News

The Nigerian Watch Project will hold a panel at the Lagos Studies Association Conference 2027. The panel will examine trends in deaths overtime and between states in different geopolitical zones; what types of violence make up the highest proportion and if they overlap; and who the principal perpetrators and victims are, and how gender plays a role in insecurity. Using descriptive statistics, spatial analysis and qualitative information, the panelists will link the data to broader debates surrounding topics such as resource competition, territorial conflict and pressure from climate change on land and water resources.

Deadline: 25 November 2026

IFRA-Nigeria is organising a two-hour training session on Zotero, an application for managing references, on Monday, 14 December 2026, at 10:00 am.

The training will introduce participants to Zotero's main features and functionalities, including its integration with Microsoft Word. It will also explore practical strategies for tracking academic literature and identifying open-access publications.

The training is open to Master's students, PhD students, lecturers and staff of the University of Ibadan libraries. If the number of applications exceeds the available places, priority will be given to students and lecturers in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Participating library staff and lecturers will be expected to encourage and support their students and library users in adopting Zotero or similar reference management applications.

On 19 November 2026, IFRA-Nigeria is pleased to have Dr Laura Goudet, Université de Rouen and French Academic Institute, for a methodological seminar exploring lexicographical research on English-speaking Nigeria and the methods used to study Nigerian English and Pidgin dictionaries.

Lexicographical research on English-speaking Nigeria may come with unusual or surprising methods; apart from the main corpus made of books published by reliable canals and sources, a substantial number of “grey publications” (i.e. self-published on Amazon, or other disputable sources are made available to an undiscerning (or ignorant) Westerner audience.

This seminar will address dictionary expectations, as set by the lexicographical traditions of “Inner Circle” English (as defined by Kachru as norm-defining), found in the Oxford English Dictionary or the Merriam-Webster, and how similar or different Nigerian English or Pidgin dictionaries compare with these traditions.

Dr Goudet will also present the textometric tools used in her research and show how the modelization of dictionaries can provide valuable information about lexicographical practices. The frequency of grammatical categories, etymological information, and the presence of phonetic or spelling notes all offer important insights for readers and help us understand the audiences these dictionaries are intended for. While some dictionaries are written primarily for foreigners, others use Pidgin itself in their definitions.

As her work is qualitative, Dr Goudet will tackle the issue of paratextual material in dictionaries (front and back matter, prefaces…), and what these elements also offer as to understand stances towards the use of pidgin and Nigerian English as full-fledged norms. 

On 22 October 2026, the Institute of African Studies (IAS) of the University of Ibadan and IFRA-Nigeria held the fourth conference of the "Imagine(d) Africa" series. Professor Sola Olorunyomi, the Director of IAS, presented his work on Fela Kuti in a lecture titled "End time, political economy & the future of Afrobeat." Professor Olorunyomi published Afrobeat! Fela and the Imagined Continent in 2005 and is an eminent scholar of Afrobeat. For his presentation, he was accompanied by Kunle Tejuoso, Director and Founder of the Jazzhole and Director of Glendora bookshop.

Professor Sola Olorunyomi

On 22 October 2026, IFRA-Nigeria welcomed Dr Oladapo Ajayi from the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ibadan for our latest methodological seminar, where he spoke on “Becoming an outsider at Home: Fieldwork, Access and the limits of Insider Status in Fújì Ethnography (2017- 2023)”.

Dr Oladapo Ajayi

Between 7 and 11 September 2026, the Anyen Iyak Foundation for Art and Culture organised, in collaboration with IFRA-Nigeria, a virtual workshop on "Researching Past, Present, Future: an Introduction to Research Methodologies for Emerging Fieldwork researchers." The participants had the opportunity to learn new research methodologies from experienced academics, including Dr Pauline Guinard, IFRA-Nigeria's Director, Dr Delphine Manetta, IFRA-Nigeria's Deputy-Director, and Dr Sara Panata, one of our research associates.

The participants also conducted their own fieldwork, and they had the opportunity to present their findings to the group and receive feedback on their project and methodology.

You can find the full program of the workshop below.

Dr Delphine Manetta, IFRA-Nigeria's Deputy Director, and Dr Pauline Guinard, IFRA-Nigeria's Director, are convening the panel “Ethics in Research Practices Through the Prism of Nigerian Studies” at the next European Conference of African Studies (ECAS 2027), to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, from 30 June to 3 July 2027.

This panel examines ethics in research practices in the humanities and social sciences through the lens of Nigerian Studies. It explores the stakes and limits of research conducted “with” or “for” people and communities in Nigeria and across its diasporas, approaching ethics as integral to the research process. Please find the full panel description below.

The deadline for submission is 4 January 2027. 

Between 5 and 6 October 2026, the Department of History and the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ibadan (UI), along with IFRA-Nigeria, organised an international conference on "Urban Myths and Experiences in Africa". Throughout the five sessions of this multidisciplinary conference on African urban studies, the speakers offered different perspetives on urban myths, to what extent they have shaped spaces, practices, and ways of life across African cities, and how they are produced, circulated, and experienced.

You can find the full programme below. 

On 22 October 2026, the Institute of African Studies (IAS) of the University of Ibadan and IFRA-Nigeria will welcome Professor Sola Olorunyomi, Director of the IAS, for their joint conference series "Imagine(d) Africa". Prof. Sola Olorunyomi is a Research Professor in the Cultural and Media Studies programme at the IAS and obtained his PhD in African Literature from the University of Ibadan. His specialization and research interests include textual and narrative structures of literary and performance cultures, covering oral and manuscript, print and electronic, film and new media in Africa and the Black Diaspora. He has in particular studied Fela Kuti and his cultural influence, a research that led to the publication of Afrobeat! Fela and the Imagined Continent in 2005. He will present his work in "End time, political economy & the future of Afrobeat"and will be accompanied by Kunle Tejuoso, Director and Founder of the Jazzhole and Director of Glendora bookshop.

Practical information:

Date & Time: 22 October 2026, 2 to 3:30pm (WAT).

Location: Drapers Hall, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.

Attendance: free of charge and open to all.

La Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme (FMSH) a ouvert l'appel à candidatures pour la session 2027 du programme de mobilité Atlas France - Afrique de l'Ouest. 

Il permet à des postdoctorantes et postdoctorants ou à de jeunes chercheuses et chercheurs résidant en France, une aide à la mobilité pour réaliser un séjour de recherche de 2 mois dans les pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest relevant du mandat scientifique de l’IFRA-Nigeria et répondant aux recommandations du Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères : Nigeria, Cameroun, Bénin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire et Tchad.

Date limite de candidature : 8 février 2027

Cliquez ici pour lire l'appel complet. 

IFRA-Nigeria will organize a 5-day training workshop "Encounters on Migration Fields: Theory, Practice and Reflexivity" for second year Master students and PhD students based in Ibadan, from 23 to 27 November 2026. This workshop is designed as an opportunity to reflect on research methods in the field of migration.

Deadline for application: 23 October 2026.

You can download the full call here

On Sunday 27 September 2026, New Culture Studios and IFRA-Nigeria organized a roundtable & screening on the theme "Heritage & Family Archives". In a roundtable moderated by Dr Delphine Manetta, IFRA-Nigeria's Deputy Director, Dr Sa'eed Husaini, researcher at the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja, Rosy Ngouma Noah of Cecile Fakhoury gallery representing Roméo Mivekannin, an internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist, and Rufus Nwoko, creative director of New Culture Studios offered their vision on the role and meaning of archives.

(French below)

The Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) is opening its exchange programme with its Global South partners, the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (UCAD) and the University of Ibadan (UI). The principle is that one student from ENS will come to one of the partner universities and a student from a partner university will come to ENS for one month. This call is open for students of each institution, at the Master and PhD level. 

The deadline for application is 1 December 2026, though please note that if you are from UI or want to apply for an exchange at UI, you must contact IFRA-Nigeria by 9 November 2026. All information can be found in the call below.

Download the call in English 

Download the application form in English (please do not ask access to modify it on Google Drive, you must download the document)

L'École normale supérieure (ENS) lance son programme d'échange avec ses partenaires africains, l'Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD) et l'Université d'Ibadan (UI). Le principe est le suivant : un étudiant de l'ENS se rendra dans l'une des universités partenaires et un étudiant de l'une de ces universités viendra à l'ENS pendant un mois. Cet appel à candidatures est ouvert aux étudiants au niveau master et doctorat de chaque établissement, au niveau du master et du doctorat. 

La date limite de candidature est fixée au 1 décembre 2026, mais veuillez noter que si vous êtes étudiants à l'Université d'Ibadan, ou si vous souhaitez y faire un échange, vous devez contacter l'IFRA-Nigeria avant le 9 novembre 2026. Toutes les informations se trouvent dans l'appel ci-dessous.

Téléchargez l'appel en français.

Téléchargez le formulaire de candidature en français (ne demandez pas l'accès pour modifier ce document sur Google Drive, vous devez le télécharger)

Between 21 and 23 September 2026, the participants of the virtual "Research as creation, creation as research" workshops, organised by IFAS-Research and IFRA-Nigeria, met in-person in Ibadan. During three days, the participants, both researchers and artists, from Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe and France, worked together to build a way to showcase their work mixing academic research and artistic creation.

Finally, on 24 September, they presented "Research-Creation: A Performed Conference" at the Alliance Française of Lagos. In this show, the participants blended sound, dance, spoken word and literature in an interactive performance. Their goal: to illustrate how art can open new ways of thinking about a research subject, or offer new avenues of expressing truth. In particular, they endeavoured to illustrate the concept of positionality in research.

This event is part of the Débats des Idées (Debate of Ideas) programme, on the theme “Écouter les voix sensibles et alternatives pour ouvrir la voie” (“Listen to sensitive and alternative voices to pave the way”), supported by the Institut Français and the Institut Français of Nigeria. It was photographed by Andrew Esiebo.

The participants were: Dameh Joseph Ali, Kwame Boafo, Eiseke Bolaji, Oluwaseyi Eniayo, Pauline Guinard, Annael Le Poullennec, Carla Mostert, Neo Muyanga (in absentia), Duduzile Ndlovu, Oluwabukunmi Olukitibi and Alexander Opper.

On 17 September, Marie Lureau, Research Project Manager at IFRA-Nigeria, presented her work on “Non-religion in Nigeria: exploring (un)belief” in our September methodological seminar.

This particular seminar was meant to be exploratory - as the research project is still at its beginning - as well as highly interactive to discuss with the audience their perception of what non-religion can be in Nigeria.

Marie Lureau began her seminar by highlighting Nigeria’s perception, both nationally and internationally, as a highly religious country, a perception backed by statistics that indicate a quasi-absence of people without faith. Despite this, she noticed that atheism was a common topic of discussions in media, online and among individuals. Moreover, figures like the writer Wole Soyinka illustrate that leaving religion is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria. Moreover, secular studies, while quite developed in the Western world, are nearly completely absent from the Nigerian continent, which is what convinced her to begin this research project.