CAAS Elections 2019 : New Members of the CAAS Executive
President: Uwafiokun Idemudia
Department of Social Science
Associate Professor
Program Coordinator, International Development Studies (IDS) Program
https://profiles.laps.yorku.ca/profiles/idemudia/
Vice-President: Dr. Temitope Oriola
Biography
Dr. Temitope Oriola is joint Editor-in-Chief of African Security journal and associate professor at the University of Alberta. A recipient of the Governor General of Canada Academic Gold Medal, Oriola’s book Criminal Resistance? The Politics of Kidnapping Oil Workers (Routledge 2016 [orig. 2013]) is one of a small number of book-length sociological investigations of political kidnapping in the English language.
Dr. Oriola’s ongoing research focuses on the ascendance of extremist non-state transnational actors, particularly in the Lake Chad Basin. This research investigates the intricacies of the ascendance of Boko Haram, the trends and patterns of Boko Haram’s operations, the gender dimensions (particularly sexual and gender-based violence) and the backdrop of global jihadi terrorist trajectories.
Dr. Oriola has published in leading scholarly venues such as the British Journal of Criminology, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Third World Quarterly, Sociology, Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Ethics and Critical Studies on Terrorism, among others. His research has received funding from organizations such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the Killam Trusts. Oriola is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship (2015 and 2017).
Proposed Contributions to CAAS
I aim to contribute to enhancing the visibility of CAAS in Western Canada and beyond. I strongly believe that there are networks of scholars that CAAS can and should tap into to increases its already strong profile as the clearinghouse of African studies in Canada. I will make conscientious contributions to executive board meetings, assist with organizing the annual conference and use my social media handles to publicize the activities of CAAS.
Members-at-Large (General)
1) Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh
Biography
Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh is the Messecar Professor in History and Global Human Rights at McMaster University. He has taught in universities in Africa, Europe and North America. Previously, he was a Human Rights Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs, New York, and Research Fellow at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, Copenhagen. Dr. Ibhawoh is a member of the College of New Scholars of the Royal Society of Canada, and recipient of the Nelson Mandela Distinguished Africanist Award for “distinguished contribution to research and the promotion of African affairs.” Dr. Ibhawoh has held several university administrative positions including Director of the Centre for Peace Studies, Associate Dean in the Faculty of Humanities, and Acting Associate Vice-President (Research) at McMaster University. Dr. Ibhawoh publications include Imperial Justice, Imperialism and Human Rights and Human Rights in Africa
Proposed Contributions to CAAS
As a scholar with senior University administrative experience, I hope to bring my skills as manager of human and financial resources to CAAS. I can contribute to advising on budgeting and budget implementation. I can also work with the executive to find innovative ways of sustained fundraising and efficiently using the association’s resources to serve it members. With better financial management and oversight, CAAS can expand its membership base and become more responsive to the needs and aspirations of the Africanist community in Canada.
2) Dr. Nadège Compaore
Biography
Dr. W. R. Nadège Compaoré is a Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) Postdoctoral Fellow. Prior to BSIA, Dr. Compaoré was respectively a Research Analyst at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Social Science at York University. Her research lies at the intersection of International Relations and Global Political Economy scholarships, which guide her analysis of natural resource governance in Africa. Dr. Compaoré’s research has been funded by SSHRC, the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and the Canadian International Development Agency. She is co-editor of New Approaches to the Governance of Natural Resources: Insights from Africa (Palgrave, 2015). Her work has also been published in journals such as International Studies Review, Etudes Internationales, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, and Contemporary Politics. Dr. Compaoré holds a PhD in Political Studies from Queen’s University.
Proposed Contributions to CAAS
As a member at large, I will collaborate with all relevant committees and individuals to support the growth of CAAS across disciplines, and in a sustained manner. I am particularly keen to contribute to building a more active membership of early career scholars –particularly graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. As an early scholar myself, I am committed to addressing concerns that animate early scholars working on issues pertinent to Africa in Canada and abroad, and I am also aware of opportunities that can serve to galvanizing the participation of early career scholars in the Association. I believe that the next generation of Africanist scholars represents an untapped source that can contribute to building and sustaining the long-term vision of CAAS.
Members-at-Large (Graduate Student Representatives)
1) Gladys Akua Agyeiwaa Denkyi - Manieson
Biography
Gladys Akua Agyeiwaa Denkyi - Manieson is a faculty member at Central University, Accra. Ghana. She is also a second year Phd candidate at the University of Ghana. Her PhD thesis is on “Northrop Frye and Ngugi wa Thiong’O: a study in Archetypal Criticism”. Gladys Denkyi - Manieson is the author of several research articles. Her area of interest are African literary studies, literary criticism and film criticism.
Proposed Contributions to CAAS
As an African based early career scholar, I hope to use my position at a member at large to garner support and visibility for CAAS activities in and around the West African sub-region.
2) Dianah Byaruhanga Ajuna
Biography
Dianah Byaruhanga Ajuna is currently pursuing a PhD in Law at the University of Ottawa and is a Research Fellow with the Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network. From Uganda, her PhD research area is in Internet Governance, specifically assessing the international legal rules for combatting cybercrime. She is an enrolled advocate of the High Court of Uganda and has been a Law lecturer at both Nkumba University (currently on study leave) and Uganda Christian University.
She holds a Master of Laws Degree in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Law from the University of Oslo, Norway; a Master of Legal Science in Law and Information Technology from Stockholm University, Sweden; a Post-graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre, Kampala, Uganda; and a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Before pursuing her PhD in Law, Byaruhanga established an ICT Law Centre in Uganda, which promotes the field of ICT Law. In 2014, she also introduced ICT Law and Policy as a course to fourth year law students at Uganda Christian University as a way of promoting the field of ICT Law.
Proposed Contributions to CAAS
As a Member at Large, I plan to expand and promote the objectives of the Canadian Association of African Studies. Among these objectives is to facilitate exchanges and linkages between Canadian and African Universities and Research Institutes. I will be able to do so through my affiliations with two Universities in Uganda, a Research Centre in Uganda, as a graduate student at the University of Ottawa, and as a Fellow with the Open Africa Innovation Research (Open AIR) network. As a New and Emerging Researcher Fellow with Open AIR, I am able to fully access a research team that is spread across more than 15 African countries and still expanding. All these networks will benefit CAAS by expanding the Association’s network within African academic and research institutions, creating additional linkages with the continent.
My skills and experience will enable me achieve this objective and make me uniquely qualified. I have almost five years of experience in both teaching and research work in Uganda, conducted at a very high caliber. I have worked as a lecturer at Nkumba University and Uganda Christian University. I have also worked with the ICT Law Center Uganda, East African Community Secretariat, among others. Further, I have worked with a team of consultants at Devinovit Associates in qualitative research projects focusing on Internet Law. I plan to use these networks to establish partnerships for CAAS and to promote CAAS in knowledge sharing. This will be done through taking part in conferences and organizing knowledge-sharing activities within the Association. Building partnerships with a broad range of experts.
3) Esther Ekong
Biography
Esther Ekong is a graduate student at the University of Ottawa, pursuing a PhD in Law. Her these is titled: The role of intellectual property rights as a development tool for women entrepreneurs in developing countries: The case of the cosmetics sector in Nigeria. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria; a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Benin, Nigeria; and a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria. She is also a New and Emerging Research (NERG) Fellow with the Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network, accredited to both Nigeria and Ottawa.
Prior to studying in Canada, Ekong worked for 7 years as a Research Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) in Lagos, Nigeria’s foremost legal research institute. She was as a member of the research team that produced the Restatement of Customary Law of Nigeria (2013) an authoritative text on customary law in Nigeria that has been widely accepted by legal practitioners in the country and has been frequently referred to in judicial proceedings. While at the institute, Ekong was an assistant tutor for Criminal Law, Legislative Impact Analysis, Advanced Constitutional Law, and Environmental courses in NIALS’ postgraduate school. She was also a special assistant to the Director of Studies at NIALS between 2016 and 2017.
Esther has published four articles and book chapters in reputable publications by NIALS. She is passionate about women’s rights and empowerment and was the initiator of Chadash Phoenix Woman Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) set up in Nigeria in 2012. Its mission is to help indigent women build capacity for small businesses and raise funds for them to start their businesses.
Proposed Contributions to CAAS
I come with the experience of having had undergraduate and graduate schooling in Africa (Nigeria), and therefore understand the challenges of studying in Africa as well as the untapped potential of African students. Further, having worked at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) for eight years, I come with the experience of having participated in research projects conducted in Africa. Finally, I also have a rich network of African researchers, both through my experiences on the continent and also as being a New and Emerging Researcher with Open AIR.
I believe I will be an asset to CAAS because I will be in a position to help create awareness of the problems and aspirations of Africans and contribute to the facilitation of exchanges and linkages between Canadian and African universities and research institutions.