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On October 16, we invite you to a methodological seminar on "Maps, Memories, and the Craft of Ethnography: Using Participatory Tools in Displacement Research in Conflict-Affected Communities." Joel Abah, doctoral candidate at the Department of Peace, Security and Humanitarian studies at the University of Ibadan, and Lecturer at Prince Abubakar Audu University will reflect the methodological journey of conducting ethnographic research in displacement camps and conflict-affected communities in Benue State, Nigeria.

He will focus on participatory and relational tools, including oral interviews, oral cartography, memory mapping, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and digital documentation, to demonstrate how these methods emerged in response to challenges of insecurity, vulnerability, and relational dynamics in the field. Through autoethnographic reflection, the session will highlight moments of improvisation, setbacks, and surprises that shaped both access to participants and the iterative development of field-sensitive methods.

Participants will gain insights into how methodological decisions, positionality, and ethical considerations influence data collection and co-production of knowledge in challenging field contexts. The seminar emphasizes research as a craft, illustrating practical, relational, and experimental approaches to ethnography in situations marked by displacement, conflict, and social vulnerability.

Practical information

Date & Time : 16/10/2025, between 10am and 12pm

Venue: IFRA-Nigeria Resource Center, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan

Registration: https://forms.gle/A6AJ7bVYFZgetgcb8

Deadline for registration: 10/10/2025

IFRA-Nigeria, in collaboration with the University of Ibadan and the French Embassy in Nigeria, is opening the call for a PhD grant for a student from the University of Ibadan, as part of a project in digital humanities with a focus on heritage studies at the Lagos National Museum Archives. A co-supervision of University of Ibadan and IFRA Nigeria will be offered.

Deadline for application : 29 October 2025

Learn more below or download the full call here.

On 3 September 2025, Bérénice Busson, PhD student in geography at the Université Paris Cité (CESSMA Lab), held our first methodological seminar of the 2025-2026 academic year. She talked on "Exploring Hausa Urbanities in Lagos and Cotonou : Autoethnographic Reflections and Methodological Experiments".

First, she presented the social position of Hausa, a fluid ethnic group from the Sahelian region, specifically from north Nigeria and south Niger. In Cotonou (Benin Republic), where she began her fieldwork, they are seen as a minority on two accounts : first as a religious minority, being mostly Muslim, and second, they are perceived as strangers from an "underdeveloped" region. On the basis of this observation, she stated her two questions : Considering their different economic background and time staying in the city, how do they negotiate their position in it? How are they coping with potential discriminations or obstacles to urban resources access, being in a subaltern position?

After three years as head of IFRA-Nigeria, Professor Barbara Morovich finished her contract at the end of August 2025. She will be joining the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris in September 2025 as a Professor in the Department of Urbanism. Below is her farewell message, in both French and English. 

On 27 August, IFRA-Nigeria organised a conference at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, to celebrate the publication of Migration and Diaspora Identity in Northern Nigeria and Ghana, 1900–1970. The book, written by Professor Rasheed Olaniyi (department of history), was published by Boydell & Brewer in association with IFRA-Nigeria. It provides a unique exploration of the complex socio-economic and political dynamics between Yoruba diaspora and their host communities.

After an introduction by Professor Barbara Morovich, IFRA-Nigeria Director, Professor Olaniyi started by explaining the intricate process of creating a book concept and carrying it all the way to publishing. Next, he detailed his original methodological approach, which included both historical and anthropological methods, and studied both archival materials and oral sources. He took a multi-site and comparative approach in order to better understand this transnational history. Finally, he briefly looked at each chapter of his book to highlight their main findings on the driving forces behind the formation of diaspora identities in Yoruba communities of north Ghana and Nigeria.

Professor Akanle (department of sociology), as discussant, responded to the presentation highlighting the innovative and comprehensive approach of Professor Olaniyi's work.

Scroll to see more pictures of this event

Join us on Wednesday, 3 September at 1pm for our first Methodological Seminar of the 2025-2026 academic year. Bérénice Busson, a geography PhD student in georgraphy at the Paris Cité University (CESSMA research lab), will present her work "Exploring Hausa Urbanities in Lagos and Cotonou : Autoethnographic Reflections and Methodological Experiments".

Her PhD research examines the political urbanities of predominantly male Hausa workers involved in the car trade in Cotonou, Benin Republic, and the textile trade in Lagos, Nigeria. Focusing on their everyday negotiations and interactions within the city, she will discuss her use of ethnographic methods alongside a broader set of qualitative approaches.

In this presentation, Bérénice Busson will also reflect on her positionality as a French female researcher — how it may have influenced the interlocutors, the ways she adapted her research practices in response, and how both the local context and the evolving political environment shaped her fieldwork over time. Finally, she will share her experiments with alternative methodologies, including the use of sensory mapping, video, and photography, and the restitution of the research through a community exhibition held in the Zongo neighborhood.

Practical Information:

Date and time: Wednesday, 3 September, 1pm

Location : IFRA-Nigeria Resources Centre, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan.

Sign-up here before 01/9: https://forms.gle/idGzDGTqPkYixMQ97

On 13 August, Geo Meridien and IFRA-Nigeria held a conference day on “Heritage and Vernacular Architecture – a Foundational Dialogue”. The event, part of the Nigerian Alternative Heritages (French Embassy Fund) project, took place at the Olubadan Palace in Ibadan. Mrs Toyin Odugbesan (Geo Meridien) and Prof. Barbara Morovich (IFRA-Nigeria director) opened the meeting, introducing the theme and speakers, and launching the discussion on heritage protection, vernacular architecture, and definitions of the term.

On 27 August, IFRA-Nigeria is hosting the book launch of Professor Rasheed Olaniyi's (Department of History, University of Ibadan) latest publication Migration and Diaspora Identity in Northern Nigeria and Ghana, 1900–1970. Accompanied by his discussant, Professor Olayinka Akanle (Department of Sociology, UI), he will uncover the driving forces and mechanisms through which Yoruba migrant communities in Kano (Nigeria) and Tamale (Ghana), forged diaspora identities and grappled with the challenges of social inclusion and exclusion. Drawing on fieldwork interviews and archival research in particular, it analyses how socio-economic forces and power relations shaped the very different experiences of the two communities as well as how they sustained ties with the homeland in southwestern Nigeria.

Practical information:

Date & Time : Wednesday, 27 August, between 2pm and 4pm.

Location : Faculty of Arts Board Room, University of Ibadan

Sign-up to attend before 25/08 : https://forms.gle/gJr5BAWbshazj3Nr9

Purchase the book here: https://boydellandbrewer.com/book/migration-and-diaspora-identity-in-northern-nigeria-and-ghana-1900-1970/

The Ife-Sungbo Project & IFRA-Nigeria teams

The Ife-Sungbo Archeological Project is celebrating ten-year of working to offer new perspectives on the urbanization history chronology as well as the socio-political dynamics of West-African tropical forest societies. IFRA-Nigeria is proud to be a partner of the project since its inception in 2015.

On 5 August 2025, IFRA-Nigeria Director Dr Barbara Morovich held a lecture in the media studies class of Professor Sola Olorunyomi, to present her anthropological work, and the role of interdisciplinarity in the discipline. Going back to the initial source of interest in anthropology, her time in Nairobi (Kenya), she traced her international research path, including her initial research on Akurinu churches and Nairobi slums.

Geo Meridien International in partnership with IFRA-Nigeria invites you to the Alternative Heritages Conference, themed “Alternative Heritage and Vernacular Architecture - A Foundational Dialogue”. This conference is held as part of the Nigerian Alternative Heritages project, financed by the French Embassy Fund (FEF).

This conference brings together academics, architects, historians, heritage professionals, conservators, art historians, archaeologists and anthropologists for a foundational conversation on the intersections of alternative heritage and vernacular architecture. The gathering will offer a space for critical dialogue, exploring the social, architectural, and cultural significance of alternative heritage spaces that are central to community identity but largely undocumented. Other sub-themes include: Gender, Ritual, and Memory in the Spaces We Inhabit; Preserving the Architecture of the Unrecorded; and Rethinking Preservation through Community, Oral Traditions, and Everyday Architecture

Practical information:

Venue: Old Olubadan Palace, Oja’ba, Mapo, Ibadan

Time & date: 13 August, 2025, 9:00am

Open to everyone

On 31 July, the Institute of African Studies (IAS) of the University of Ibadan and IFRA-Nigeria organized the fourth session of the Critical Decolonialities Seminar on the topic of “Queer Archiving – a decolonial practice? The experiences of the GALA Queer Archive”. Professor Sola Olorunyomi, director of IAS, and Dr Barbara Morovich, Director of IFRA-Nigeria, introduced the two speakers. Linda Chernis is an archivist at the GALA Queer Archive, an organization dedicated to the preservation, production and dissemination of LGBTQIA+ people in South Africa. Ayodele Olofintuade is a writer and editor-in-chief of 9jafeminista an online blog focusing on feminist and queer issues in Nigeria.

Watch the full seminar on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OeaYsbKJt-4

The exhibition "Zongo en recit, des citadinites haoussas d'hier et d'aujourd'hui" is taking place in Cotonou, Benin Republic, 26 July and 3 August. Berenice Busson, PhD student at Universite Paris Cite and its organisator, presented her pictures and the result of her research in the Zongo neighbourhood of Cotonou.

The exhibition explores the history of Hausa settlement in Cotonou, how these Hausa city dwellers build a sense of belonging to the city, the challenges they face, the successes they achieve, how they negotiate their relationships with public officials.

To learn more, visit the exhibition's Instagram page

IFRA_Nigeria is pleased to announce the upcoming Alternative Heritage and Vernacular Architecture Conference, a premier gathering and a foundational dialogue for academics (confirmed, young PhD and Master students), culture and heritage professionals, architects, heritage conservators, art historians, archaeologists, …, taking place on 13 August 2025 in Ibadan. Two main sessions will involve an academic conference and a round table with different stakeholders cordially invite you to submit abstracts to participate and present your research papers, groundbreaking methodologies and practices, and case studies at this important event. The proposition will be chosen on the basis of an original perspective and fieldwork. Purely theoretical and second-hand abstract will not be considered as relevant.

Conference Theme: Alternative Heritage and Vernacular Architecture - A Foundational Dialogue

IFRA-Nigeria and the Institute of African Studies are pleased to invite you to another session of the "Critical Decolonialities: Afro-global perspectives" seminar series scheduled for 31 July 2025. This session will feature Linda Chernis, GALA Queer Archives, University of the Witwatersrand, who will present on “Queer Archiving – a decolonial practice? The experiences of the GALA Queer Archive”.

Linda Chernis will discuss ways in which queer histories and archives can be used to challenge dominant perceptions of history and traditional archives, including methods for ‘activating’ the archive, and making it more accessible and inclusive. Being an independent, activist archive that focuses on marginalised voices, she will invite us to constantly rethink how we work and how we add to and adapt from the traditional concept of an archive. In current tumultuous context, it is more important than ever to preserve queer voices, past and present, from the drive towards silencing and erasure that is sweeping large parts of the world.