Igbinedion University Honours Maternal Health Icon, Prof. Jacob Unuigbe, at Valedictory Session

Nigeria’s leading private University, Igbinedion University Okada (IUO), on Wednesday 15th April, 2026, at the University Main Auditorium, Main Campus, Okada, celebrated the extraordinary career of Prof. Jacob Aghomo Unuigbe, a distinguished Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, as he steps into a well-deserved new chapter.

In a heartfelt valedictory session, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye PhD, FAS, called on Nigeria’s medical and academic communities to build on Prof. Unuigbe’s legacy and urgently tackle the country’s maternal mortality crisis.

“Nigeria records approximately 1,047 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births — that’s about 82,000 women dying every year from preventable causes,” he revealed.

Guest speaker Prof. Dilichukwu Anumba delivered a powerful lecture on “Reducing Maternal Mortality in Nigeria: What Still Works and What Must Change,” stressing the need for better access to quality care, community engagement, clinical audits, and systemic reforms.

With over 52 years of dedicated service — including 19 years at IUO that also includes service as Provost of the College of Health Sciences — Prof. Unuigbe expressed deep gratitude to the University’s founder, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, ESAMA of Benin Kingdom and promised to remain actively involved in the institution’s growth.

This wasn’t just a farewell, it was a powerful renewed call to end preventable maternal deaths in Nigeria.