Category: Nigerian Affairs

Photos from the “20 Years of Democracy in Nigeria: 1999-2019” in December 2019

May 10, 2020

This is coming rather late, but better now than never. In December 2019, I was back in Oxford for a conference on “20 Years of Democracy in Nigeria: 1999-2019“. The conference was convened by Professor Wale Adebanwi on 6th December at St. Antony’s College and the Blavatnik School of Government. It started with a keynote … More Photos from the “20 Years of Democracy in Nigeria: 1999-2019” in December 2019

Journal Article: the Successes and Failures of Economic Reform in Nigeria’s Post-Military Political Settlement

December 20, 2019

My paper has just been published by the journal, African Affairs. Drawing on my doctoral research, the article has been four years (!) in the making, and I’m so excited and relieved that it is finally out. I had initially published it as a working paper in 2016, and its gone through a lot of … More Journal Article: the Successes and Failures of Economic Reform in Nigeria’s Post-Military Political Settlement

Video: Panel Discussion at CSIS on Nigeria’s Upcoming Elections

February 10, 2019

I recently participated in a panel discussion at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on 30 January 2019. The event was entitled: “Nigeria’s 2019 Elections: Insecurity, Economic Adversity and Political Competition”. The conversation was with Carl LeVan, Associate Professor at the School of International Service, American University and Judd Devermont, Director of the … More Video: Panel Discussion at CSIS on Nigeria’s Upcoming Elections

PUBLISHED: My Book Chapter on “The ‘Resource Curse’ and Constraints to Reforming Nigeria’s Oil Sector”

December 26, 2018

I’m pleased to announce that my chapter on “The ‘Resource Curse’ and the Constraints on Reforming Nigeria’s Oil Sector” is now published. It is one of three chapters on Nigeria’s oil economy in the Oxford Handbook on Nigerian Politics. The analysis goes beyond the ‘resource-curse’ and uses political settlements theory to argue that the dysfunctions … More PUBLISHED: My Book Chapter on “The ‘Resource Curse’ and Constraints to Reforming Nigeria’s Oil Sector”

To transform Africa’s economies, African companies matter too

June 10, 2016

I recently wrote this piece for The Conversation. A consistent feature of global analyses of Africa’s economic prospects is their fickleness. In the years since the global financial crisis in 2008, forecasts about Africa have swerved from deep pessimism to heady optimism, and back to a bearish outlook of slow growth and fragility. The vacillation … More To transform Africa’s economies, African companies matter too

China and Global Development: Different Perspectives on Africa

April 1, 2016

On 29 February 2016, I participated in a panel discussion on the above subject, ‘China and Global Development: Different Perspectives on Africa’. This was at the School of Public Policy, Central European University, Budapest, alongside, Professor George Wu (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Professor Chris Alden (London School of Economics and Political Science). The … More China and Global Development: Different Perspectives on Africa

“EITI was the Wrong Focus” and other Highlights of the Natural Resource Governance Conference

July 3, 2015

Last week, I was at a conference organised by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), formerly Revenue Watch Institute, on the challenges and opportunities presented by falling commodity prices. It was attended by the best in the academia, in policy and in civil society in the field. A breakdown of the panels and speakers is … More “EITI was the Wrong Focus” and other Highlights of the Natural Resource Governance Conference

Publication: ‘Why Goodluck Jonathan Lost the Nigerian Presidential Election of 2015’

July 1, 2015

Our publication (with colleague Dr Olly Owen) in the July edition of the journal, African Affairs is out. We wrote a brief on the Nigerian presidential election in March 2015, assessing why the election was exceptional in many respects, why many previous predictions including ours of a runoff or an outright Jonathan/PDP victory did not … More Publication: ‘Why Goodluck Jonathan Lost the Nigerian Presidential Election of 2015’

Africa’s Oil Shock

January 18, 2015

This is an opinion piece I recently wrote for Aljazeera English, analysing how African countries are responding to falling global crude oil prices. I reproduce it below: The plummeting of global crude prices is generating ripple effects worldwide. While oil exporters are reeling from plunging revenues, oil importers are bracing for cheaper oil, and the … More Africa’s Oil Shock

Incumbency and Opportunity: Forecasting Nigeria’s 2015 Elections

November 1, 2014

For months, my colleague, Dr. Oliver Owen and I have been working on some forecasting of Nigeria 2015 elections based on 2011 dynamics. The draft findings were recently posted on African Arguments HERE. I am re-posting it below. We welcome all comments, suggestions, critiques etc as we continue to refine our understanding of this rapidly … More Incumbency and Opportunity: Forecasting Nigeria’s 2015 Elections

Maryam Writes About Her Experience at Obama’s Fellowship for Young African Leaders

August 27, 2014

Maryam Shehu Mohammed is one of the 500 young leaders selected from around Africa, to participate in President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative in the U.S. She recently returned to Nigeria after the completion of her program. Maryam wrote about her experience through the entire process, from application to completion of the fellowship. Her piece … More Maryam Writes About Her Experience at Obama’s Fellowship for Young African Leaders

Nigeria’s Economic Transition Reveals Deep Structural Distortions

May 1, 2014

This is an article I recently wrote for African Arguments on Nigeria’s recently revised GDP series. According to recently reviewed GDP figures, Nigeria is now Africa’s biggest economy. It was about time a more accurate measure of economic output, which captures Nigerians’ entrepreneurial zeal, was adopted. The headline-capturing highlights of the new series reveal the … More Nigeria’s Economic Transition Reveals Deep Structural Distortions

Does Nigeria Really Need a ‘Sovereign National Conference’?

January 29, 2014

This is a piece I wrote for the Royal African Society’s African Arguments blog. In a few weeks, Nigerians across ethnic and regional divides will be gathering at a roundtable to discuss critical national issues. The imperative for this National Conference as a necessary discussion over Nigeria’s future was underscored by the President, Goodluck Jonathan, … More Does Nigeria Really Need a ‘Sovereign National Conference’?

The World Bank (Africa) Fellowship for PhD Students

September 14, 2013

Culled from the World Bank: “The Africa Region of the World Bank Group is launching the World Bank Group Fellowship Program for Ph.D. students of African descent. The program will increase the diverse workforce that is a priority for the Bank and its clients. The Fellowship Program aims to build a pipeline of researchers and … More The World Bank (Africa) Fellowship for PhD Students

Morten Jerven’s “Poor Numbers” and Improving Statistical Capacity in African Countries

May 15, 2013

I don’t know about you but in the recent past, I had thought the debates in international development in this century had become rather stale. We had moved from Africa the “Hopeless Continent“, “Africa’s Growth Tragedy“, the continent of the “Bottom Billion” and the Trade vs. “Dead Aid” debate, to “Africa is Rising”, Africa “the … More Morten Jerven’s “Poor Numbers” and Improving Statistical Capacity in African Countries