After its highly successful inauguration on 2 July 2018, which was televised live in Africa, Europe and the Americas (including the Caribbean), on 23 November 2018, the Centre for African Research, School of Business and Management hosted another highly successful conference as part of its 2018 Black History Month celebrations with the theme – Taming Corruption: the way forward for the African economic development.
The Black History Month conference attracted over 60 high calibre professionals, business people, academics, intellectuals, politicians, public officials, NGOs and the media.
The guest speaker Mr Ibriham Magu, was the Chairman of the West Africa Anti-corruption Commission and the Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The participants had stimulating discussions and deliberations on the impact of corruption on the African socio-economic and political development and the ways forward to tame corruption so as to enable the African continent to take its place in the competitive global socio-economic environment.
This event was televised live by Africa’s first television channel in Europe, BEN Television, Heritage Television, and TVC News in Nigeria and was also on all other social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.
Within three days of the conference, it has reached over 10,000 people both watching and commenting on it from all over the world; with many seeking to officially register as members due to the successful hosting of this event.
The guest speaker and some commentators on social platforms have commended myself, the organisers of the event as well as the centre as a whole for establishing space purely for African Research in order to develop African solutions to address African socio-economic and political problems thereby challenging Chatham House and SOAS as the two main institutions where amongst other continents, solutions to African socio-economic and political problems are historically being sought.
The Centre for Africa Research is mostly grateful to the School of Business and Management for fully sponsoring this lecture through the provision of the necessary financial, manpower and logistic support. We are also grateful to our guest speaker, the Chairman of the West Africa Anti-corruption Commission and the Nigeria EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, other esteemed speakers, press and participants for making the conference a huge success.
Dr. Owolabi Bakre, the lead organiser of the Black History Month Lecture is the Director of the Centre for African Research at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London.