I hold a B.A in Political Science with French from the University of Ghana, Ghana. I received a M.A in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, Canada. I have held different administrative, teaching and research positions in Canada and Ghana including working for international non-governmental organisations focused on development and security, and Ghana's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Research topic

State Responses to Terrorism in sub-Saharan Africa in the 21st Century

I have broader interests in conflict and security, transitional justice, peacebuilding, the empirical application of international security and human security.

I study how states maintain security by exploring government action towards political violence, conflict, terrorism, and insurgency in sub-Saharan Africa.

Using qualitative methods and expert interviews, I pay particular attention to the variations in security sector responses toward acts of terrorism within a state. In particular, I investigate the divergent government and military responses to the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

I explore Nigerian government’s responses to Boko Haram attacks through the lens of state and society relationships. I examine the impact of two sets of relationships namely, between sub-national leaders and non-state security groups such as vigilantes and hunters associations, and between communities and insurgent groups. I show how these two distinct sets of relationships facilitate government responses to violence by the mechanism of information-sharing. 

In other words, my research demonstrates that in many weak states, the government relies on the population to boost its capacity to address security issues when violence erupts. The embeddedness of the state within communities determines government access to information, knowledge, and other resources necessary for managing violence. Where insurgents are more embedded within a particular society, government capacity to curb violence is undermined because of closed channels of communication and information sharing between state actors and the people.

Teaching experience

Graduate Teaching Assistant. "International Security (IR 205)" - 2nd Year course. Michaelmas Term and Lent Term, 2019 - 2020. London School of Economics.

Teaching Assistant. "Introduction to Politics (POLI100)" - 1st Year course. Winter and Spring Term, 2014 - 2015. University of British Columbia.

Academic supervisor

Dr Milli Lake