By ENITAN ABEL JOHNGOLD ORHERUATA, mnipr

The recent celebration of Professor Sarah Abidemi Akintola of the University of Ibadan as Nigeria’s first female Professor of Petroleum Engineering has generated an important academic debate.

While the elevation of Professor Akintola to the professorial rank in October 2026 is undoubtedly a significant achievement, questions have emerged regarding the earlier professorial appointment of Professor Nneka Patricia Onwuachi-Iheagwara of Southern Delta University, Ozoro, reportedly in 2024.

The controversy raises a fundamental question: can a person whose first degree is in Geology, but who subsequently obtains advanced qualifications in Petroleum Engineering, legitimately become a Professor of Petroleum Engineering?

An examination of the available academic and institutional records suggests that the answer is yes, provided the person’s academic appointment, qualifications and research credentials satisfy the relevant university requirements.

Professor Onwuachi-Iheagwara obtained her first degree in Geology from the University of Ilorin in 1991. She subsequently obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Benin in 2001, an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2003, and an M.Eng. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Port Harcourt in 2005. She later completed a PhD in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Benin, reportedly in 2015.

Her academic career includes service in the Department of Petroleum and Gas Engineering at Delta State University, Abraka, where she served as Acting Head of Department on multiple occasions. She also became the first Acting Head of the newly established Department of Petroleum Engineering in 2022.

Her research contributions include work on drilling fluids, local drilling materials, well cementing, produced water, heavy crude oil and petroleum-related environmental challenges.

The Southern Delta University Department of Petroleum Engineering currently identifies her as a Professor, with a specialisation in Petrophysical Engineering and Environmental Studies.

Her professional profile identifies her as Professor of Petroleum Engineering from 2024. This chronology, if confirmed by her official promotion documentation, predates Professor Akintola’s October 2026 elevation.

Professor Akintola’s academic credentials are equally impressive. Her official University of Ibadan profile lists a B.Eng. from the University of Port Harcourt, an M.Sc. and M.Phil. from the University of Ibadan, and a PhD from the same institution. Her research interests include drilling optimisation, drilling fluid chemistry, corrosion engineering and wellbore mechanics.

Her research has included published work on the rheological and filtration properties of water-based drilling fluids using modified local starches. She has also served as Head of Department of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Ibadan.

However, the University of Ibadan’s own staff profile identified her as a Senior Lecturer in May 2024. Her elevation to Professor was subsequently reported following the university’s Appointments and Promotions Committee meeting of 13 October 2026.

The principal distinction between the two academics is therefore not simply their educational backgrounds. It is the chronology of their professorial appointments.

Professor Akintola’s undergraduate engineering background is more directly aligned with conventional Petroleum Engineering training. Professor Onwuachi-Iheagwara, however, possesses an M.Eng. and PhD specifically in Petroleum Engineering. It would be academically unsound to dismiss her qualifications merely because her first degree was in Geology.

Furthermore, professional registration, academic qualifications and university professorship are separate considerations. Claims concerning COREN and COMEG registration should be verified independently, rather than treating the two professional bodies as interchangeable.

The decisive evidence must therefore be the official promotion letters, the university approvals, the effective dates and the specific academic disciplines in which the two women were promoted.

CONCLUSION

On the evidence presently available, Professor Patricia Nneka Onwuachi-Iheagwara has a potentially earlier claim to being Nigeria’s first female Professor of Petroleum Engineering, based on her reported 2024 professorial appointment.

Professor Sarah Abidemi Akintola deserves full recognition for her October 2026 elevation and her contributions to Petroleum Engineering scholarship.

Nevertheless, the description of Professor Akintola as Nigeria’s first female Professor of Petroleum Engineering should not be treated as conclusively established until the earlier professorial appointment attributed to Professor Onwuachi-Iheagwara has been investigated and reconciled.

Academic history should be determined by verifiable records, not institutional publicity, personal preference or assumptions about which undergraduate degree is more prestigious.

Both women deserve recognition for their contributions to the advancement of women in Nigeria’s Petroleum Engineering profession. But the honour of being first must belong to the person whose qualifying professorial appointment can be demonstrated to have occurred first.

Research position: Professor Onwuachi-Iheagwara has the stronger preliminary chronological claim, subject to documentary verification of her 2024 appointment.