I am a sociologist by training, researcher by disposition, consultant by orientation, peacebuilder by passion, and activist by conscience. I am all of these titles and more. I developed my sociology in multiple arenas, but mostly through my life's journey through three continents: Africa, Europe, and America. Growing up in culturally and ethnically diverse Nigeria, especially a country emerging from a devastating civil war that produced 1-3 million deaths and contending with the twin challenges of post-war state building and the parallel development of a corrupt local political elite, afforded the opportunity to understand the bases of order in society. That learning has traveled with me everywhere and benefitted from my travels; helping to create the researcher, analyst, writer, advocate, and activist that I have become.
Today, using the concept of reflexivity, I am able to locate myself in the vast body of sociological work being produced by my generation, which illuminates and enables me to anticipate the problem of justice that is behind every problem of order in society. The duality of justice (as in justice and injustice) creates the duality of order (as in order and disorder). An enormous gap exists between justice and injustice and order and disorder, creating artificial distance between members of society.
My life's work is dedicated to bridging small and great gulfs and to contribute depth in the search for the bases of order in society. My deep understanding of issues of cross culture based on my lived experiences in Europe, America, and particularly Africa as well as my academic and professional training enables me to contribute unique insight on contemporary social issues. More importantly, my ability to combine research and theoretical methods and traditions to illuminate or deepen understanding of social issues, including the complex human terrain of African societies is useful to policy planners, decision makers, multinational businesses, supranational organizations, national defense institutions, counter-terrorism professionals, exercise planners, researchers, and NGOs.
Book Launch
05.01.2015
Conflict Transformation
06.15.2015
UPCOMING EVENTS
Okonofua Foundation
08.26.2015
MY LATEST RESEARCH
I am researching the adaptability of large cities, particularly megacities to complex catastrophes in modern societies. Debates about natural disasters typically use rural communities as referents. However, cities have been and are re-emerging as arenas for complex catastrophes. Moreover, the U.S. Army and experts suggest that the battleground of the future is the megacity, but no national army has ever fought in one or know how to. This study of US-Mexico border cities (a large conurbation conforming to a pseudo-megacity), interrogates whether by their nature, megacities are creating mega-problems but without the institutional and behavioral assertions to respond to or mitigate them; knowledge useful to the military, city planners, policy makers, etc.
This research on contempoarary mass migration, examines Cuba to U.S. migration in history to determine whether another mass migration wave is on the horrizon. This interest in Cuba to U.S. immigration originates from recent diplomatic developments between both countries. Specifically, the research anticipates and responds to the question of, “how will normalizing relations with Cuba impact Cuba to U.S. migration?” Using qualitative methodologies that accounted for historical, political, and social contexts in both countries, the research determined that another mass migration wave is unlikely, although the number of attempted migration and at-sea interdictions will dramatically increase in the short term.
