Today, March 8, is the International Women’s Day (IWD).

The 2025 IWD has the theme #AccelerateAction. Annually the day is observed globally with the focus of advancing gender equality. While there are still more grounds to cover on the issue of gender equality in Nigeria, the Guardian Newspaper celebrates the impact made by female professionals in their fields. In no special order, Guardian correspondent showcases a few of the numerous Nigerian female professionals with impact across different fields.

Barrister Modupe Helen Awosemusi:
A legal practitioner, social worker, mediator, conciliator, Gender Rights Advocate and administrator, Barrister Awosemusi is currently the Director and Head of the Department of Oyo State Mediation Centre after serving as the pioneer Coordinator of the Oyo State Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Team and Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SGBVRT & SARC) for about five (5) years and also the Administrator General and Public Trustee of Oyo State for about 6 months. Mrs Awosemusi has championed several advocacies targeted at preventing gender-based violence in Oyo State and by extension, the Southwestern Nigeria where the impact of her work has been tremendously felt. Her efforts have not only influenced governmental policies but also strengthened institutional and constitutional tools in the fight against gender-based violence. Her innovative protocols and contributions to policies on response to sexual assaults, reproductive health and rights as well as other gender related matters have been applied in Oyo State and beyond with remarkable successes in number of cases prosecuted in addition to preventing further occurrences of gender-based violence in Oyo State. She is highly sort after by the Nigerian media on the prevention and management of gender-based violence in Nigeria.

Mrs Ifeyinwa Madu:
A renown mathematician and computer scientist with expertise in Industrial and Computational Mathematics, Mrs Madu is goal-oriented professional offering outstanding, communication, organizational and multitasking abilities. A seasoned professional with close to three decades in academia, reputed for solving real-life problems through IT tools and mathematics. She is a Chief Lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, being one of the pioneer academic staff in the Department of Computer Science in the institution. Mrs Madu has displayed extraordinary ability in interpersonal skills/Behaviour modelling, Online class discussions, Data Management, Data mining, Machine learning, Teaching, Programming languages, PYTHON, FORTRAN, R, C BASIC IBAMR, MATLAB, LATEX, SPSS, Microsoft Office Suite, GOGGLE SKILL SET. Machine Learning (Deep learning). Mrs Madu is a gifted orator and has been keynote speaker in local and international conferences for more than two decades. A dedicated mentor and advocate of more women’s inclusion in science and technology, Mrs Madu is reputed for facilitating workshops and seminars on the application of IT tools and statistical software for industrial and research purposes. She is currently carrying out research at the Morgan State University, Baltimore, United States with focus on the investigation of RNA genomes (malaria, microRNA of 20 to 25 nucleotides or bases), using RNA secondary structure prediction techniques to find optimal RNA structures.

Her work is making impact on improving the current Python-based algorithm for RNA folds for sequences of length 25 or longer thereby establishing a connection between the Lattice Path RNA Prediction Model and the SIR Entomology Model. Hence, the novelty of her work is applying the new model to a malaria genome, improving SIR model parameters, and exploring implications. The influential part of her work is that it strengthens both biomedical engineering as well as medicine in the fight against tropical diseases especially malaria.

Professor Olufunke Eunice Ola-Davies
An extraordinary veterinarian, biomedical scientist and veterinary educator, Professor Ola-Davies is the first female professor of veterinary biochemistry in Sub-Saharan Africa and the first female Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan. She is currently concluding her second term in office as the dean of the faculty. A fellow, College of Veterinary Surgeons, Nigeria and Consultant Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Ibadan, Professor Ola-Davies is a board member of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria & has been Chairperson, Continuing Education Committee of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria since August 2023 to March 2025. She is also a member of the African Association of Veterinary Education Establishments (2A2E-V) executive representing West Africa. The impact of her research has been tremendous in the assessment of genotoxicity and antigenotoxicity of the extracts of a number of tropical medicinal plants. Her footprint on environmental toxicity has attracted the endorsement of international bodies including the European Union with regards to her publications on environmental and tissue disruption caused by bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disrupting chemical widely applied in the manufacture of plastics and epoxy resins. A statutory board member of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN), Professor Ola-Davies has contributed immensely to veterinary education and practice in Nigeria. She has been instrumental in the establishment of Veterinary Biochemistry in Veterinary Faculties in Nigeria, being a resource person for VCN Accreditations of Veterinary programmes in universities. Her influential drive has revolutionalise the face of continuous education among veterinarians in Nigeria. Back at her base at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ola-Davies achievements as the Dean have undoubtedly further entrenched the saying: “What a man can do, a woman can do better”.

Professor Dorcas Oluwatoyin Ayimoro
is the first Professor of Community Development and Women/Gender issues to be appointed in the Department of Adult Education at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State. Professor Ayimoro’s life depicts that of a warrior that would not be stopped from getting to the peak of her pursuit, the length of time or the path notwithstanding. For example, she started her teaching pursuit from the then Grade II Teachers’ School, followed by obtaining the NCE (Nigeria Certificate in Education), before bagging the BA.Ed (Hons.) (Language Arts/French) and the M.Ed Community Development as well as the Ph.D Community Development from the University of Ibadan. Professor Ayimoro has been engaged in stirring the female gender to give it all it takes to reach the peak of their career, no matter the unfavourable situation. She has a loud voice in the advocacy for institutional support for young professional women and recently has taken the campaign to secondary schools in an effort to catch them young. Her impact on gender and community development has been great both among Nigerian women and in the field of academics. She is reputed for her advocacies in the prevention of gender-based violence as well as in the campaign against breast cancer. Professor Ayimoro’s work has attracted local and international non-governmental organisations including Women of Dignity International, Canada, where she bagged awards and the hero status. Of great impact were her advocacies among rural communities during the COVID-19 pandemic when she mobilised support for rural women in the prevention of the spread of the virus. Also, she was the pioneer Chairperson of the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), Ondo State Branch.

Her advocacies on gender empowerment have influenced governmental policies while providing axillary support to roles of medical practitioners in the fight against breast cancer. On the fight against violence to females, her voice has provided hope and courage to victims of rape and sexual harassment and helped many victims to speak out in the face of victimisation. She continues to provide mentorship roles to younger generation of academicians while remaining a resource person to the media on gender issues and community development.