Meet Some Of The Facilitators
The course will be facilitated by a diverse faculty made up of university professors, independent researchers, social activists, and public intellectuals from various parts of the world.
PROFESSOR KELECHI KALU
He is the Vice Provost of International Affairs and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Riverside. He currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Congo Basin Institute and he served as a member of the Challenge of Change Commission for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and currently serves as a YALI Ghana Regional Center Global Ambassador.
FR EMMANUEL OJEIFO
Emmanuel Ojeifo is a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja. He serves as personal secretary to Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the immediate past Catholic Archbishop of Abuja as well as chaplain/research assistant at the chapel of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation in Abuja. .
He will be facilitating the modules/sessions: “The Creation and Problematic Amalgamation of Nigeria” and “Embedded Colonial Bias and Foundational Flaws with the Nigerian State”
Dr. Law O. Mefor
Dr. Law O. Mefor is a Behavioural Researcher and Media and Communications Consultant. He trained in General and Applied Psychology (University of Jos), Forensic and Correctional Psychology (Nasarawa State University), Social Psychology (University of Nigeria, Nsukka), and in Public Administration (University of Calabar) as well as in Journalism at the Intl Institute of Journalism, Abuja.
Dr. Mefor will be facilitating the module/session: “Nigerian Civil War: Aburi Accord 101”
DR ATTA BARKINDO
Atta Barkindo is a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yola in northeastern Nigeria. He is currently the Executive Director of The Kukah Centre. He earned his Ph.D. at the Department of Politics and International Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His Ph.D. research focused on History, Memory, and Resistance in North-Eastern Nigeria with Boko Haram as a case study.
Dr. Atta Barindo will facilitate the session: “The quest for independence -& the Willinks Minority Commission report”
OMOLARA ORIYE
Omolara Oriye is a human rights lawyer, activist, and advocacy strategist. She identifies as a radical feminist disrupting the status quo and insisting on the rights and agency of women in Africa. She is a feminist legal researcher with a focus on feminist constitutionalism, a public speaker, and a writer.
Omolara Oriye will facilitate the session: “The inequitable formation of the Nigerian state and systems”
FOLA FAGBULE
Fola Fagbule is a banker and investment professional focused on infrastructure in Africa. He currently serves as a Senior Vice President and Head of Financial Advisory at the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC). His work revolves around large infrastructure projects, companies, and investments across sub-Saharan Africa. AFC is a US$7.0bn infrastructure financier working across more than 30 countries in Africa.
Fola Fagbule will facilitate the session: “The making of Nigeria: -Fulani jihad to amalgamation”
MAZI CHINATU C. ONWUKA
Mazi Chinatu C. Onwuka is a graduate of Microbiology/Chemistry combined honors from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. He attended the Ontario Theological Seminary presently Called Tyndale University and Theological Seminary. He also attended the Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology to specialize in the Research and Development of drugs (Generics) with a Postgraduate Diploma in R&D Generics.
Mazi Chinatu C. Onwuka will serve as a panelist in the session: “Life & Innovation in Biafra”
Dwayne Genus & Uchenwa Iroaga Genus
Dwayne Genus and Uchenwa Iroaga Genus debut in the literary limelight with a candid and captivating retelling of a volatile and significant event in history through the eyes of a young woman in “An African Story”. “An African Story” is a historical biography of an Igbo woman’s life and experience of the Biafran War in the 1960s.
They will serve as panelists in the session: “Life & Innovation in Biafra”
Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah
Matthew Hassan Kukah is one of Nigeria’s foremost public intellectuals and the current Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Nigeria. He is the founder of the Kukah Centre- a public policy think tank with a focus on faith and public policy. Kukah holds a Bachelor of Divinity from St. Augustine’s Seminary Jos, a Master’s Degree in Peace Studies at the University of Bradford (1980), and a Doctorate Degree in Religion and Politics from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (1990).
He will be facilitating the session: “The Oputa Panel & its implication for contemporary civic engagement”
Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr
Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr is the founder of She ROARs and currently leads the Global Shapers Community across Africa & MENA. She is focused on impacting the global narrative with the power of stories founded on the humanist African philosophy of Ubuntu. To tell these stories, Chidiogo speaks seven (7) of the world’s languages including Chinese, English, French, German, Igbo, Italian and Spanish — invaluable tools that bridge lives, people, and their global realities.
Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr will be facilitating the session: “The Life & Legacy of Dora Akunyili”
