Over the past two weeks we have heard from colleagues about what black history means to them.
More specifically, we have heard how the theme for this year’s Black History Month of “reclaiming the narrative” has been impacted (as most of us have been) by their personal experiences, either of the recent, racially motivated riots or the disparities in ethnic minority staff experiences in the workforce.
It is important we continue to share these stories. But we need to be bold and brave to make the changes we all want to see.
Being African and having lived in Nigeria from the age of 5 to 19, my identity has always been linked to my family, my religion, and my Nigerian language/tribe, which is Igbo.
I never really identified as black until I arrived in the UK in the 1990s, when the idea of being judged for being different was starkly felt. Having experienced bias and prejudice while at college, university, at work and outside of work during the 1990s and early 2000s, I can see how the recent events can bring back feelings of injustice.
On a personal level for me, however, Black History Month has always been a time for celebration, to recognise those individuals of black heritage, who have had an impact on society or their field of work – Mary Seacole and Dr Harold Moody in the field of health, for example – while also bringing us together as a more inclusive society.
So, in the spirit of celebration, I would like to use this opportunity to celebrate my father, Professor Nelson Iwenofu Ngoka, who sadly passed away aged 46 in 1990.
He would have been 80 this year. In honour of him, I would like to reflect on his achievements and some of his contributions. He was born in extreme poverty, the youngest son of a family of 8 in rural Nigeria in the 1940s.
From a young age, he showed a bright spark and affinity for education and as the family could only afford to send one or two family members to school, he was chosen at the expense of his siblings. Hence his constant reminders to me through his life about the value of education.
He went on to win a scholarship to study engineering at the University of Liverpool and a then a masters at the University of Bristol in the 1960s, where he continued to lecture in the 1970s before returning to Nigeria in the 1980s.
His main interests were in environmental studies, renewable energy and building technology. He was the founding member of the first Solar Energy Society of Nigeria in the 1980s.
He invented one of the first solar water heating tanks in Nigeria in the 1980s and published a number of journals on the benefits of renewable energy. He did this despite significant opposition from the Government and others at his university who were focussed on expanding Nigeria as an oil producing nation. In my eyes he was brave beyond his time!
Black History Month, while an opportunity to celebrate our diverse histories and contributions, is also a reminder of the positive impact we can all have on society, when we are braver about calling out poor practice, but also taking the time to embrace, support, celebrate and educate each other about our differences and cultures.
So, as your Director of People and Inclusion, I would encourage all of us, both black and non-black allies, to embrace opportunities to learn more about our histories, staff experiences, stories and journeys, perhaps finding the time in our busy schedules to speak to and check in on someone you would not normally speak to - after you have completed your staff survey, of course!
Let us make this an inclusive organisation to be proud of.
So, what’s your own story, let’s start sharing.
Date published: 16 October 2024
