₦airaland Forum

A Nigerian female engineer, Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi, has made history by becoming the first black woman to earn a doctorate degree also known as PhD in Robotics at the University of Michigan, United States.

Dosunmu-Ogunjobi made this known on Saturday, while speaking at the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering convocation, on the roles of mentors and advocates in realising her aspirations.

Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer science, robotics focuses on robotic automation algorithms

Oluwami, shortened as Wami, a daughter of Nigerian immigrants Dosunmu-Ogunbi, in the US, was elated about her remarkable feat, as she asserted, “I am the first Black woman to get a PhD in Robotics at the University of Michigan.”

Wami Dosunmu-Ogunjobi said, “I do not stand here on my own two feet alone. None of us got here by our individual merit alone, whether it be teacher, friends, family, mentors, or role models, we each have one or multiple people to whom we are grateful for making this moment possible.”

Speaking on what she wanted to be remembered for, the Nigerian female robotics engineer said she wanted to be remembered as the University of Michigan’s first black woman to get a PhD in Robotics, and as a person using her knowledge in engineering to improve the lives of others.

“A Michigan Engineer is one who does not just provide scientific and technological leadership, but is also one who is intellectually curious, socially conscious, creates collaborative solutions to societal problems, and promotes an inclusive and innovative community of service for the common good,” Wami Dosunmu-Ogunjobi said.

She added, “We each have a solemn duty to make positive contributions to the world. Well, my reasons for becoming an engineer were initially frivolous, but they eventually moved into something more meaningful. I want to have a positive impact on the world.”

The University of Michigan Robotics Department website describes Dosunmu-Ogunbi’s journey as one shared by many PhD students who initially lack a clear vision for their final goals.

In her website, Dosunmu-Ogunjobi revealed several achievements in her academic journey at the university which included saying, “I was awarded the Intersectional Advocacy Award in recognition for my dedication to honoring and advocating for the intersectional nature of students’ many identities through involvement and activities.”

She also wrote in one of the posts, “I spoke at the College of Engineering Graduate Student Commencement at the University of Michigan on May 1, 2024.” Other posts with photos included, “I presented a poster at the Midwestern Robotics Workshop in Chicago on April 18, 2024.

“I was awarded the Intersectional Advocacy Award in recognition for my dedication to honoring and advocating for the intersectional nature of students’ many identities through involvement and activities.

“I had the opportunity to inspire a group of high school girls from “Girls Who Code” by telling them about my PhD journey. I represented Michigan Robotics at the Robotic and Intelligent Systems Expo (RISE) at Purdue University on March 30, 2024,” Dosunmu-Ogunjobi added.

The number of Nigerians making waves in academics and technology across the globe keeps growing as they continually contribute to the development of inventions, innovations and ideas. The beautiful thing about the astounding feats is that both Nigerian men and women are blazing the trail.

Recently, Nigerian female scholar, Professor Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua, also emerged as the first black woman to earn a doctorate degree (Ph.D) in Cybernetics in the world.

-1). Mrs Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunjobi First Nigerian and Black Woman To Bag Phd In Robotics from Michigan University, USA


-2). Professor Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua. First Nigerian and Black Woman to Earn a Doctorate Degree (Ph.D) in Cybernetics in the World.

Racoon:
Another stellar feat by a sister from the South West. Many congratulations madam. More heights to attain.

opalu:
Congratulations to her.
But I have Question:
How come Nigerians are very United when they are outside Nigeria. But when they are in Nigeria they are very divided?

opalu:
Congratulations to her.
But I have Question:
How come Nigerians are very United when they are outside Nigeria. But when they are in Nigeria they are very divided?

Racoon:
Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunjobi, first black female Robotics PhD holder in Michigan University, US

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/05/nigerian-oluwami-dosunmu-ogunjobi-emerges-first-black-woman-to-bag-phd-in-robotics-at-michigan-university/

David Hundeyin
May 4, 2022


I want to sell a script to a Hollywood studio. The story is about a guy who owns a farm that constantly runs at a loss but never quite shuts down.

The farm is massive and underutilised, and the protagonist has all the opportunities in the world to improve its output and get a bumper harvest.

He has access to credit, machinery, free irrigation and gifts from neighbouring farmers, but all he ever does with these things is drink and smoke them away while his family suffers.

Nigeria has refused to grow up and achieve something, but it somehow feels as if it is living vicariously through the achievements of its estranged children around the world

Apart from drinking, smoking and generally being utterly useless, his other pastime is to pump out children at an industrial rate. Needless to say, he takes no care of his children whatsoever, and many of them fail to survive childhood.

Those who do survive have to leave the farm and hire themselves out as hired labour to the neighbouring farmers, having picked up some survival skills from home.

With time, a number of them rise through the ranks and become senior managers, directors and even shareholders in these other farms while their father continues mismanaging his farm.

When good news about some of these successful children gets home, their father is filled with pride and joy, but when they end up on the wrong side of life, he acts as if he never knew them.

The successful ones make efforts to revamp their childhood home by sending back money and volunteering their skills and time, but all this guy ever wants to do is be a 62-year-old underachieving idiot carried through life by charity and luck.

Famzing” diaspora success is dishonest
I’m sure before the end of the second paragraph, you figured out whose story I was telling. The 62-year story of post-independence Nigeria — which the Hollywood studio would surely reject for being too sad with no redemption — is that of our fictional antihero.

Nigeria has refused to grow up and achieve something, but it somehow feels as if it is living vicariously through the achievements of its estranged children around the world.

Remember how everyone from corporate brands to Abike Dabiri made a big song and dance about supporting Anthony Joshua the “Nigerian,” whose only chance to become someone in life came when his parents emigrated from Nigeria?

Remember how things turned when he somehow lost against that chubby Mexican dude whose name I can’t remember? Remember when the Super Falcons won the female AFCON title and received a congratulatory tweet from the president, only for them to have to stage a protest before being paid their camp allowances?

That’s what we do in Nigeria. We try to live vicariously through the achievements of people who have achieved great things under their own steam, simply because said people happen to be called ‘Ifeoma,’ ‘Efe’ and ‘Ayotunde.’

Even when Nigeria had absolutely nothing to do with said success, or in fact happened in spite of Nigeria, as with Divine Oduduru, we bask in the reflected glory of their personal achievements.

Sometimes when those people wear a Nigerian flag or post something about Wizkid or Jollof Rice on Instagram, we go crazy with the Nigerian flag emojis because oh my god, they identify with us!

This is not about being a Killjoy
Somehow, the complete failure of Nigeria and our complicity in its failure is more bearable when we point at Nigerian immigrants doing great things in life and say “I knew Femi before he started calling himself Anthony.

His father and I were classmates in Aiyetoro.” It is unclear how exactly this helps our situation but hey, it’s also unclear how chugging the amount of alcohol we do helps either.

Escapism is a key part of our culture, and anyone who dissents must be a non-Jollof-eating, vegetarian heretic, and possibly also an atheist.

Now while all this is painfully cringey to my eyes, some will also point out that Nigeria is not the only country that has a weird obsession with its diaspora population.

Even ‘first-world’ countries like Ireland continue to have deep emotional and economic connections to their diaspora, and in any case Nigerians proudly supporting Anthony Joshua or the NBA’s Giannis Ante…African-sounding-name is basically harmless fun. They’re not hurting anyone. Why be such a killjoy, David?

The reason this matters can be found in a quote that has been dubiously attributed to Russian President Vladmir Putin, where he describes Africa as the place where its diaspora does not invest in, but returns to only to die and be buried with their ancestors.

While there is no concrete evidence that Mr. Putin ever actually made that comment, the truth in it is painfully poignant.

For diaspora success to be meaningful to Nigeria, it must correlate to on-ground results in Nigeria. The example of Somalia shows that having a well-educated, globally successful diaspora while being an absolute basket case are both possible at the same time.

I’d imagine we do not aspire to be Somalia.

opalu:
Congratulations to her.
But I have Question:
How come Nigerians are very United when they are outside Nigeria. But when they are in Nigeria they are very divided?