DELTA STATE'S PROF. OGHENETEGA IGHEDO BREAKS 148-YEAR RECORD AS FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO BAG PURE MATHEMATICS PHD AT UNISA

A Delta State-born academic, Professor Oghenetega Ighedo, has become the first Black woman in the 148-year history of the University of South Africa (UNISA) to earn a PhD in Pure Mathematics.

Ighedo, an Associate Professor at UNISA, built her academic path from home soil, starting with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Mathematics at Delta State University before proceeding to the University of Ibadan for a Master's in Pure Mathematics. She completed her doctorate at UNISA in just three years.

She has said her mother, a retired mathematics teacher, first drew her into the subject, and that passion carried her through a demanding academic journey. Notably, she pursued the PhD while raising two children and expecting a third, completing the programme without pausing her responsibilities as a mother.

Her feat is being celebrated as a rare marker of excellence and representation for Black women in mathematics, a field where they remain significantly underrepresented, and as a source of inspiration for young people from Delta State and beyond who are considering careers in STEM.

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