On Tuesday, 8 April at 10 a.m. join us at IFRA's Resources Center for our latest Methodological Seminar! We welcome Dr Abiola Victoria Ayodokun, deputy project manager at the Nigeria Watch Project.
She will present her research on gender role construction in the production and distribution of charcoal, in the Saki area of Oyo State, Nigeria, and discuss how gender influenced various roles, economic output and challenges within the production chain. This is a great opportunity for researchers interested in questioning the influence of gender in their own research, and to learn what a fieldwork in Oyo State entails.
Deadline for registration: 3 April 2025
You can register here.
On 27 February, IFRA-Nigeria and IAS were proud to welcome Professor Sanya Osha (African Studies Centre Leiden & ZMO Berlin) and Dr Philip Ademola Olayoku (University of Ibadan) as his discussant for an exploration of the philosophy of decolonialism on the theme "Decolonial approaches in Africana espistemologies of the global South". Prof. Osha presented a historical overview of decolonialism in philosophy, emphasizing its African roots alongside its Latin American development. His discussion centered on three influential African philosophers—Kwasi Wiredu, Paulin Hountondji, and Olabiyi Babalola Yai.
He first talked of Wiredu, who is often regarded as the greatest African philosopher of his generation, and his theory of ‘conceptual decolonization', inspiring comparisons of Western and indigenous philosophies through epistemological and linguistic analysis. His contemporary, Hountondji, was a critic of the relativism of ‘ethnophilosophy' and sought to reconcile universalism with local knowledge through the concept of 'endogenous knowledge.' Finally, Prof. Osha discussed the work of a man he worked with extensively on the UNESCO's epistemological forum project, Olabiyi Babalola Yai. In his final words, he also touched on Afro-Brazilian intellectual traditions shaped by the transatlantic slave trade.
The event concluded with a discussion between Dr Philip Ademola Olayoku and Professor Osha on language, modernity, and power dynamics in decolonialism, followed by a Q&A session on the future of decolonial thought. Click below to read a detailed summary of this seminar!
Professor Osha's full talk in now available on YouTube!
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On 20 February, IFRA-Nigeria held a Methodological Seminar with Charles Vashala, researcher at the Center for the Study and Promotion of Cultural Sustainability of the University of Maiduguri and Cotutal doctoral candidate in Maiduguri and at the University of Hildesheim (Germany). He is also the recipient of an IFRA research grant. He presented the innovative methods he used for his research on the "Exploration of Traditional Healing and Mental Health in Maiduguri".
He began his presentation by presenting his research project and his goal to see it being used to bring about better policies on mental health in Borno state. He reflected on the specific challenges of access and trust while conducting research in a dangerous environment. He explained the importance of the use of partners to work around it, and the ethical challenges of needing to adapt to local beliefs and cultural practices. Finally, he explained his innovative methodology : participatory methods through drawing. A Q&A session followed the presentation.
You can find a summary of Mr. Vashala's presentation below!
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On 30 January, IFRA-Nigeria and the Institute of African Studies (IAS), hosted the first session of their seminar series on “Critical decolonialities”. The event featured Dr Charmaine Pereira, an esteemed feminist scholar based in Abuja, and Dr Oluwatoyin C. Olajide of Obafemi Awolowo University as her discussant. In her presentation, Dr Pereira focused on the general history and issues of decolonial feminism. She described the movement's role in Nigeria, through key figures like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Bolanle Awe. Presenting a thorough review of the topics of feminist knowledge production in Nigeria - Boko Haram, conceptions of gender in pre-colonial societies, contesting State brutality and much more - she raised very interesting and relevant questions regarding modern challenges in Nigeria and the future of decolonial feminism. She concluded by detailing the key institutional spaces where changes can either be made or hindered.
Dr Olajide offered insightful reflections on the presentation, raising a series of questions and comments on fascinating topics like how women’s self-perception is shaped by patriarchy and colonialism, the construction of African gender and sexuality, and the recognition of some forms of domination on women’s bodies even before colonialism. Finally, the in-person and zoom participants had the opportunity to ask questions to our two speakers.
To read a more detailed summary of the event, please click below. The full conference is also available on our Youtube channel.
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IFRA-Nigeria, IFRA-Nairobi, and IFAS Research were pleased to welcome on 23 January three esteemed collaborators - Dr Jackson Kago, Dr Adedeji Adebayo and Rosebelle Otieno - for a special webinar on the two latest issues of Sources, the free-access, double peer reviewed journal publishing African-based research by African researchers.
Both reflected on the writing of their articles, Dr Kago exploring Google Street View as a research tool and Dr Adebayo on reaching the "out of reach" in the context of his research on women's political participation in south-west Nigeria. They not only provided interesting insights on their research methods, but also practical tips for any researchers looking to publish. As for Rosebelle Otieno, she offered concrete advice on producing quality articles, based on her extensive experience in the academic publishing world. You will find a summary of this insightful webinar below.
If you're interested in learning more about Dr Kago, Dr Adebayo or Sources' work, you can find their articles as well as the journal's publication guidelines on Sources' website
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IFRA-Nigeria had the pleasure to welcome Adedeji Adebayo on 22 January, for our first Methodological Seminar of 2025. IFRA-Nigeria director, Dr Barbara Morovich, introduced Dr Adebayo, a trusted junior research associate of IFRA-Nigeria's Elections Observatory. Dr Adebayo obtained his PhD from the Peace and Conflict Department of the University of Ibadan.
During the course of his insightful presentation, he reflected on his experiences as a field or research assistant before his doctorate, and the benefit he gained from them. He argued that this allowed him to become familiar with new ways of doing research, acquire new skills and build a network of trusted researchers that continues to be very beneficial in his own work today. You will find a summary of his intervention below.
Moreover, if you're interested in learning more about Dr Adebayo's work, click here "Getting in Touch with the Out of Reach: Fieldwork Strategies in Research on Women and Politics (South-West of Nigeria)" to read his article in Sources issue n°7 "Varia".
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On 21 November 2024, Dr. Côme Salvaire, a researcher at Sciences Po Bordeaux & Research Institute for Sustainable Development, presented a methodological seminar titled: “What is a Case Study Good for?”, illustrating the logic of case study research with the results of an ethnographic study conducted from 2015 to 2024 around a garbage dump in Mushin, Lagos.
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On 26 November 2024, three French research institutes in sub-Saharan Africa—IFRA-Nigeria, IFRA-Nairobi, and IFAS-Research— will organize a webinar to present the work of Africa researchers and Africa-based research published in Sources, the UMIFRE’s academic journal.
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On the 16th of March 2023, IFRA-Nigeria and the French institute of international relations (IFRI) co-organised an online seminar on the Nigerian general elections featuring Elodie Apard, Research Officer, IRD, Benjamin Augé, Research Associate, IFRI; Sa'eed Husaini, Research, Center for Democracy and Development, Abuja; Cyrielle Maingraud-Martinaud, Deputy Director, IFRA-Ibadan. The debate was moderated by Alain Antil, Director of the Sub-Saharan Africa Center, Ifri and Barbara Morovich, Director, IFRA-Ibadan.
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On the 15th of March, Salomé Okoekpen, PhD student in Anthropology at the University of Geneva, presented her methods and her fieldwork to fifteen master and PhD students during a methodological seminar at the university of Ibadan.
Salomé Okoekpen explores Muslim women's engagement in rural towns of Oyo State looking at their organisational and associative practices. She is most interested in their lived experience, on how they perceive and interpret their actions and religiosity. The methodology deployed by Salomé Okoekpen blends ethnographic and artistic approaches such as drawing, sound recordings, and photography. Drawing serves as a tool for immersion and engagement, positioning and reflexivity, and personal reflection and expression. It is also a medium that allow for the engagement of a wider, non-academical, audience.
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