Prof Adebajo is the former director of the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg. Prior to that he served as the Executive Director of the Centre for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town between 2003 and 2016. He served on United Nations missions in South Africa, Western Sahara and Iraq, and was director of the Africa Programme at the International Peace Institute in New York. He has authored seven books: Liberia’s Civil War; Building Peace in West Africa; The Curse of Berlin: Africa After the Cold War; UN Peacekeeping in Africa; Thabo Mbeki: Africa’s Philosopher-King; The Eagle and the Springbok: Essays on Nigeria and South Africa; and The Trial of Cecil John Rhodes. He is a co-editor/ editor of ten books: Managing Armed Conflicts in the 21st Century; West Africa’s Security Challenges; A Dialogue of the Deaf: Africa and the United Nations; South Africa in Africa; Gulliver’s Troubles: Nigeria’s Foreign Policy After the Cold War; From Global Apartheid to Global Village: Africa and the United Nations; The EU and Africa; Africa’s Peacemakers; Foreign Policy in Post-Apartheid South Africa and The Pan-African Pantheon.

The Professor holds a Doctorate of Philosophy (DPhil) in International Relations from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

The professor began his journey at the Centre in January 2022, bringing with him a wealth of research, writings and rhetoric that is helping shape the voice of Africa on a global stage. His role mainly includes research as he embarks on four book projects, writes numerous journal articles, as well as a fortnightly column in Business Day. UP is one of the top three research universities in South Africa. The idea is to make sure that [our] research is impactful, not only in academia but also in terms of policy and playing a public intellectual role,” said Prof Adebajo.

Alongside his research, Prof Adebajo has been tasked with coordinating a series of public dialogues and internal seminars for the Centre.  The dialogues will highlight contemporary issues that affect Africa, such as the role of the media and film in policy issues. Other proposed themes include a post-election assessment of Kenya and the matter of climate change and its negative impact on the African continent.

Other internal seminars will serve as a platform for senior scholars, post-doctoral and doctoral students to present their work and receive material feedback.

He adds: “I would love to mentor, which is what senior fellows are tasked to do.” Mentees will be guided on their research and taught how to write accessible material to increase public engagement.

Having held office in multiple international forums, such as Geographical Officer for the United Nations in Iraq and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University in New York, Prof Adebajo is seasoned in crucial academic and policy matters concerning Pan-Africanism, peace-making and African perspectives on global issues. In books he has authored or co-authored, he writes untold stories that are thought provoking and reveal nuanced elements of Africa, bringing a Pan-African outlook and strategies on how to disseminate works among the diaspora.

His academic ambitions are to see African perspectives being acknowledged, and the continent having agency to participate in conversations that not only affect its people but the global community. 

The professor brings further value to the centre through planned fundraising for projects and helping to develop a new communication strategy for the Centre as part of a plan to reach more people on and off campus, through interdisciplinary engagements.

Ultimately, the legacy Prof. Adebajo is working towards, inspired by the narrative of Ubuntu, is to create an African archive of books and articles published locally and internationally - a robust collection of works which will aid in changing the perceptions of Africa in the West; uncovering the complexity and diversity of our continent and celebrating our shared humanity.