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Sarah Hasaba is a UNU-JSPS Postdoctoral fellow in the Institute of Sustainability and Peace within the United Nations University in Tokyo. The author holds a PhD in Education from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. The doctoral thesis was entitled “Ugandan women in two village literacy classes: Literacy learning, poverty reduction and empowerment”. Research interests include but not limited to literacy learning, gender issues, poverty reduction and community-based approaches to development. The discussion in the doctoral thesis on women and poverty reduction efforts was the motivation for writing this conference paper.

Hetty ter Haar is an independent researcher based in England. She is a board member of the Toyin Falola Center for the Study of Africa (TFCSA). Her chapter “A Critique of Cornel West’s ‘Race and Modernity’” appears in Development, Modernism and Modernity in Africa, edited by Augustine Agwuele (Routledge African Studies, 2012). She is co-editor of Narrating War and Peace in Africa (University of Rochester Press, 2010). 

May Ikeora is a PhD candidate at the University of Hull, Law School in the United Kingdom. Currently a recipient of the FASS PhD scholarship with the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, her research focuses on combating human trafficking through the bilateral relations of states. May has gained practical experiences as a practitioner in the United Kingdom - working with relevant organizations to end the trafficking of children from Africa. Some of her conference papers include; Counter-Human Trafficking: Assessing Existing Bilateral Approaches Between United Kingdom and Nigeria Harriet Tubman's Summer Institute "Slavery, Memory, and Citizenship" 21-27 August 2011 - York University, Toronto, Canada; Human Rights versus Migration: A Review of the UK Child Trafficking Policies Third Global International Studies Conference, University of Porto, Portugal, 17-20 August 2011.

Eno Blankson Ikpe is Professor of History and International Studies at the University of Uyo, Nigeria. Until recently she was Associate Professor at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. She studied at the prestigious University of Muenster, Germany, to which she maintains regular contact as visiting scholar. She is a recipient of various academic awards including the prestigious awards of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Her major interests are in the fields of Social and Economic History where she has various publications including her seminal publications in food, sexuality and gender studies. Her publications include: Food and Society in Nigeria: A History of Food Economy, Food Customs and Cultural Change 1900-1989, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag; Europe in the Early Modern Period 1400-1700, Lagos: Darlington and Sons, 2000; “Human Sexuality in Nigeria: A Historical Perspective”; (Ed.) African Women and Power in the 20th and 21st Centuries, Lagos: Fragrance, 2009.

Adedayo Irinoye (MBA, M.Phil., Ph.D in Business Administration), is the Medical Director of the Medical & Health Services of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He served as a resource person for the Centre for Management Development, Shangisha, Lagos from 2007 to 2010, received a commendation letter for selfless service to humanity from Osun State Governor in 2004, won the National Award, AstraZeneca National Essay Competition, 2002. He has edited the following books, “Optimal Management of Healthcare Organisations” 2004, “National Health Insurance Scheme in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions” (2007), and “The Dynamics of Healthcare Organisations”  2008. He has published extensively in major peer-reviewed journals, including -A Journal of International Journal Pharmacy Practice, Vol. 17, Supplement 1, March 2009; Health Seeking Behaviour and use of healthcare services among students in a Nigerian University. AICTTRA International Conference proceedings, 2008; Use of Mobile Telephone Messaging System to Improve Adherence to Antiviral Therapy.  Appointed Consulting Editor, American Bibiographical Institute, 2004 to 2007.

Céline A. Jacquemin received a PH. D. from the University of California, Irvine in 2003. An Associate Professor in Political Science at St Mary’s University who serves as Associate Dean for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Her new research examines language and colonial links to democratization. Her expertise covers parts of Europe and the Great Lakes of Africa where she more closely studies Rwanda. She provides pro-bono expert testimony for political asylum cases linked to female genital mutilation or other human rights violations. She wrote “Female Genital Cutting: shattering the debate yet still violating human rights” published in the Revista Espaco Academico, in April 2010. In November 2008: “Allied against all odds to fight genocide: How far has the US come?”  Also co-authored with Alison Brysk “Bridging Borders for Human Rights” in Transnational Civil Society edited by Batliwala & Brown and published by Kumarian Press in 2006.

Idris Sha’aba Jimada teaches contemporary and comparative historical studies at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He bagged his BA (HONS) from the University of Ilorin and his Masters and PhD from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Pioneer Head, Department of History and Archaeology, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida University Lapai Niger State. Jimada has made significant contributions to topical national and international issues in books, conferences, seminars and journals. His contributions include: The Nupe and the Origins and Evolution of the Yoruba (ASCHR, Zaria. 2005); British Imperial interest and Nupe Resistance 1886-1903 in Northern Nigeria; A Century of Transformations 1903-2003 (A.M. Yakubu et al (eds)); Slavery and Slave Trade in the middle Niger and Confluence area in Slavery and Slave Trade in Nigeria from the Nineteenth Century (Ade Ajayi and Okon Uya (eds)). Jimada serves as a member of the Nigerian National Committee on the UNESCO slave Routes Project and other National Committees.

Vincent Zubedaar Kuuire is a PhD student at the University of Western Ontario. Research interests include food security, environmental change, third world and African development issues, migration, transnationalism and integration of African migrants in North America. He has previously worked as a research assistant for several research teams which have produced reports for organizations such as International Water Management Institute and International and International Union for Conservation and Nature.

Akinyemi Stephen Lafenwa obtained all his higher academic certificates from the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Bsc (Hons) in 1995, Msc. 1998 and PhD 2006.  He was awarded Federal Government Scholarship to pursue his doctoral degree in 2002, a legislative fellow from 2000-2002, and two times laureate of Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa  (CODESRIA). He started his teaching career at the University of Ibadan as Teaching Assistant and taught political science and public administration at Covenant University, Ota Nigeria for over two years before joining the Department of Political science as lecturer II in 2007. He has since been teaching political science courses in the Department. Dr. Lafenwa specializes in Public Administration as well as Legislative and Democratic Studies.

Olasumbo Omolara Loko holds a PhD in African music from the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan Nigeria. She lectures at the Department of Music, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) Otto- Ijanikin Lagos Nigeria. She has attended and presented papers at several international and local conferences. Her research focuses on music in the African Indigenous Churches in Nigeria with particular reference to Cherubim and Seraphim Movement (Ayo Ni O). She is a member of Association of Nigerian Musicologists (ANIM), Conference of Music Educators of Nigeria (COMEN) and Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education (PASMAE). Olasumbo Loko studied Flute with Dr. Richard Donald Smith a member of the music faculty at the United Nations International School in New York City.

Olugbenga Olanrewaju Loko holds a PhD in African Music from the Institute of African studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan Nigeria. He lectures at the Department of Theatre Arts and Music, Lagos State University Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria. He has contributed to journals and presented papers at local conferences. His research focuses on popular music and particularly the economic history of the music recording industry over time in Nigeria. He is a member of Association of Nigerian Musicologists (ANIM), Conference of Music Educators of Nigeria (COMEN) and Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education (PASMAE).

Michael Kehinde is currently an Africana Research Fellow in African Studies at Pennsylvania State University where he is researching the significance of trans-border ethnicity for Regional Integration in West Africa. Michael received his Ph.D in Political Science from Durham University in the United Kingdom as a SEPHIS Fellow. His earlier educational training were at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria where studied Political Science. Dr Kehinde has taught Political Science at Lagos State University in Nigeria and Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. His research focuses on Borderland Studies, Migration and Governance in Africa.

Ernest Boateng Manu holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with religions from the University of Ghana, Legon. He has also been to the Manifold Tutorial College, Accra where he pursued a two year diploma course in Media Communications. His vast interest in journalism also led him to take a certificate course in broadcast journalism from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 2004. Manu again has a certificate in International protocol management from Brave world International. He has worked in several capacities which include the following: journalist for the point newspaper, Accra in 2006, reporter for choice FM, Accra in 2004-2005, Assistant information Officer for the information service department of the Ahafo-Ano district assembly, Ghana. Manu has had many of his articles published in many local magazines and newspapers. He currently teaches in Bobest Educational Institute, Accra. His research interest includes democratic reforms and issues of political economy in Africa.

Jackie Mapulanga-Hulston is an Associate Lecturer at the School of Business Law and Taxation, Curtin Business School, Curtin University in Perth, Australia. She has worked at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia and Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, Australia. She has previously worked in private practice, as an in-house lawyer and Company Secretary. Jackie has written and published articles in peer-reviewed journals such as the International Journal of Human Rights, the South African Journal of Human Rights, the Australasian Review of African Studies, the Zambia Law Journal and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Human Rights and the Law. Her research interests are in areas of sustainable development, human rights, public international law, health, international economic law and industrial law. She has taught Australian Legal Systems and Family Law Practice and currently teaches Industrial Law, Occupational Health and Safety and Human Resources law, Equal Opportunity Law and Business Research Projects.

Belay Tizazu Mengistie is a PhD student at the University of Wageningen, The Netherlands. He earned his B.A in Geography, M.A in Geography and Environmental Studies and second M.A in Development Studies all from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. He has lectured at Adama University, St Mary’s University College and Kotebe College of Teacher Education. He has also presented papers at leading national and international conferences and now focuses on doing his PhD.  Currently, he is developing a dissertation project that assesses the Environmental and Health Impact of Pesticides in the Flower Farms of Ethiopia. His research interest includes the following: Environmental Governance and policy, Rural livelihoods, and Development and Geographic issues.

Sadiq Mustapha is a graduate from the Sunyani polytechnic which is located in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. He obtained his highest national diploma in the field of Accountancy from the afore-mentioned institution in 2010. He has worked with several research institutions in many local endeavors in the state of Ghana. These research institutions include Research and marketing service international which has its headquarters in London in the United Kingdom, AC NELSON, PANAFIELDS, and Random House international. His articles usually about the issue of empowerment surface in most local newspapers. His research interests are basically centered on the role of internal agencies and bodies designated for empowerment. Sadiq wants to pursue further studies by enrolling in a course which is development oriented.

Gideon Nkrumah graduated from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana where he pursued studies in Bachelor of Education (SOCIAL SCIENCES) in Economics and Geography. After graduation, Marfo worked with the Sunyani west division of the Stool lands administration. He has also worked as a Geography tutor in Sunyani secondary schooL. Marfo has carried out a lot of research works both independently and with other institutions including RANDOM HOUSE GHANA and and the Ghana Center for Democratic Governance (CDD). Indigenous institutions in Ghana and their impact on development are his primary research interests. Marfo is currently the Deputy Claims manager of the Asunafo North Mutual Health Insurance Scheme, a subdivision of the Ghana health insurance scheme.

Oluyemisi Obilade is a Professor and Head of Department, Department of Continuing Education, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. She obtained her Ph.D from the same university in 1992. She holds the 2006 Executive Business Education Certificates of both the Harvard Univ. Business School (USA) and the Cambridge Univ. Judge Business School (UK). In the 2005/2006 academic session she was an International Women’s Federation (IWF) Leadership Foundation Fellow as well as the HERS-SA Grant Fellow. In 2008 she was a grant Fellow of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) which gave her the opportunity to complete a certificate course in Resource Mobilization at the Ghana Institute for Management and Public Administration (GHANA). Her research interest is in the tripartite area of adult education, gender and development with focus on a contextual critical appreciation of the interface of different matrices of domination with gender in development within patriarchal culture and she has over 29 years experience as a university lecturer. She is a consultant trainer/researcher on gender issues to several National/International organizations and Women’s Right groups, and has assisted several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as Farmers Development Union (FADU) , Environmental Rights Action (ERA), Women’s Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) to mainstream gender into organizational activities/policies and programs. Prof Obilade is a co-founder, member Board of Trustee and treasurer of an NGO, Women Against Rape, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Exploitation (WARSHE) which is committed to training, advocacy and provision of comprehensive support (medical, legal, economic, emotional and social support) for victims of sexual violence and abuse as well as their families. Prof Oluyemisi Obilade was a member of a three-persons consultancy team to UNIFEM/Nigeria Police for the development of a Gender Policy for the Nigeria Police Force. She has also served as a consultant to UNFPA and DFID.

Adelaja Odutola Odukoya is a Lecturer in Political Science, University of Lagos, Nigeria. He was between July, 2007 and 2008, a fellow at both the Department of Political Science and International Secretariat for Human Development (ISHD), York University, Ontario, Canada. A past recipient of the University of Lagos PhD research grant (2007), he has published extensively in reputable peer-reviewed journals, including - Indian Journal of Federal Studies, Journal of Human Ecology (India), Journal of Social Science (India), Ibadan Journal of Social Sciences, Unilag Sociological Journal, and Unilag Journal of Politics. Some of his chapters contributions to books are in: Findlay, R. and Salbayre, S. (eds.), Stories for Children, Histories of Childhood (Histoires d’enfance, histories d’enfance) Toome II – Litterature/Literature (Tours Cedex: Presses Universitaires Francois Rabelais, 2007); Hindman, H. D. (ed.), The World of Child Labor (New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2009); Alao, A. (ed.), Politics, Culture and Development in Nigeria A Festschrift for Gabriel Olatunde Babawale (Lagos: CBAAC,2011).

Thomas Offeh is a member of the Government of Ghana sponsored team to be trained at the Management, Development and Productivity institute of Ghana as a Senior Health and Safety Officer for Ghana’s Oil and Gas industry. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work and Political Science from the University of Ghana, Legon. He also received training in Alternative Dispute Resolution in 2009 as a mediator under a United Nations Sponsored programme .Became qualified as a trained mediator in 2009 and worked at the Community Mediation Centre in Sunyani between 2009 to 2010.I am also the Director and Founder of OTRA CONSULT, an Educational Consultancy firm in Ghana.

Olumide Ogundipe is a Principal Instructor and doctoral candidate in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Olumide graduated with a BA in English from Adekunle Ajasin University in Ondo State, Nigeria. He holds an MA in English from the University of Alberta where he is currently studying to be an expert in the field of postcolonial African literature. Olumide is currently writing his doctoral dissertation on the configuration of nation and representation of the postcolonial condition in contemporary Nigerian novels. Olumide has published a few essays in books and peer-reviewed journals, including The International Journal of Arts and Sciences (2011). Olumide’s passion is deeply rooted in social critique in literature.

Segun Ogungbemi is a Professor of philosophy at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigria. He got his Ph.D in Philosophy and Humanities at the University of Texas at Dallas Richardson Texas in 1984. He has taught in several Universities. His University teaching career began at Bishop College Dallas, Texas, USA before he went back to Africa and continued his teaching career at Ogun State University now Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria, Moi University Eldoret, Kenya, Lagos State University, Lagos Nigeria. He has given public lectures in Nigeria and at Makerere University, Kampala Uganda. He also has several publications among which are, “An African Perspective on the Environmental Crisis” in Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application  ed. Louis Pojman, Boston: Jones and Bartlett, 1994, A Critique of African Cultural Beliefs, Lagos: Pumark Educational Publishers, 1997, Philosophy and Development, Ibadan: Hope Publications, 2007, God, Reason and Death: Issues in Philosophy of Religion, ed., 2008, “The Conflict in the Niger Delta and National Interest” in Oil Violence in Nigeria: Checkmating its Resurgence in the Niger Delta ed. Victor Ojakorotu and Lysias Dodd Gilbert, Saarbruken, Germany: Lambert Academic publishing, 2010, “Modern Science and Technology in Conflict African Environmental Ethics” in Caribbean Journal of Philosophy Vol 2, No 1 (2010), “African Women at the receiving End” in Toyin Falola and S.U. Fwatshak eds, Beyond Tradition: African Women in Cultural and Political Spaces, Trenton: Africa World Press, 2011 and many articles in local and international journals. He is the Editor of JAPHIL Journal of Applied Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria.  He had been Head of Department of Philosophy at Ogun State University, Ago-Iwoye Ogun State now Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State Nigeria and served on several Committees of Senate. He also served as the founding Head of Department of Philosophy at Moi University Eldoret Kenya, and was Acting Dean of School of Social Cultural and Development Studies in the same University. He was Head of Department of Philosophy at Lagos State University Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria. He was formerly Head of Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba, Ondo State, Nigeria and currently Head of Department of Philosophy in the same University. He is Chairman Ceremonies Committee and member of several committees of Senate. His research areas are: African Philosophy, Ethics, Environmental Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Existentialism, Philosophy and Conflict Resolution, African Aesthetics, and Gender Studies.

Olusola Ogunnubi is an academic, resource person, social entrepreneur, and youth administrator. He holds a B.Sc. [Hons.] and M.Sc. degrees in Political Science from the Olabisi Onabanjo University and the prestigious University of Ibadan respectively. He is currently a doctoral student in the School of Politics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg campus, South Africa. His thesis focuses on a comparative examination of hegemonic order and regional stability in Sub-Saharan Africa looking at both Nigeria and South Africa. Furthermore, he was awarded the esteemed Otunba Kunle Oyero Scholarship for the Overall Best Graduating Student in Political Science and Law during his first degree. He also graduated as the best graduating student at the Masters level. His major general knowledge areas include Comparative regional politics, comparative foreign policy, democracy and good governance, peace and development studies.

Okpeh Okpeh is a Professor of African History at the Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria. A widely traveled and an active scholar, Okpeh has written extensively on development issues as they relate to Africa and contributed chapters in edited books and articles in learned journals. He has also authored/co-authored and edited/co-edited many books, including Gender, Power and Politics in Nigeria (Makurdi Aboki Publishers, 2007); Population Movements, Conflicts and Displacements in Nigeria (Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press, 2008); and China in Africa: Threats and Opportunities (Makurdi: Aboki Publishers, 2009). He is also the Editor of Journal of Globalization and International Studies. Currently on a research leave at the Veritas Catholic University Abuja, Okpeh is the recipient of many distinguished academic awards, including the Nigeria University Commission (NUC) Award for supervising the best Ph. D Thesis in the Humanities (2008) in Nigeria and the Distinguish Africanist Research Excellence Award, Department of History, University of Texas at Austin, USA 2010.

Christopher Okwum is an academic and a full-time servant of God in The Apostolic Church, Nigeria. He hails from Ihechiowa, Arochukwu L.G.A Abia State, Nigeria. He is married with four children. He studied Theology at United Missionary Theological College, Ilorin, Kwara State, an affiliate of UNIBADAN PGDE, University of Port-Harcourt. He also holds M.ED and Ph.D in Counseling at Abia State University in Nigeria. As a full-time Pastor, he lectured in TACTSA an affiliate of The Federal University of Uyo in Akwa-Ibom, Nigeria and later served as a school chaplain. Presently, he is a senior visiting lecturer in the Department of Psychology and Counseling, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya in Malaysia, South East Asia and a Researcher in Education since 2009. He has attended International Conferences in Canada, Australia and in the United States.

Tosin Olamigoke obtained his undergraduate Bachelors Degree in International Studies at Baylor University in 2003. He is a current Master’s Candidate at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas studying International Relations with a concentration in Conflict Resolutions. As a student at St. Mary’s University he performs graduate research work focusing on human rights violations including female genital mutilation, human trafficking and educational attainability and equality. He continues to be an aid in the International Relations department working on political asylum cases concerning human rights violations and obtaining data on human rights violations in Middle Eastern nations for Fulbright Senior Scholar professors. Additional research interests include methods of cultural exchange as a means for peace keeping and long term peace building, child soldiering, rape as a method of war and the access to clean drinking water for all in the global community. 

Fatai Ayisa Olasupo is a senior lecturer in the Department of Local Government Studies, Faculty of Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun-State. He is a widely traveled scholar with research focuses on military and traditional rulers’ relations in Nigeria, gender issues with particular emphasis on female traditional rulers in Nigeria and Comparative Local Government studies.

Afen Martin Olofu was born in 1964 to the family Elder and Mrs Olofu Ogar in Anyikang in Bekwarra local area of Cross River State. He attended St Celestine’s Primary School, Anyikang and Bekwarra Secondary School, Ogoja. He graduated from Federal College of Education, Obudu, obtaining the Nigerian Certificate in Education and Agricultural science education. He also holds a bachelor Degree in Elementary Education, a post graduate diploma in Environmental Education, a Masters’ degree in Curriculum Studies and a Ph.D in Curriculum Studies with bias in Elementary education. In addition to other working experience, Dr Olofu is currently lecturing in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Faculty of Education, University of Calabar, Nigeria. He has several publications in local and international journals and the author of Introduction to the Fundamentals of Curriculum Development. He is happily married with three children.

Kevwe Mary Omoragbon is a doctoral candidate at Northumbria University, Newcastle, United Kingdom. She is the first Nigerian to research in the field of Clinical Legal education which is a new area of law that restructures the methodology of legal education by including a practical element. She also teaches English Legal System and European Law at undergraduate level as well as Legal Research Skills module a master’s level at Northumbria University. Prior to this, she lectured at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria where she taught Public International law, Oil & Gas Law, and Clinical Legal Education. She was also the pioneer clinic administrator of the Women’s Law Clinic, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Kevwe is a speaker at both local and international conferences including the University of Texas Africa Conference which she has attended since 2010. She has also published peer reviewed articles in both local and international journals.

Félix Ayoh’OMIDIRE (Ph.D) teaches Afro-Brazilian and Latin American literary, cultural and ethnic studies at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He was an Exchange Professor of Yoruba at the Federal University of Bahia, Salvador-BA, Brazil, between 2002 and 2006. His research areas cover Brazilian and Latin-American literatures, music and films, as well as Yoruba Diaspora studies in different Latin American and Caribbean societies – Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, etc. Félix Ayoh’OMIDIRE has held many scholarship and fellowship awards in different international institutions: he was a scholar of the Instituto Camões, Portugal (1997-1998); a CAPES – Brazilian Government scholar (2002-2006), an AIF (Agence Intergouvernmentale de la Francophonie) scholar (2001) and a DAAD (German Academic Exchange) Fellow (2009). Currently, he is on an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s George Forster Fellowship for Experienced Researchers at the Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. Félix Ayoh’OMIDIRE’s articles have appeared in different national and international journals in places like Brazil, Nigeria, Austria, Cuba, Bénin, South Africa, Germany and U.S.A. He has also authored five books and co-edited journals and books in Nigeria and Brazil.

Kingdom Eke Orji is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Rivers State University of Education, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He is currently the Acting Dean of the Faculty. Born on October 1, 1960, Dr Orji attended the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria where he obtained his B.A (1986), M.A (1989), PhD (1996) in History specializing in African History. He is the Editor of ICHEKE, the Journal of the Faculty of Humanities. He has published extensively in local and foreign journals, and was once an elected member of Council, Historical Society of Nigeria from 2000 – 2004. He has participated actively in local and international conferences where he presented academic papers. Dr Orji enjoys marital bliss with his dear wife Mrs Edith Evitem Orji and they are blessed with three children; Daniel, Stephen and Caleb.
 
Clementina Osezua is currently a Lecturer with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Nigeria. Dr. (Mrs.) O.C. Osezua is a fellow of the African Regional Sexuality Resource Centre (2006) and an awarded of a Fellowship sponsored by the Carnegie Corporations New York for Female academics staff development initiative of the Centre for Gender Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, which was utilized in the University of Pretoria, South Africa in 2006. She also is a recipient of the CODESRIA (Council of Development of Social Sciences Research in Africa, 2007 edition. She has published in reputable journals both in local and international outlets including, Gender and Development, Journal of Law Makere University, International Journal of Psychology. Her core research interests are in sexualities studies; gender issues, migration and family change.

Ehiyamen Osezua was a one-time Lecturer both at Ambros Alli University, and University of Lagos, Nigeria. He is currently in the Department of Political Sciences, Osun State University Osogbo, Nigeria. Dr. Osezua, E. M is a recipient of the prestigious CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa) Senegal, for the small grants for PHD thesis writing (2004) and an Awardee of the Research grant for Ph.D. thesis in 2004. He has published extensively in major peer reviewed local and international journals including Journal of Human Resources and Development, African Research Review, Journal of Governance and Development and International Journal of Gender and Behaviour.

Kunirum Osia teaches in the Department of Applied Psychology and Rehabilitation Counseling, Coppin State University, Baltimore. He also works as quality assurance expert for the Maryland State Department of Education. He holds M.A. in Social Anthropology from Howard University:  M.Phil and Ph.D. in Political Science from the George Washington University. For four years he was Executive Editor of World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development (a scholarly journal formerly based in the United Kingdom). For 16 years he was the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Nigeria Studies and Development.

Luca Puddu is Desk Africa coordinator of Equilibri.net, an italian think-tank concerned with geo-politics and international relations. He received his Ph.D in History of International Relations from the University of Florence in 2011. His academic interests include rural development, foreign aid and security issues in the Horn of Africa. The results of his research activity have been presented in various national and international conferences.

June McLaughlin is Asst. Professor of Legal Studies and Paralegal Program Director at Irvine Valley College. She is also a Doctoral Candidate at Queen Mary College, University of London. Her research concerns Securities Regulation in East Africa. She has co-authored a Business Law textbook published a book chapter and a Law Review article. She has a JD, LLM in Tax, and another LLM in International Business Law.

Akhila Narla is a student at Washington University in St. Louis, graduating this year with a major in Environmental Biology and a minor in Public Health, where she is a Udall, Moog, Entrepreneurial Scholar, and Newman Civic Fellow. She is pursuing a future career as a physician, social justice advocate, and researcher on behalf of the community. Her research interests involve environmental and social determinants of health, particularly focusing on empowering those living in conditions of extreme poverty. Akhila is engaged in several global health and sustainable development initiatives ranging from research of vector-borne disease epidemiology using GIS technology to projects concerning maternal and child health and economic empowerment in rural Uganda.

Felix Omoh Okokhere attended Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. While at SFU, he studied Political Science and Sociology. Prior to that, he had earlier obtained a college Diploma in Criminal Justice (Criminology) at Danglas College, British Columbia, Canada Mr. Okokhere obtained an Msc in International Relations at the University of Benin, in Nigeria.  He is currently a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and also, a Ph.D candidate in Strategic Studies at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma Nigeria. Mr. Okokhere teaches International Politics, He has published a few books one of which is titled, “Africa in the global system”. He has also published research articles in Journals amongst which include, “From Secular Wars to Holy Wars”, Islamic Fundamentalism and Terrorism in Nigeria with Tunde Agara, in IRCAB, Journal of Social and Management Sciences. Vol.1 No. 1, September, 2011. His Research interest is in Security and Development Studies.  

Omotayo Owoeye is a Lecturer II in Sociology & Anthropology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria, and an MPhil/PhD student at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria in Anthropology. He is a young and upcoming scholar in the field of Economic/Industrial Anthropology. He is also one of the selected participants in the ACLS [American Council of Learned Societies] Competition in Southwestern Nigeria in 2011. He is an Alumnus of the BIARI [Brown International Advanced Research Institutes] programme by Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA in June 2011. Within 6 years of lectureship appointment, he has published journal papers: The role of Women in Indigo Textile Dyeing in Osogbo and Abeokuta and its socioeconomic significance among the people [Jurnal Pusat Studi Wanita, 2009]; contributed in book chapters, self-published book titled 'A tale of two prostitutes' [2010]; an outcome of a research on prostitutes and a monograph titled 'An Anthropological study of Indigo Textile Dyeing among selected Yoruba towns, Southwestern Nigeria: A comparative analysis [Germany, Lambert Publishing, 2010]

Albert Oikelome  is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Creative Arts (Music Unit), University of Lagos, Nigeria. Albert has a long-standing interest on the conceptualization of emerging popular music genre in Africa, having bagged a PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Ibadan. He has a particular interest in the ethnographic and musicological inquisition into the functions of the Pop Music Culture in Africa and its unique position in the stream of world music. He has published extensively in major peer reviewed journals, including IRCALC- The Journal of African literature and Poetry, and The Journal of Pan African Studies.  He also contributed a chapter in Peju Layiwola, Revisiting History Through the Arts . (National Gallery Press , 2004). He is an active member of International Society of Music Education (ISME) Pan African Society of Musical arts Education (PASMAE) and Association of Nigerian Musicologist (ANM).

Tolulope Monisola Ola has a BSc in Demography and Social Statistics, an MSc in Medical Sociology and a PhD in Population Studies. She co-founded the Sound Health Development Initiative, which is an NGO with a focus on gender issues. She also lectures at the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Her research interests include adolescent sexuality, fertility, reproductive and sexual health/rights, and gender, and she conducts research and undertakes advocacy and intervention work on issues related to sexuality and sexual rights. She has acquired an understanding of complex sexualities, as well as of the constrained contexts in which many women and men exercise their sexual rights through her research, which enable her intervention programs to meet their goals. She has participated in sexuality trainings, conferences, summer institutes and internships at the national, regional and international levels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Africa Conference 2012: Poverty and Empowerment in Africa

Convened by Dr. Toyin Falola and Coordinated by Sylvester Gundona and Tosin Funmi Abiodun for the Center for African and African American Studies

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