‘My pursuit for PhD was to keep my brain active at 71’
It took me that long because I came in first to run a Masters programme
Ifeyinwa Onyemachi Felicia
Seventy-one-year-old Marinze, Ifeyinwa Onyemachi Felicia recently bagged a PhD in French from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), making her the oldest to bag a doctorate degree in the history of the university. In this Interview with Daily Trust Saturday, the grandma who hails from Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State opens up on why she decided to further her education at such an old age and what her experiences were like, going back to the class as a student after many decades.
DT: You just bagged a doctorate degree at the age of 71, what were your experiences as a student?
Marinze: It was a very refreshing one because I took it as a retirement project, having retired from the Yaba College of Technology as a Chief Lecturer. I felt I needed to keep my brain working because I have been taught that you can extend the brain to any level but if you allow it to be dormant, it will die and once it starts dying, your hormones too will start dying. I am not ready to die yet; so, I decided to use the brain and put into practice all that I have experienced all through my years of teaching in order to bring solution to problems I encountered in the classroom in order to help the younger ones achieve their goals in live.
That was what motivated me to go for the programme irrespective of my age. Funny enough, I don’t even think of age because I have a focus and I have something I’m pursuing.
DT: It took you nine years to bag the doctorate degree, why was that?
Marinze: It took me that long because I came in first to run a Masters programme. I had all my degree programmes in Education and I needed to enhance my French. I read Education French/English in my first degree at the University of Ibadan, so I came to UNILAG to study Curriculum Studies in the Faculty of Education and I wanted to pursue this PhD not in Education but in French. So, I had to go over to the Faculty of Arts to take up Masters in French again. After that, I went to Master of Philosophy and from M.Phil to PhD. All of that took me nine years but I wasn’t really stressed all through because I had good friends in the faculty.
DT: What’s your next plan now that you have obtained your PhD?
Marinze: I am now a consultant. I have so many projects I am running at the Yaba College of Technology and anybody that is interested in knowing what is happening in the teaching and learning of French in Nigeria can consult me.
DT: Have you written any book?
Marinze: Of course, I have written about six books in French and I am writing one now based on all my findings, out of the PhD work.
DT: What was the reaction of your children when you decided to go back to school at old age?
Marinze: My children too graduated from UNILAG, so everybody was a student. Sometimes, I go to their hostel to eat; so, it was fun, all the way, being in school with my children.
DT: Did you at any point in the course of your study consider quitting due to the rigours involved?
Marinze: Yes, because my supervisors were tough but they are parents that can slap you with one hand and use the other hand to draw you close. I believe they also knew why I was in school and they saw the zeal that I wanted to succeed. I also had good friends in the department such that when I am tired, they take me to their offices to relax my back. Some even take me to Amala joint to enjoy myself.
DT: What major challenge did you face while writing your thesis?
Marinze: Typing my thesis was a challenge because nobody typed it for me; I did it myself because it’s French and I wanted to get it right. So, when typing, my waist ached but God helped me.
DT: Outside academics, how is your social life?
Marinze: Oh! I believe in the word of God and I always enjoy my church – The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, otherwise known as TREM. My bishop said that what the word of God does not give you does not exist, and you don’t need it.
DT: What is your advice to young ones who want to excel?
Marinze: You know these young people are extremely fast, so I advise them to calm down, seek the face of God because He has plans for everybody even before they were born. I encourage the young ones to be patient and focused in pursuing their dreams.