Ojogbon Globalization

Here's what I did yesterday. Recording of the discussion on the 2020 US Election. Hint: I don't talk about polls at all. I talk about democratic institutions.

Read this story: End SARS protests: UK government admits it did train and supply equipment to Nigeria’s ‘brutal’ police unit https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sars-nigeria-police-protests-uk-government-training-equipment-b1424447.html  Nigeria is independent. The UK's "help" in training SARS unit is destructive and dangerous. It should have done better. The onus however is on the government of Nigeria to ensure that it uses considerable Nigerian capacity to figure out what our national interest is, and use the most skilled and capable Nigerians in our technocratic institutions and diplomatic service, to project that national interest in a way that improves the quality of our democracy, respects human rights, protects and defends the constitution, for the benefit of all Nigerians, not just a select few. This is an urgent task.  This is why I say: #Neocolonialism thrives. With friends like the #UK #Nigeria definitely needs no enemies. #EndSARS #EndPoliceBrutali...

Read this story: End SARS protests: UK government admits it did train and supply equipment to Nigeria’s ‘brutal’ police unit https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sars-nigeria-police-protests-uk-government-training-equipment-b1424447.html  Nigeria is independent. The UK's "help" in training SARS unit is destructive and dangerous. It should have done better. The onus however is on the government of Nigeria to ensure that it uses considerable Nigerian capacity to figure out what our national interest is, and use the most skilled and capable Nigerians in our technocratic institutions and diplomatic service, to project that national interest in a way that improves the quality of our democracy, respects human rights, protects and defends the constitution, for the benefit of all Nigerians, not just a select few. This is an urgent task.  This is why I say: #Neocolonialism thrives. With friends like the #UK #Nigeria definitely needs no enemies. #EndSARS #EndPoliceBrutali...

This is my response to President Muhammadu Buhari’s speech of October 22, 2020. I wholeheartedly support the  #EndSARS   #EndSWAT  protesters and object to the President’s attempt to trivialize the yearning of Nigerians for genuine good governance and democracy. Please join me. 

  The Howard Zinn Quote: “Civil disobedience, that’s not our problem. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while, the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.” Let the kleptocrats give back our stolen wealth so that we can fix our infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and also offer worthwhile social protection to our people. Let the masses enjoy the full benefits of citizenship in Nigeria. Let the leaders and political class repent and build peace with justice. This is no time for politics as usual.

#EndSWAT SWAT? Why? I say rethink this. According to a colleague, with whom I agree, “Nigeria Police is an oppressive instrument of the ruling elite. In the sixty year history of the Nigerian Police it has never been reformed hence a demand is that it should be reformed from bottom up with the assistance of UNDP. The present context provides the opportunity to make this demand. By the way, along with its reform should be creation of state police.” Just so people know, I’m Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome Professor of Political Science, African & Women's Studies Leonard & Claire Tow Professor, 2015/2016 Brooklyn College, CUNY  

I'm moderating this panel discussion on the Gendered Effects of COVID19 on Africa and Her Diaspora on Sunday, October 25, from 1:30-3:30 pm. You are cordially invited. Attendance is free, but you must register. Looking forward to seeing you. October 25, 1:30 p.m., Zoom Whether it is in terms of  economic dislocations, or infections, or deaths , the pandemic has  disproportionately affected people of African descent in the Diaspora . Approximately  40% of those infected are women. The World Health Organization, says that “ Humanitarian crises, including health emergencies, affect men and women differently. As COVID-19 continues to spread in Africa, there are concerns over its impact on women and girls, with vulnerabilities feared to worsen as the pandemic overwhelms health systems . Women in particular have the burden of making ends meet when their primary employment is in the informal economy. A majority of African women lack adequate social protection.  Having peopl...

Appreciation! The video of the second, which is equally the last session of “Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Academia: An Online Roundtable Discussion” organized by the Lagos Studies Association Women’s Mentoring Network, is now available. We thank everyone who made these two events possible. Ademide Adelusi-Adeluyi did an excellent job of moderating the events, making sure everything went as planned. Carli Coetzee and Lynn Schler worked behind the scene to conceptualize the roundtable and to develop the call for participation. The conversation was rich, thought-provoking, and boundary-shifting because our speakers (Lola Akande, Judith Byfield, Abosede George, Taibat Lawanson, Mojubaolu Okome, Charmaine Pereira, and Yetunde Zaid) intellectualized the problem. They combined personal experience with their knowledge of institutional politics to expand the repertoire of discourse. Other members of the Women’s Mentoring Network (Peju Layiwola and Oyeronke O...

Want to know what I think about sexual harassment? I participated in a roundtable discussion on this subject on Saturday, September 12 Here's the recording from last week and the announcement of the next roundtable. The video recording of the first session of Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Academia: An Online Roundtable Discussion organized by the Lagos Studies Association Women’s Mentoring Network is now available. Many thanks to the speakers and participants. The second session will take place this Saturday, September 19 at 3 pm (Nigeria Time) 10 am NY time(EST).

The second session of "Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Academia: An Online Roundtable Discussion” organized by the Lagos Studies Association Women’s Mentoring Network will take place this Saturday, September 19 at 3pm (Nigeria Time) and and 10 am (NY time). See description below: ------------- Session II Date: September 19 Time: 3pm Nigeria/10am US/Eastern Topic: “Sexism and Sexual Harassment: What Can Be Done?" The second session will center on positive steps that can be taken. The panel will focus on concrete ideas and suggestions for how to address the range of issues. On an academic level, this could mean strengthening gender and feminist studies, compiling a bibliography of scholarship on this topic, and encouraging critical scholarship on sexism and gender in higher education in Nigeria and globally. On an institutional level, the panel will encourage discussions on how to diversify higher education in Nigeria, establish and strengthen inst...

Many people are hopeful that the catastrophic effects of # COVID19 would lead to the embrace of world government. Reminds me of Immanuel Kant and his ruminations on perpetual peace, and the liberals' optimistic expectation that humanity can build institutions that successfully manage the challenges of anarchy (absence of an institution akin to the state in domestic politics), and some of them who believe that these institutions can become supranational. I think Gordon Brown is following this tradition when he calls for a new global government. See: " Coronavirus: Gordon Brown calls for new global government to fight impact of Covid-19 "    However, I remember that the 1970s Global South call for a New International Economic Order (NIEO) failed. See:  The New New International Economic Order   Calls for global governance also failed after the 2008 meltdown. Is #COVID19 the phenomenon that would catalyze the change? Unfortunately  people w...

  THE ALMAJIRI CRISIS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA  A CRY FOR OUR CHILDREN  BY NIGERIAN MOTHERS AlMajiri Children. Photo Courtesy Newsdiary Online.com Where is our shame? Where is our collective responsibility? Allah Ya Isa! In the last month, social media has been awash with multiple scenes, most from Northern Nigeria, of mile-long queues of hungry young children—Almajirai or Almajiri children as they are now referred to; bowls in hand, waiting for food. These images stand in stark contrast with recent images that have also been circulating for the last year in the same region; of displays of opulent lifestyles and exhibition of immeasurable wealth. These contrasts of extreme wealth and extreme poverty pervade our everyday reality across Nigeria. However, it is haunting when the displays of such opulence are in a region that is in the throes of an interminable insurgency; an ongoing humanitarian crisis, the crux of which is some of the worst development indices ...

Eni Ori yo O di'le by Gbolade Omidiran To usher in the new year, Ìrìnkèrindò: a Journal of African Migration published a special issue featuring just one poem: “Migrations,” by Dr. Emman Shehu who’s based in Abuja, and my brief editorial. Eni Ori yo O di'le by Gbolade Omidiran Make it a great year. Support immigrants.