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Reading: Brilliant Nigerian Mathematician becomes the first woman to earn PhD in Mathematics at UNISA, breaks record
Reading: Brilliant Nigerian Mathematician becomes the first woman to earn PhD in Mathematics at UNISA, breaks record

Brilliant Nigerian Mathematician becomes the first woman to earn PhD in Mathematics at UNISA, breaks record

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Festus Conteh
By Festus Conteh 110 Views 2 Min Read
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Brilliant Nigerian Mathematician becomes the first woman to earn PhD in Mathematics at UNISA, breaks record
Brilliant Nigerian Mathematician becomes the first woman to earn PhD in Mathematics at UNISA, breaks record

An exceptional young Nigerian Mathematic professor identified as Ms. Oghenetega Ighedo has recently scripted a 148-year-old record at the University of South Africa after emerging as the first-ever black woman to earn a Doctorate Degree (PhD) in Pure Mathematics from the institution.

Oghenetega Ighedo, now an Associate Professor of Pure Mathematics, started her higher Academic studies at Delta State University, South-South, Nigeria where she bagged a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Mathematics.

She proceeded to the University of Ibadan, South-West, Nigeria for her Master’s degree in Mathematics before enrolling at the University of South Africa for her Doctorate degree (PhD). Speaking about the record she broke at the Unversity of South Africa, Oghenetega Ighedo narrated that she was inspired by her mother who was a Mathematics teacher.

“I was inspired by my mother – a retired maths teacher. I saw the way she was going about teaching it and when I grew older, I thought the way she did maths was interesting and I wanted to see if I could do it like her,” she said.

Oghenetega Ighedo also added that she remains dedicated to studying Pure Mathematics because there are few black mathematicians and most especially because there are few black women who are pure mathematician.

“My decision to study pure mathematics was also motivated by the fact that not only are there few black pure mathematicians but there are fewer black women who are pure mathematicians,” she added.

Professor Oghenetega Ighedo encouraged young women not to let adversity and challenges of Mathematics deter them from excelling in the field. “When I started my PhD I was already married, I had two children and was expecting my 3rd child. In spite of being a mother and a wife, I was able to complete my PhD within three years,” she narrated.

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Festus Conteh is an international youth that functions conveniently in all forms of writing including article writing, news, script, content writing, constitution and project/proposal writing. Writing is fun to Festus and has brought fame and recognition in his clime. In 2019, he was awarded best upcoming writer in an online writing completion that was organized by the Association of Sierra Leonean Authors (ASLA). After his impactful contribution to national development and cohesion through writing, he was nominated for the African Genius Award for the Best Writer in Africa Award Category an award he lost to one of the greatest African Writers - Chinua Achebe. In 2022, Festus was one of the applicants to the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) as Vice Chairperson (Policy and Advocacy) a process that met imperil feedback. As a freelancer, Festus has written articles for magazines, newspapers, and media houses and his articles have attracted big media houses including BBC, Aljazeera and Legit. Ng and is the Head of Programs at Salone Messenger a public relations firm based in Sierra Leone with the latest news and information. He is the founder of Africa’s Wakanda a platform that spotlight the beauty of Africa. Festus is also a perpetual volunteer in life-changing causes and has shown great commitment and dedication to being a catalyst and solution to the challenges faced by young people like himself. Festus currently serves as the Secretary General of the Africa Youth Leaders movement which is a network of youth between the ages of 20 – 30 years who have shown achievement, leadership potential and commitment to make a difference. Festus is also the Africa Focal Point of Youth for Change Initiative, which is a platform through which young people can access resources, be empowered and given the opportunity to grow to become useful members of society who will participate in the development of their communities and nation. Along with another Africa Youth platform, Festus has Co-Founded the Future of Africa initiative which is an advocate forum with the aim to bring together local and international socio-economic stakeholders to support innovative programs aimed at advancing the radical and practical progress of adoption awareness-vulnerable children and youth and youth leadership-through interlinking local, regional and international resources and opportunities.