Ene Obi first female president of student union at University of Jos in Nigeria, not Pwajok Kalang in 2024

IN SHORT: The University of Jos's student union elected a new female president in November, and some Nigerians have said she is the first woman in the position in the university's history. But that's not the case. Ene Obi held the position in the late 1980s.

Congratulations have rolled in for Pwajok Jane Kangyang, who was elected president of the University of Jos (Unijos) student union government on 20 November.

It is common to see men in positions of student leadership at Nigerian universities, so a female emergence, especially as a student union president, tends to make the news.

In this context, some well-wishers have claimed Kangyang is the first female president of the university's student union.

A Facebook post published 20 November 2024 reads: "Pwajok Jane Kangyang, a Medicine and Surgery student, has made history at the University of Jos (UniJos) by becoming the institution's first female Students Union Government (SUG) president".

The same claim can be found here and here. But is it correct?

(Note: See more instances of this claim at the end of this report.)

Second female president, not the first

Africa Check found that controversy erupted after an X user claimed that in fact, Ene Obi was the first woman president of the Unijos student union, sworn in in 1989, and not Kangyang.

The post also includes a photo, supposedly of Obi's swearing-in ceremony.

Obi is a Nigerian activist known for her role in promoting democracy, social justice and good governance.

We used a keyword search and found a blog post from 2022 that also claimed Obi was the university's first female student union president.

In an interview, Obi also stated that she was the first female president of the union.

Africa Check contacted Obi, who confirmed that she was the first female students' union president of Unijos and held the office from 1989 to 1990.

Obi told Africa Check that she was surprised to see news about the matter trending and circulating on social media.

The same claim was found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.