IFRA's participation in the 2024 Lagos Studies Association Conference

On June 27, a panel chaired and organized by Barbara Morovich and Delphine Manetta  titled  "How Religion Maps Territories: Moving Identities?"  took place. This panel aimed at questioning and putting into debate the idea that religion is at the core of “Africanness” and African identities through the relation between religion, geography and sociocultural change, considering that religions – such as Islam, Christianity, and so called “traditional” religions – map territories. It invited researchers to study how religions, as institutions and sets of practices and beliefs, depict not socio-geographical realities that would be “natural” and “already there”, but instead define their own place within a disputed social space, an intention to expand over historical territories, complex relations in a context of religious plurality and competition and, finally, social and power relations in local or national space, sometime used by politicians.

Participants: Femi Clement Olanrewaju (IFRA-Nigeria), Hadiza Kere Abdulrahman (University of Lincoln),  Ibukunolu Isaac Olodude (Obafemi Awolowo University),  Ifeanyi A. Chukwudebelu (Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University),  Ridwan Segun Balogun (Florida State University)

The same date, The Nigeria Watch team,  Vitus Nwankwo Ukoji, Victor Eze,  Abiola Victoria Ayodokun, and Precious Egbochice, animated another panel titled - Myths and Realities: Examining Some Myths About Violence in Nigeria. This panel assessed the veracity of four myths:

Myth 1: Nigeria Was Safer During the Presidency of Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015)

Myth 2: There Was Less Crime During Cash Crunch

Myth 3: Kidnap-related Deaths is More in The South Than in The North

Myth 4: There Was Less Crime Fatalities During Covid-19 Lockdown

Lastly, on June 26, Barbara Morovich, Delphine Manetta, Youssef Bouri and Olushola Babaola animated a panel introducing the French Institute for Research in Africa.