Emmanuel Okigbo
Thesis Title: Africans in Ireland and the New Political Activism
Supervisor: Dr Iarfhlaith Watson
Funding:
Meath County Council Higher Education Grant
Biographical Note:
I attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka,(an affiliate of the Michigan State University, USA), where I studied for a bachelor’s degree in Political Science/Sociology/Anthropology Combined Honors; and the University of Ibadan, Nigeria,(an affiliate of the University of London) for a master’s programme in Political Science, where I graduated with distinction (proceed to PhD) specializing in Public Administration. My professional career includes: Ten years as an Executive Director in a family run Travel Company, Meko Travels Ltd (a member of the International Air Transport Association of Geneva), and five years as a political consultant in Nigeria’s federal capital Abuja. I have also had a stint in teaching, and community development. I returned to academic research after these years in the private sector.
My doctoral research investigates the nature and dynamics of African immigrant political activism in twenty-first century Ireland within the context and discourse of immigration, integration and political participation and how these are shaped by institutional opportunities, constraints and social capital. As new migrant communities in Ireland strive to grapple with the internal – institutional and structural – forces in Irish society that shape and determine their lives and experiences, they seek ways of articulating their belonging to and achieving full representation in the polity. One particular way in which they do this is via the medium of political engagement. While the heterogeneous African immigrant community in Ireland grows in demographical strength, its members have begun to manifest an equally growing interest in various forms of political activism. This is borne out by the election of two Africans as councilors in the 2004 local council elections; the ultimate appointment of one them, Councilor Rotimi Adebari, as mayor of the town of Portlaoise; the high number of African contestants in the following June 2009 local elections; the increasing number of registered African voters; and the channeling of energy and resources by African civic activists and community organizations to impart political enlightenment in their people. This increasing political consciousness among African immigrants indeed embodies their collective dream of achieving equality, social justice and full recognition as corporate members of the expanding Irish body politic, and growth of political consciousness amongst African migrants in today’s Ireland.
My research interests include the following: Political Integration, Migration, Nationalism, Race, Identities, Development, Globalization, Civil Society and Social Change.
Conferences:
‘African Immigrant Political Integration: Unpacking the Puzzle’. Paper presented at the RISC Consortium Working Group on Comparative Border and Migration Politics at the University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 21 - 23 June 2012
‘African Immigrant Political Participation in Ireland: Activism or Apathy’. Paper presented at the 2nd International Multidisciplinary Conference organized by Pidop Consortium in Collaboration with the Centre for Research on Nationalism, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism (CRONEM), School of Politics University of Surrey, 16 – 17 April 2012
‘Minority’s Representation and Democratic Inclusion in Ireland’. Paper presented at the SAI 39th Annual Conference at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 12 – 13 May 2012
‘African Immigrant Civic and Political Participation in Ireland: A Quantitative Analysis’. Paper presented at the School of Sociology Seminar Series, 23 February 2012
‘Immigrant Political Participation: Issues of Political Stability, Efficacy and Trust in a Political System’. Paper delivered at the 2011 Sociological Association of Ireland Annual Conference, at the University College Cork, May 2011
‘Africans in Irish politics: A transfer of political culture’. A presentation at the Sociological Association of Ireland 2010 Annual Conference at Queens University Belfast, UK
‘Africans in Ireland and the New Political Activism’. A presentation at the European Doctoral Programme on Migration, Diversity and Identity, Odense, Denmark 28 June- 09 July 2010 (EDMIDI Intensive Summer Programme 2010)
‘Social Networks and Belonging in Denmark’. A joint presentation by Martin Caesar, Emmanuel Okigbo, Katrina Juva and Olga Bronnikova (2010) at the European Doctoral Programme on Migration, Diversity and Identity, Odense, Denmark 28 June- 09 July 2010 (EDMIDI Intensive Summer Programme 2010)
Publications:
Emmanuel Okigbo (2012) ‘Immigrant Political Integration: Unpacking the Puzzle’. African Identities, Taylor and Francis (Forthcoming)
Online Publications:
1. Okigbo, E. (2012) ‘African Immigrant Political Participation in Ireland: Activism or Apathy’.
2. Martin Caesar, Emmanuel Okigbo, Katrina Juva and Olga Bronnikova (2010) ‘Social Network and Belonging in Denmark’.
Awards Obtained:
- MSC (Honours), Political Science (Public Administration)
- BSC(Combined Honours), Political Science/Sociology/Anthropology
Email: emmanuel.okigbo@ucdconnect.ie
