you are surrounded by such abundant love and affection, it shapes you.
“My mum influenced me quite a bit because I grew up seeing the strength and the love that she has, not just for us but for the people around her,” she said on the Inspiring Open podcast, hosted by Betty Kankam-Boadu.
“A very simple woman but full of strength, full of wisdom, full of love. When you come from that kind of love, no matter how challenging things are, you’re bound to thrive.”
Prof. Obiageli Agbu’s rise in academia makes people think she had things easy, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It is facile to draw such a conclusion, though, despite the fact that she has a Masters and Ph.D. from the University of Lagos; is a laureate of the Institute of Open leadership, and is also on the board of Open Education Global.
Hers is the story of a woman who came from humble beginnings but wasn’t afraid to deviate from the status quo. How she even ventured into psychology is another tale that details her resolve to succeed at anything she sets her mind to.
She stumbled on psychology in a brochure while scouring for courses to read at the university. According to her, she “loved the sound of psychology, so I started reading about it.”
“The first year was tough and I had to kind of adjust because I had no alternative,” she concedes. “Some of my friends decided to move to other programmes. But I was curious to go through with it. Now I’m here as a psychologist and I think it has paved the way for me to understand a lot of things about life in general.”
Prof. Obiageli Agbu has been a clinical psychologist for many years now and is a senior member of the Nigeria Psychological Association and Nigeria Clinical Association. But it was her introduction to Open that changed her life and her career.
When she joined the National Open University of Nigeria in 2006 as a lecturer, open and distance learning wasn’t common in the country then. She picked the institution because it was close to her home and afforded her the luxury of continuing to study for her Ph.D., as well as catering to her children.
But she soon found open education to be more interesting than she first thought. That is not to say everyone was happy with her decision to choose open education over attending a more traditional university.
“When I joined them [Nigeria Psychology Association], they cast a vote informally that I’d be the least successful as a psychologist. I wasn’t given a chance,” she said.
“And my teachers, although they didn’t really say it to my face, they felt so disappointed. Even one mentioned that he wasted his time training me. When I was going to the Open University, I needed a reference and it was difficult.”
Prof. Obiageli Agbu, however, overcame all these setbacks and has since been using her position to shine more light on the importance of open education. She has helped thousands of nurses earn degrees while still working – an option that wasn’t available to them in the past.
She believes the seeming aversion towards Open is due to misconceptions and people’s unwillingness to adapt to technology. “People need to be open-minded to learn new things. Don’t castigate others for trying to embrace new things,” she rallies.
On her highlight from embracing Open, Prof. Obiageli Agbu opined: “Every morning I wake up, smile and I’m happy to go to work. That is how I feel working at Open University.
“Only an open system gives that opportunity. It is so beautiful, so uplifting. It is what humanity should learn to appreciate.”
Post a comment: