The University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, has lost its first female professor in the Department of Political Science, Faculty of the Social Sciences, Prof. Aituaje Irene Pogoson.
Prof. Pogoson, aged 65, reportedly passed away at a private specialist hospital in Ibadan over the weekend.
She was a former Head of the Department of Political Science and a distinguished scholar in international relations and governance studies.
It would be recalled that Prof. Pogoson delivered UI’s 545th Inaugural Lecture titled “The World in Transition: Understanding Power in the International Political System” on March 14, 2024.
She is survived by her husband, Prof. Ohioma Ifounu Pogoson, a professor of Arts at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, and three children.
Confirming her demise, the current Head of Department, Prof. Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju, described her death as a great loss to the department, the university, and the academic community.
“With deep pain but total submission to the Almighty, this is to announce the passing to glory of our colleague and former Head of Department, Professor Aituaje I. Pogoson, in the early hours of Saturday, October 25, 2025,” Yagboyaju said.
“May her soul rest in peace, and may the Almighty comfort the family and friends she left behind.”
Funeral arrangements, according to the statement, will be announced later by the family.
Prof. Pogoson obtained her B.A. in History from the University of Ibadan in 1981 and earned her M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science from the same institution in 1984 and 1994, respectively.
She made history as the first female lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan.
Before joining the university’s faculty in 2000, she worked with the Presidential Panel on Nigeria Since Independence History Project as Research Fellow and Administrative Secretary between 1981 and 2000.
Between 2005 and 2007, she served as a Policy Analyst on Governance with the Independent Policy Group (IPG), Abuja — a UNDP, Ford Foundation, and Soros Foundation–supported think tank established for the Presidency under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Prof. Pogoson was a member of several academic societies, including the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), and served on the Advisory Council of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
A prolific researcher, policy analyst, and teacher-trainer, she consulted for national and international organisations and was a guest lecturer and external examiner at several institutions.
Her research interests spanned international relations, foreign policy analysis, strategic studies, governance, and gender studies.
