Masakhe 02_DIGITAL PAPERTURN - Flipbook - Page 36
they didn’t have females in Building,
and he was trying to get female
students to do Building.
years ago… we had nothing. There
was no information about how we
were building houses, what society
was like. So, my writing is that if
somebody… in five hundred years’
time wants to know what happened in
the housing industry; what happened
in the construction industry in South
Africa; what would they be reading?
What about architecture appealed to
you?
When I was in secondary school, I
noticed that there were lots of people
who lived in poor conditions and
housing, and I was wondering, ‘why
couldn’t anyone do anything about
improving the quality of life of the
citizens?’ So that was what led me
there… It’s still one of my goals.
Have you come across any indigenous
African building methods or materials
that have interested you?
Yeah, I did come across… like the
palm tree really interested me. I’m still
trying to write about that one. At the
University of Ife, I saw that they use
it in building bridges because it’s so
strong. They use it in ceilings, flooring,
the wood for the roof framework…
Who were some of your influences
or mentors when you were in
university?
I had a cousin. She was a lawyer, a
very fierce independent woman. She
was running a law firm. Yeah, I stayed
with her for a while. I really loved the
way that she handled things. So, she
was one.
It says online that you were the
first woman with full professorship
in construction management.
Some sources said in Nigeria and
South Africa, and some say on the
continent.
Yes, that’s because we were unable
to verify at the time of publication,
but we’ve been able to verify that it is
in Africa. We don’t have any female…
You know, the leading universities will
be in Egypt or in Algeria and so on,
I looked you up online and saw that
you’ve won a number of awards,
and you’ve also written a number of
papers as well. What drives you to
get into this sort of work?
What’s driving me, especially
about writing is that I wish we
had somebody write something
about Africa. Just five hundred
“WHEN I WAS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL, I NOTICED
THAT THERE WERE LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED
IN POOR CONDITIONS AND HOUSING, AND I
WAS WONDERING, ‘WHY COULDN’T ANYONE DO
ANYTHING ABOUT IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF
LIFE OF THE CITIZENS?’”
ISSUE 2
DECEMBER 2 025
34
