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Interview conducted by Wanda Teays, Acting Director of the Bioethics Certificate Program

Thank you, Dr. Omonzejele, for agreeing to be our first Bioethicist being in the Spotlight for the Bioethics Certificate Program here at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles! We would appreciate your sharing with us a bit about you and your work as a Bioethicist.

Let’s start with asking: What is your current position?
I am a faculty, and a full Professor of Cross-Cultural Bioethics & Policy at the University of Benin, Benin-City, Nigeria. I am the first professor of bioethics in Nigeria.

How long have you been there?
I have worked at the University of Benin, Benin-City, Nigeria for over twenty (20) years.

How long have you been working in Bioethics?
I have been working as a PhD bioethicist since 2009 at the University of Benin.

What are your job duties?
My duties: teaching philosophy and bioethics courses at the undergraduate & postgraduate levels. Administrative duties as Head of Department from July 2013 to June 2016, and from July 2021 to June 2023. I am on several Committees in the University of Benin, and I was also on the Board of Health at the University of Benin from 2019 to June 2023. I am also involved in academic writings culminating in publications in peer-reviewed journals in the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Germany, Israel and of course Nigeria.

What drew you to working in this field?
I cannot remember a particular incident that drew me to bioethics, however, I was supported along the way by Emeritus Prof. Hans Martin- Sass, Prof. Heta Gylling, Prof. Udo Schuklenk, Prof. Thaddeus Metz and Prof. Doris Schroeder. I am grateful to them all.

You wrote a strong article on vulnerable subjects in research—would you say a few words on any changes you’ve seen in addressing that issue?
Since my work on vulnerable populations published in the USA, I am presently exploring in a specific way, how cultural practices in patriarchal societies, such as those in most African countries (often times with women as gate keepers) impede women's health.

What advice would you give to students interested in going into the field of Bioethics?
Bioethics, an area of Applied Ethics, solves real life problems in healthcare, healthcare delivery and define & guide policy on how to safely undertake medical research, utilize the use of scarce resources in low-income countries and ethical decision-making in medical settings. Many of my students find the field of Bioethics interesting and engaging, I think this is because they find the move from theoretical philosophy to practical philosophy in the field of Bioethics as very interesting. I very much encourage my students to study Bioethics and I am presently supervising Masters and Doctorate students in the field of Bioethics.

What do you see are the key issues we need to address?
There is the need to fund bioethics training and in Africa. In addition, there is the need to involve African bioethicists in more international Bioethics research collaborations.

What are the greatest satisfactions from working in Bioethics?
My satisfaction is mostly that my bioethics research and publications help solve real life problems.

What is(are) the biggest challenge(s) in bioethics in Nigeria?
The most serious challenge of Bioethics in Nigeria is that most people do not know what the field is all about. In fact, most have never heard of the word.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us—and for your contribution to the field of Bioethics.