The WATJCentre Lecture Series is designed as a means of bridging the gap between scholars and practitioners in the field of transitional justice by creating a platform for renowned experts to share their experiences on transitional justice initiatives across different parts of the globe.
Dr Adaobi Nkeokelonye
Adaobi holds a Doctorate in Literary and Cultural Studies (University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia), an M.A. in Development Studies (Institute of Development Studies (IDS) University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom) and a B.A. in English Language (University of Lagos, Nigeria). She is a social development researcher with over 22 years of practical experience working with…
Dr Krystal Strong
Dr. Krystal Strong is an associate professor of Black Studies in Education at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. An anthropologist by training, her research and teaching use ethnographic, participatory, and multimodal methods to investigate youth and community activism, global Black social movements, and the role of education as a site of struggle in Africa and the African…
Professor Sola Olorunyomi
Professor Sola Olorunyomi is a Research Professor of Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, and the Director of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan. He obtained his PhD in African Literature from the same university and his specialization covers textual and narrative structures of literary and performance cultures, covering oral and manuscript, print and…
Professor Mfon Umoren Ekpootu
Professor Mfon Umoren Ekpootu is a distinguished Professor of Gender and Socioeconomic History in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Her career reflects a deep and enduring commitment to academic excellence, intellectual rigor, and gender-focused historical inquiry. A widely travelled scholar, Professor Ekpootu’s work transcends traditional disciplinary…
Dr Nisha Poyyaprath Rayaroth
Dr Nisha Poyyaprath Rayaroth is a historian and the author of Jumbos and Jumping Devils: A Social History of Indian Circus (Oxford University Press, 2020). She has been a Fulbright fellow at Yale University, Mellon-SSRC fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand, research fellow at the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study, and most recently at…
Decoloniality and Development in African Literary Tradition
WATJCentre Distinguished Personality Lecture Series Speaker: Dr Dr Adaobi Nkeokelonye, Visiting Lecturer, African University of Science and Technology; Research Fellow, WATJCentre, Nigeria Moderator: Dr Ndidi Njoku, Research and Policy Manager, Nextier, Nigeria Date: April 16, 2026 Time: 3pm (GMT+1 ) Platform: Zoom Registration Link: https://binghamton.zoom.us/meeting/register/A5_TSyMdS4qITZqnkvY25A
Movement as Method: Bridging Scholarship, Community and Activism
WATJCentre Distinguished Personality Lecture Series Speaker: Dr Krystal Strong,Associate Professor of Black Studies in Education, Rutgers University, USA Moderator: Dr Monica E. Akokuwebe, Senior Researcher, SAMRC, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Date: January 15, 2026 Time: 3pm (GMT+1 ) Platform: Zoom Registration Link: https://binghamton.zoom.us/meeting/register/Hhh3IS42RLuoW9ubjhseqA?fbclid=IwY2xjawPjGD5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETEyYzBsMGpvYjNkYlE0Znhpc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHp0WCARUocwIdxNrB7QpdNQedsVOWUNyqbiE15p0UjQemc3at9Y1SqAX7BhF_aem_J-3OQulXco_JlWjS1JnPUw#/registration
Our Future is NOT Their Future: Sola Olorunyomi on African Futurity
WATJCentre Distinguished Personality Lecture Series Speaker: Prof Sola Olorunyomi, Professor of Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria Moderator: Dr Anthony Agbegbedia, Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Federal University Oye Ekiti, Nigeria Date: October 2, 2025 Time: 3pm (GMT+1 ) Platform: Zoom Registration Link: https://binghamton.zoom.us/meeting/register/XsTOxkpIRLmB8dvMLnLXVQ
From the Margins to the Mainstream: Women and Political Followership in South South Nigeria
WATJCentre Distinguished Personality Lecture Series Speaker: Prof Mfon Ekpootu, Professor of Gender and Socioeconomic History, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria Moderator: Dr Abimbola Stephen-Adesina, Ag. HoD, Department of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan; Research Fellow, WATJCentre, Nigeria Date: July 24, 2025 Time: 3pm (GMT+1 ) Platform: Zoom Registration Link: https://binghamton.zoom.us/meeting/register/OM-BkxALSx-Jy649Ykozdw
Circus Animals from the Global South: Ethics and Politics
WATJCentre Distinguished Personality Lecture Series Speaker: Dr Nisha Poyyaprath Rayaroth, Independent Historian Moderator: Prof. Senayon Olaoluwa, Director, TETFund Centre of Excellence for Diaspora Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria Date: April 10, 2025 Time: 3pm (GMT+1 ) Platform: Zoom Registration Link: https://binghamton.zoom.us/meeting/register/_m7Kd3aVQPerMS-C089Frw Video Link: