By THE University of Ibadan’s first female Professor of Political Science, Professor Aituaje Irene Pogoson, has passed at the age of 65.
Her death was confirmed by the Department of Political Science, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan (UI), where she was the immediate past Head of Department.
Stonix News gathered that she passed on Saturday October 25 after a protracted battle with a terminal ailment.
Professor Pogoson made history as the first woman to head the Department of Political Science since it became a full-fledged department in October 1963.
In March 2024, she delivered the university’s 545th inaugural lecture titled “The World in Transition: Understanding Power in the International System.”
Announcing her passing, the current Head of Department, Professor Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju, who succeeded her, expressed profound sorrow over the loss of the distinguished scholar.
“With deep pain but with total submission to the Almighty, this is to announce the passing to glory, in the early hours of Saturday, 25 October 2025, of our colleague and former Head of Department, Professor Aituaje I. Pogoson,” Yagboyaju said.
He described her death as a great loss to the department, the university community, and the wider academic world.
Professor Pogoson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History (1981) from the University of Ibadan, followed by Master’s (1984) and Doctoral (1994) degrees in Political Science from the same institution.
Between 2005 and 2007, she served as a Policy Analyst on Governance with the Independent Policy Group, a UNDP/Soros Foundation-backed policy think tank established for President Olusegun Obasanjo.
She is survived by her husband, Professor Ohioma Ifounu Pogoson of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, and children and grandchildren.
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