Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome
Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome is an International Political Economist whose regional specialization is on the African continent. Educated at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Long Island University, New York, and Columbia University, New York, she’s a Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College, CUNY; past Women’s Studies Program Director and past Deputy Chair for Graduate Studies in the Department of Political Science at Brooklyn College. She is also a member of the Executive Council of the CUNY University Faculty Senate, and a long-term member of the Faculty Senate, and its past resentative to the NY City Council’s Higher Education Committee. Mojúbàolú is a long-standing member of Brooklyn College’s Faculty Council. Born in Nigeria, Mojúbàolú has worked on international development issues as a consultant for clients including the United Nations and Commonwealth Secretariat in London. Her teaching interests include a focus on the meanings of inclusive, equitable citizenship in the context of the interplay between globalization, democratization and economic development. Her research interests include: Youth Empowerment, Gender, Democracy and Citizenship in Africa; Governance, Development and Democracy in Africa; Effects of Globalization, Post-Colonialism, and Modernity on Economic and Political Transformation; and African Diaspora Studies. She has published extensively in her areas of research and teaching interests, with book chapters and journal articles. She teaches International Relations, International Political Economy, Comparative Politics, African Politics, African Diaspora, and African Gender Politics courses. Her publications include 7 sole-authored or edited books:
Para-Mallam, O. J., & Okome, M. O. (2023). Editors. Gender and Development in Nigeria: Concepts, Issues and Strategies. Kuru, Plateau State, Nigeria: National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Press.
Okome, M. O. (2013). Editor. State Fragility, State Formation, and Human Security in Nigeria; and Contesting the Nigerian State: Civil Society and the Contradictions of Self-Organization; NY: Palgrave-Macmillan.
Okome, M. O. & Afia Serwaa Zakiya (2013). Editors. Women's Political and Legislative Participation in Nigeria: Perspectives From the 2007 Elections. co-edited with. Bookbuilders, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Okome, M. O. & Olufemi Vaughan (2012). Editors. West African Migrations: Transnational and Global Pathways in a New Century. NY: Palgrave Macmillan, and Transnational Africa and Globalization. NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Okome, M. O. (1998). A Sapped Democracy: The Political Economy of the Structural Adjustment Program and the Political Transition in Nigeria, 1983-1993. MD: University Press of America.
She co-founded #BringBackOurGirlsNYC and is founder and editor of Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration.
Phone: (718) 951-5000, ext. 1742
Address: Professor of Political Science, African & Women's Studies
Brooklyn College, CUNY
3413 James Hall
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11210
phone: fax: (718) 951-4833
email: [email protected]
Para-Mallam, O. J., & Okome, M. O. (2023). Editors. Gender and Development in Nigeria: Concepts, Issues and Strategies. Kuru, Plateau State, Nigeria: National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies Press.
Okome, M. O. (2013). Editor. State Fragility, State Formation, and Human Security in Nigeria; and Contesting the Nigerian State: Civil Society and the Contradictions of Self-Organization; NY: Palgrave-Macmillan.
Okome, M. O. & Afia Serwaa Zakiya (2013). Editors. Women's Political and Legislative Participation in Nigeria: Perspectives From the 2007 Elections. co-edited with. Bookbuilders, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Okome, M. O. & Olufemi Vaughan (2012). Editors. West African Migrations: Transnational and Global Pathways in a New Century. NY: Palgrave Macmillan, and Transnational Africa and Globalization. NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Okome, M. O. (1998). A Sapped Democracy: The Political Economy of the Structural Adjustment Program and the Political Transition in Nigeria, 1983-1993. MD: University Press of America.
She co-founded #BringBackOurGirlsNYC and is founder and editor of Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration.
Phone: (718) 951-5000, ext. 1742
Address: Professor of Political Science, African & Women's Studies
Brooklyn College, CUNY
3413 James Hall
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11210
phone: fax: (718) 951-4833
email: [email protected]
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By the way, when I sent the zoom link for this event to a dear friend, who is also a Nigerian scholar, her response was: “Electoral integrity in Nigeria? Indeed!” I responded by saying “I’m the idiot that’s speaking on it” and followed up by reassuring her: “or better yet, on its non-existence.” What is the relationship between Gender, Elections Integrity, and Accountability in Nigeria? Are corruption-free elections possible in Nigeria? What would it take to have elections integrity in Nigeria? Can it be achieved as early as the 2023 elections?
My answers to these questions are not encouraging. However, they are honest. I will first give brief answers to these questions. Next, I would give a broad context that draws upon studies, analyses, critiques, and commentaries on gender and election integrity. Then, I will give a Nigeria context. Finally, I will offer some ideas on what could be done.
By the way, when I sent the zoom link for this event to a dear friend, who is also a Nigerian scholar, her response was: “Electoral integrity in Nigeria? Indeed!” I responded by saying “I’m the idiot that’s speaking on it” and followed up by reassuring her: “or better yet, on its non-existence.” What is the relationship between Gender, Elections Integrity, and Accountability in Nigeria? Are corruption-free elections possible in Nigeria? What would it take to have elections integrity in Nigeria? Can it be achieved as early as the 2023 elections?
My answers to these questions are not encouraging. However, they are honest. I will first give brief answers to these questions. Next, I would give a broad context that draws upon studies, analyses, critiques, and commentaries on gender and election integrity. Then, I will give a Nigeria context. Finally, I will offer some ideas on what could be done.
By the way, when I sent the zoom link for this event to a dear friend, who is also a Nigerian scholar, her response was: “Electoral integrity in Nigeria? Indeed!” I responded by saying “I’m the idiot that’s speaking on it” and followed up by reassuring her: “or better yet, on its non-existence.” What is the relationship between Gender, Elections Integrity, and Accountability in Nigeria? Are corruption-free elections possible in Nigeria? What would it take to have elections integrity in Nigeria? Can it be achieved as early as the 2023 elections?
My answers to these questions are not encouraging. However, they are honest. I will first give brief answers to these questions. Next, I would give a broad context that draws upon studies, analyses, critiques, and commentaries on gender and election integrity. Then, I will give a Nigeria context. Finally, I will offer some ideas on what could be done.
Panel III.
Saturday December 4. Time: 3-5pm (Nigeria Time) 9-11am (US Eastern Time)
Panelists
Dr. Bolu Onabolu
Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi
Julie Sanda
Mary Ikoku
Moderator
Rita Offiaeli
Panel I. Friday December 3. Time: 3-5pm (Nigeria Time) 9-11am (US Eastern Time)
Panelists
Ms. Iheoma Obibi
Ms Kadaria Ahmed
Ms. Ayisha Osori
Titilope Ajayi
Dr. Abosede Babatunde
Moderator
Ayodeji Fadugba
Panelists
Ms. Yemisi Ransome Kuti
Ms. Ene Ede
Mrs. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode
Iyom Josephine Anenih
Dr. Amina Salihu
Professor Oluyemisi Obilade
Moderator
Mrs. Esther Eghobamien Mshelia
Books by Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome
The paper is derived from my PhD. research and is derived from my first book, A Sapped Democracy: The Political Economy of the Structural Adjustment Program and the Political Transition in Nigeria (1983-1993). It is out of print, but here's the Amazon link: https://shorturl.at/htBK7
Since I bought the copyright from the publisher, I think it's time for an update that brings us through the developments over time in Nigerian political economy. Watch this space.
This delightful book makes a strong case that, instead of a coherent mission imposing Western civilization on northern Nigeria during the colonial era, there were competing agendas. Rather than Western civilization having the clear upper hand in the interchange, the peoples of northern Nigeria had considerable agency in determining which variants of Western culture they chose to embrace. Overall, this volume makes a valuable contribution to interdisciplinary inquiry in education, African studies, and religious studies.
By the way, when I sent the zoom link for this event to a dear friend, who is also a Nigerian scholar, her response was: “Electoral integrity in Nigeria? Indeed!” I responded by saying “I’m the idiot that’s speaking on it” and followed up by reassuring her: “or better yet, on its non-existence.” What is the relationship between Gender, Elections Integrity, and Accountability in Nigeria? Are corruption-free elections possible in Nigeria? What would it take to have elections integrity in Nigeria? Can it be achieved as early as the 2023 elections?
My answers to these questions are not encouraging. However, they are honest. I will first give brief answers to these questions. Next, I would give a broad context that draws upon studies, analyses, critiques, and commentaries on gender and election integrity. Then, I will give a Nigeria context. Finally, I will offer some ideas on what could be done.
By the way, when I sent the zoom link for this event to a dear friend, who is also a Nigerian scholar, her response was: “Electoral integrity in Nigeria? Indeed!” I responded by saying “I’m the idiot that’s speaking on it” and followed up by reassuring her: “or better yet, on its non-existence.” What is the relationship between Gender, Elections Integrity, and Accountability in Nigeria? Are corruption-free elections possible in Nigeria? What would it take to have elections integrity in Nigeria? Can it be achieved as early as the 2023 elections?
My answers to these questions are not encouraging. However, they are honest. I will first give brief answers to these questions. Next, I would give a broad context that draws upon studies, analyses, critiques, and commentaries on gender and election integrity. Then, I will give a Nigeria context. Finally, I will offer some ideas on what could be done.
By the way, when I sent the zoom link for this event to a dear friend, who is also a Nigerian scholar, her response was: “Electoral integrity in Nigeria? Indeed!” I responded by saying “I’m the idiot that’s speaking on it” and followed up by reassuring her: “or better yet, on its non-existence.” What is the relationship between Gender, Elections Integrity, and Accountability in Nigeria? Are corruption-free elections possible in Nigeria? What would it take to have elections integrity in Nigeria? Can it be achieved as early as the 2023 elections?
My answers to these questions are not encouraging. However, they are honest. I will first give brief answers to these questions. Next, I would give a broad context that draws upon studies, analyses, critiques, and commentaries on gender and election integrity. Then, I will give a Nigeria context. Finally, I will offer some ideas on what could be done.
Panel III.
Saturday December 4. Time: 3-5pm (Nigeria Time) 9-11am (US Eastern Time)
Panelists
Dr. Bolu Onabolu
Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi
Julie Sanda
Mary Ikoku
Moderator
Rita Offiaeli
Panel I. Friday December 3. Time: 3-5pm (Nigeria Time) 9-11am (US Eastern Time)
Panelists
Ms. Iheoma Obibi
Ms Kadaria Ahmed
Ms. Ayisha Osori
Titilope Ajayi
Dr. Abosede Babatunde
Moderator
Ayodeji Fadugba
Panelists
Ms. Yemisi Ransome Kuti
Ms. Ene Ede
Mrs. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode
Iyom Josephine Anenih
Dr. Amina Salihu
Professor Oluyemisi Obilade
Moderator
Mrs. Esther Eghobamien Mshelia
The paper is derived from my PhD. research and is derived from my first book, A Sapped Democracy: The Political Economy of the Structural Adjustment Program and the Political Transition in Nigeria (1983-1993). It is out of print, but here's the Amazon link: https://shorturl.at/htBK7
Since I bought the copyright from the publisher, I think it's time for an update that brings us through the developments over time in Nigerian political economy. Watch this space.
This delightful book makes a strong case that, instead of a coherent mission imposing Western civilization on northern Nigeria during the colonial era, there were competing agendas. Rather than Western civilization having the clear upper hand in the interchange, the peoples of northern Nigeria had considerable agency in determining which variants of Western culture they chose to embrace. Overall, this volume makes a valuable contribution to interdisciplinary inquiry in education, African studies, and religious studies.
“I have struggled with the challenges of what it means to be a black woman who went to one of the best universities to secure my phd and then I’m teaching at the City University of New York . . . I’m accomplished, I’m comfortable materially, I live in a nice place but America will never let you forget that you’re not from here,” said Dr. Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome an International Political Economist and professor of political science at Brooklyn College, CUNY.
Saturday, June 1st, 2019
Participants:
Chair: Louise Badiane, Bridgewater State University
Zain Abdullah, Temple University
Emira Wood, Institute for Policy Studies
Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome, CUNY Brooklyn College
Moderator: Ndimyake Mwakalyelye, Broadcast journalist; Africa expert
The video was recorded by students from Morgan State University
context. This is the third study in the US African Diaspora Giving Project (U-DAP) designed to advance understanding of the giving traditions of US African-descent ethnic groups. Our hope is to deepen knowledge of the diversity of America’s rich civic
leadership and contributions.
U-DAP originated from the advocacy of the Pan-African Women’s Philanthropy Network (PAWPNet), a national coalition of diverse African-descent women and their allies devoted to advancing all forms of giving in the African diaspora (Copeland-Carson 2012). With critical support from PAWPNet, and funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the African Women’s Development Fund USA (AWDF USA), a public foundation committed to supporting African women’s development, published a monograph overviewing US African immigrant philanthropy’s cultural values, history and practices (Copeland-Carson and Okome 2013).
U-DAP has also included public outreach to raise awareness of African diaspora giving throughout the US, including a public campaign to promote Black Philanthropy Month (BPM). Recognized by the United Nations, BPM is an annual celebration of black giving created by PAWPNet in 2011. A successful BPM 2013 campaign co-led by The Giving Back Project, Black Gives
Back, the Community Investment Network with AWDF USA brought U-DAP’s research to millions, increasing awareness of the diversity and global dimensions of black giving.
This current study is the collaboration of the three scholars, Drs. Copeland-Carson, Okome and Osili, who have written most of the research in the emergent African diaspora philanthropy field over the past 15 years.
There is a well-established movement and field of black
philanthropy in the US that primarily focuses on the giving traditions of the “historical” diaspora, that is, the voluntary sector traditions of black Americans who are the descendants of US African slaves from the 17th through 19th century. Despite the 3.7
million foreign-born African-descent people who make up the country’s black population today, less is known about the giving traditions of foreign-born blacks such as African, African-Caribbean, Afro-Latin, Afro-European and Afro-Asian groups that also comprise today’s black American community.
Although there have been notable efforts to examine and promote giving of Latino and Asian diasporas, there is comparatively little effort to study the philanthropy of America’s African diaspora. The first two U-DAP studies established the broader context of African immigrant giving in the development of US black and American philanthropy more generally, as well as a related, emergent Pan-African movement (see Copeland-Carson and Okome 2013 and Copeland-Carson 2012).
African Immigrant Giving in 21st Century America builds on our prior identification of ten key African immigrant giving social structures and delves more deeply into the amount and dynamics of this understudied but critical component of American giving. We use a cross-cultural model of giving recognizing that private finance for the public good has different values, forms and dynamics worldwide that also influence the giving practices
of US immigrants.
This study moves beyond standard notions of community and giving to include diaspora approaches that may not more explicitly be seen as “philanthropic” from a conventional or strictly mainstream Western point-of-view. We recognize that Africans—like everyone else in our increasingly global world--are creating novel practices including giving that mixes and matches traditions from the new and old worlds.
The paper is derived from my PhD. research and is derived from my first book, A Sapped Democracy: The Political Economy of the Structural Adjustment Program and the Political Transition in Nigeria (1983-1993). It is out of print, but here's the Amazon link: https://shorturl.at/htBK7
Since I bought the copyright from the publisher, I think it's time for an update that brings us through the developments over time in Nigerian political economy. Watch this space.
Willingboro Public Library presented an interactive lecture "Who Are the African Immigrants?," with Professor Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome. "Our goal is to inform and create awareness about this growing and diverse group of Africans, who live and interact with others in New Jersey," says Paulette Doe-Williams, adult services librarian. "We aim to dispel stereotypes and encourage dialogue between groups in
Willingboro and surrounding towns."
The talk is the second in a series on African Immigrants in New Jersey, funded by a grant from the N.J. Council for the Humanities. Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome is a professor of political science at Brooklyn College. A Nigerian by birth, she was educated at the University of Ibadan, Long Island University, and Columbia University. Her most recent books are: Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome, editor. Contesting the Nigerian State: Civil Society and the Contradictions of Self Organization; and State Fragility, State Formation, and Human Security in Nigeria. Both were published by Palgrave-Macmillan in 2013. Together with Professor Olufemi Vaughan, Geoffrey Canada Professor of Africana Studies & History at Bowdoin College, she also co-edited West African Migrations: Transnational and Global Pathways in a New Century; and Transnational Africa and Globalization, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2012. She is the editor of Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration, a peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of African migration and immigration to other parts of the world. http://www.africamigration.com/
The introduction was by Mrs. Paulette Doe-Williams, Adult Services Librarian at Willingboro Library
Willingboro Public Library (www.willingboro.org) is located at 220 Willingboro Parkway, just off of Route 130 and Levitt Parkway, next to Strayer University.
September 24th - 30th October 2010
An Exhibition of Paintings by Stephen Adéyemí Folárànmí & Paul Gbóládé Ómídìran
THE HALLS @ BOWLING GREEN, 7TH FLOOR, GRADUATE CENTER FOR WORKER EDUCATION, BROOKLYN COLLEGE
25, BROADWAY, NEW YORK, N.Y
This exhibition kicks off the Africa Happening! series of events this fall (2010). It features the work of Stephen Adéyemí
Folárànmí, and Gbóládé Paul Omídìran, both graduates of the Fine Arts Programme, Obáfémi Awólówò University, in the City
of Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Africa Happening! was born out of an effort to envision and plan a multi-university event around the theme of “Africa at 50:
Looking Back, Looking Forward”. At the time, the idea was to bring as many New York City metropolitan area
colleges/universities and institutions together to plan joint events that would foreground celebrating 50 years of 17 African
countries' independence, as well as consider challenges and breakthroughs experienced and ongoing issues. The discussion
in this essay reflects the discussion at the first meeting as well as my own observations. It embellishes on our objective of retheorizing and re-conceptualizing the continent (Allan 2010).
What are the implications of the postponement of the 2019 elections for democracy in the context of state-society relations in Nigeria? In reflecting on this question, it’s remarkable how the long shadow of the past dogs the present. Despite having approximately 70 Presidential candidates, Nigerians must make a choice between two people: the current incumbent, APC’s President Muhammadu Buhari and PDP’s Atiku Abubakar. That the race is a two-man affair is testament to the weakness of the Nigerian middle/upper class. This strata was decimated by the effects of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), but is recovering. Many are also to be found among the remittances-sending diaspora that is not allowed to exercise franchise, although they are responsible for massive financial transfers and investment in Nigeria.
One can also distinguish between the older middle class that experienced the devastating effects of what some call the locust years of SAP, and the newly emerging middle class that is alienated from politics, or whose entry into politics the ‘independent’ candidates captured. The middle class is also the base for civil society activism, but it is yet to act in an organized way, as a class in its own interest. The dominance of President Buhari and Atiku Abubakar can be attributed to the tendency for post-authoritarian politics to manifest elements of authoritarianism even after the end of authoritarian rule. Bangura (1991) called this situation authoritarian democracy (Bangura, 1991), and Fareed Zakaria’s more popular phrase, illiberal democracy also captures the same tendencies.
During the period of British colonization of Nigeria (1914-1960), the few Nigerians who travelled to the United States did so in quest of educational opportunities that were not available in the colony. Ability to seek these opportunities depended on access to considerable family wealth and information or to the benefits of collective, generous donations from entire extended families or even villages, with the expectation that once they had attained education, they would in turn help others in their families/villages/hometowns to do likewise.
Since Nigeria was at the time under colonial rule, and Britain was the metropolitan country, most of those who sought access to the so called “golden fleece” did so in Great Britain. There was considerably less interest in the U.S. However, the trickle of students increased steadily over time, becoming more intense during the years immediately after the Second World War. To date, the numbers of Nigerian immigrants to the U.S. while high when compared with those of other Africans is minuscule as a percentage of total immigration. The change in immigration laws in 1965 led to great increases in the numbers of all immigrants and Nigerian immigration is no exception. Education and the search for refuge from political turmoil during the civil war (1967-70) accounted for the reason why a majority of immigrants from Nigeria came to the United States. While there are still a considerable number of Nigerian immigrants who come to the United States due to a desire for higher education, currently, there are diverse reasons why Nigerians migrate to the U.S. More people now seek employment, and during the harshest years of Nigeria’s military dictatorships in the 1980s-90s, a lot of Nigerians sought refuge in the U.S. from political persecution and exile. Others came because the economy went into a cycle of decline from which it is yet to fully recover.
While the overwhelming majority of Nigerian immigrants could well be regarded as economic “refugees” as a result of the unrelenting economic downturn that Nigeria experienced during the same period, the economic crisis was compounded by the non effectiveness of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) that was devised as a solution. More than other factors, the combined effects of economic crises, political conflict and SAP generated the greatest impetus for migration to the U.S. Also, unlike in the past where the tendency was toward temporary migration, many Nigerians were now interested in permanent immigration. A lot were also leaving “by any means necessary” to work in the informal economy either temporarily until they could secure better jobs in their areas of expertise, or permanently, and many more of these than in the past are trafficked. Of these, some become menial workers with few to no chances of doing anything better while others are able to improve their lot by tenaciously pursuing more education at the same time as they work long hours. In recent times, Nigeria has also contributed its share of medical doctors, physical therapists, nurses and allied health workers to the labor force in the U.S. Other professionals in technical fields have also migrated to the U.S., many entering into the immigration lotteries, and so have clergy and religious workers who claim that they are responding to the call of a higher authority to save souls and minister to God’s people.