By Adesina Wahab

NSUKKA– In a remarkable display of academic excellence, Gever Esther Rita, a PhD student in the Department of Crop Science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has set a new benchmark for research in the Nigerian university system.
Mrs Gever has successfully published both her undergraduate and Master’s projects in top-tier international journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, a feat rarely achieved by researchers so early in their careers. She accomplished this even when it was not a requirement for graduation.

Breaking the Thesis in the Library Norm

While it is common for student research to end up as bound copies on library shelves, Mrs Gever sought a global audience for her work. Her undergraduate research, titled “The Insecticidal Activity of Neem and Palm Kernel Oils on Bean Weevil (Callosobruchus maculatus F.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) Infestations of Stored Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp),” was published in 2023 in the Journal of Food Processing and Preservation (Volume 2023, Article ID 5536943).
This journal is a reputable title jointly published by Wiley and Hindawi, known for its rigorous peer-review standards.
Building on this momentum, she transitioned her Master’s thesis into another high-impact publication. Her latest study, “Bio-insecticidal efficacy of Moringa oleifera and Azadirachta indica leaf powders against the cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus”, was published in February 2026 in Food and Humanity (Volume 6, Article 101099). This journal is produced by Elsevier, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific publishing houses.

Academic Rigour Beyond Graduation Requirements

What makes this achievement particularly noteworthy is that publishing in such high-ranking international journals was not a mandatory requirement for her graduation at either level. Instead, it was a personal commitment to scientific excellence and a desire to provide data-driven solutions to Nigeria’s agricultural challenges.
Mrs Gever’s track record of navigating the complex and competitive world of international peer review explains her current leadership role as the Editor-in-Chief of the Torkwase Journal of Agricultural Research, a journal that is already indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
Her experience ensures that she brings a world-class editorial perspective to the journal, even as she pursues her doctoral degree at UNN.

A Future Leader in Crop Science

Currently a PhD student in the Department of Crop Science at UNN, Mrs Gever is fast becoming a prominent voice in post-harvest protection. Her work focuses on sustainable, non-toxic methods to safeguard crops, which is vital for a nation like Nigeria—the world’s largest producer of cowpea.
By setting this standard, she is inspiring a new generation of postgraduate students to look beyond the classroom and aim for global impact.
Speaking with the Vanguard Newspaper, Mrs Gever thanked all her lecturers for their role in her academic journey. She particularly mentioned her undergraduate supervisor, Professor Bonaventure C. Echezona, and her Master’s supervisors, Professor Simon C. Eze and Dr Modesta Ngozi Chukwulobe, whom she described as the pillars of her success.