Research Groups

Dr Onapajo is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Nile University of Nigeria. He researches in the areas of conflict, security and elections in Africa. Dr Onapajo has published extensively on areas of his research interest and one of the most cited political scientists in Nigeria – in Google Scholar’s ratings. He is a recipient of the African Humanities Program (AHP) postdoctoral fellowship awarded by the American Council of Learned Societies. He has consulted for state and non-state agencies on various developmental issues around peace-building, elections and democratization. Some of them include the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS), German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Presidential Amnesty Office, The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), and the African Heritage Institution.

Dele Layiwola is Professor of African Studies at the University of Ibadan where he was twice director of the university’s Institute of African Studies. He was editor of African Notes, the international journal of the Institute of African Studies. He obtained his PhD in Theatre Studies at the School of English, University of Leeds, and has published extensively in the fields of comparative literature, cultural studies, performance and theatre studies. His publications include four monographs, eight authored or edited books and sixty journal articles and book chapters. One of his recent articles is in the 2023 Routledge Focus anthology titled: “The Local and the Global: Sixty Years of African Studies in Africa.” He has published in other journals as: Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism (Kansas); New Hibernia Review (St. Thomas, Minnesota); Ufahamu (UCLA); Asian and African Studies (Slovak Academy); West African Journal of Archaeology; ODU: A Journal of West African Studies; African Theatre(UK); African Study Monographs (Kyoto, Japan); Critical Stages and H-Net.

Dr Sunday Omotuyi is a Lecturer in Department of International Relations, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, where he teaches courses on Nigerian Foreign Policy, security in Africa, Development Problems in the Third World and Foreign Policies of Great Powers. He had his Doctoral Degree in the Department of International Relations in 2018. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Ife Journal of International Affairs. He is a Visiting Scholar at the Accra Business School, Accra, Ghana. He is also a Catalyst Fellow, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He has published in various national and international journals focusing on Nigerian Foreign Policy and Security in Africa. Some of these articles have appeared in African Security, African Identities, The African Review among others.

Dr Sharon Adetutu Omotoso, a feminist philosopher is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, where she serves as a member of the Institute’s Scientific Committee and Coordinator, Women’s Research and Documentation Centre (WORDOC). Sharon is an alumnus of the COADY Institute, St. Francis Xavier University Canada, a Chartered Mediator & Conciliator, Fellow of African Multiple Cluster, Universitat Bayreuth, Germany and Director, Center for Applied Ethics and Political Communication in Africa (CAEPOCOM AFRICA). Dr Omotoso has been published significantly in areas of Applied Ethics, Gender studies, Media & Political Communications and African Philosophy. She produces indigenous radio education programs on women in politics and development, and is currently working on the concept of Feminized Corruption.

Dr Kudus Oluwatoyin Adebayo is an interdisciplinary scholar with research interests covering Africa-China migrations, settlement and belonging, migration health, urban transformations and knowledge production. He is a Research Fellow in the Diaspora and Transnational Studies programme, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow of the ARUA/Carnegie Early Career Fellowship in the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Migration and Mobility, African Centre for Migration & Society, University of The Witwatersrand, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Sociology of Development from the Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He was a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS)/African Humanities Program (AHP) Dissertation Completion and Postdoctoral Fellowships, Fellow of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA), Scholar of the Postgraduate School Scholarship of University of Ibadan (2014-2016), and Laureate of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). His has published in International Sociology, Migration Studies, Mobilities, Journal of International Migration and Integration, Field Methods, Global Public Health, Global Networks, Third World Quarterly, The Professional Geographer and others.

Jabulani Sibande is a Research Assistant at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge. He holds a bachelors degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand and an honours degree in African Studies from the University of Johannesburg. His honours project was on the Democratic Development State Model in African States focusing on Rwanda and South Africa. Mr Sibande is interested in the African debate on political economy and development, as well as policy-making processes on the continent.

Dr Samuel Okunade is borders and migration specialist most especially in the areas of human trafficking and migrant smuggling in Africa. He is also interested in the nexus between social and ethnic cleavages in border communities, and economic integration and social cohesion in Africa. He has participated in the European Union-funded project on irregular migration in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. He has published several articles in reputable journals. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Education and master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a PhD in Conflict Transformation from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Dr Wilson Muna is a Lecturer in Public Policy at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. He holds a master’s degree and doctorate in Policy and Development Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He specialises in public policy analysis, international relations, peace and security, and public management. In his wide range of publications, Dr Muna focuses on African development, especially in the areas of policy learning and integration.

Lukong Stella Shulika is a political science and international affairs researcher with specialist expertise in peace and conflict studies. She has over ten years of relevant teaching, research, knowledge management, projects supervision, proofreading and editing experience in these fields. Stella holds a PhD and Master’s degrees in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, a postgraduate certificate in Sustainable Development and Human Rights Law from the University of Antwerp in Belgium, a B.A. Honours in International Relations from the University of Free State in South Africa, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Her areas of analytical competence, publications, and research interests include women and peacebuilding, electoral politics and leadership in Africa, migration and human security, African conflicts and cooperation dynamics, gender and the politics of representation, post-conflict reconstruction and development. She has an interesting research record, having published and co-authored a number of book chapters and policy-relevant papers in peer-reviewed and accredited journals. Stella is committed to the ideals of non-violence and is an avid promoter of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; Sustainable Development Goals: the Agenda 2030, and African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. She is interested in broadening her professional network and pursuing academic collaboration as well as policy-related development opportunities.

Dr Oluwaseun Tella is the Head of the Future of Diplomacy at the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for the Future of Knowledge in South Africa. He holds a doctorate in Political Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He has authored a book entitled Africa’s Soft Power: Philosophies, Political Values, Foreign Policies and Cultural Exports (Routledge, 2021); edited three books entitled Nigeria-South Africa Relations and Regional Hegemonic Competence (Springer, 2019), From Ivory Towers to Ebony Towers: Transforming Humanities Curricula in South Africa, Africa and African-American Studies (Jacana, 2020), and A Sleeping Giant? Nigeria’s Domestic and International Politics in the Twenty-First Century (Springer, 2021); and published over 30 mostly single-authored book chapters and journal articles in Politikon, Social Dynamics, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Journal of Black Studies and elsewhere. His research interests include soft power, international relations, peace and conflict studies, African politics and knowledge production in Africa. Email: otella@uj.ac.za.