Paper short abstract:

The paper will use the Harvard Analytical framework to analyse how leadership in educational institutions are challenging the asymmetries in power relations in Africa. It will examine how policies made from Ivory towers engenders or propel upsurge of leadership.

Paper long abstract:

Over the years, there have been extreme inequalities between men and women, which has been propelled and sustained by religion, culture, patriarchal nature of most societies leading to men becoming more powerful in most sectors of the society given the unequal access of women to resources. The result has skewed power relations in favour of men. However, various agencies through formal and informal education are beginning to enlightening the community of the danger inherent in entrenching patriarchy at all levels. This study, therefore, adopts the Harvard Analytical Framework to analyse ethnographic and quantitative data gathered from Nigeria Universities to examine how various leadership models are challenging the asymmetries in power relations and also building up a pool of leadership in both genders. Using cases from Nigerian Universities. The study reveals the dynamic nature of power relations. It reveals how unequal access to resources entrench patriarchy and how formal education is helping to break the status quo.