ACDI welcomes visiting researcher Dr Olayinka Ajala
The African Climate and Development Initiative is pleased to welcome Dr Olayinka Ajala, a visiting researcher at ACDI for 2022. Dr Ajala aims to undertake collaborative research relating to the links between climate change, internal displacement, and conflict in Africa.
After volunteering with the United Small and Medium Scale farmers Association of Nigeria (USMEFAN), an NGO based in Nigeria in 2005 during his undergraduate days, Olayinka was exposed to the devastating impacts of poverty within the area. This inspired Olayinka to continue his studies looking at the link between agriculture and poverty by pursuing a MSc in Globalisation and Development at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. For Olayinka, it is important to understand the dynamics of conflict and its ability to hinder agricultural development and poverty alleviation efforts. Therefore, he continued investigating the impacts of conflict on human security by studying a PhD at the University of York which he completed in 2015.
Born and raised in Nigeria, Olayinka has been living in the United Kingdom for the past 12 years and is currently working as a lecturer at Leeds Beckett University where he teaches international peacekeeping, human rights and African politics. In terms of his research, he is exploring the formation of insurgent groups, conflict dynamics and the impact of climate change on migration and internal displacement in Sub-Saharan Africa. Olayinka’s work on conflict in Nigeria and other African countries has also attracted interest from several countries such as Switzerland, USA and Australia. Currently he consults for the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom.
On account of his extensive research on conflict, Olayinka was able to identify the inadequate understanding of the impact of climate change on migration, displacement, and conflict especially within several African countries. In the last five years, Olayinka’s research has focused on exploring the link between climate change, migration and conflict, helping to highlight the fact that climate change is increasingly becoming an integral part of migration, displacement and conflict in Africa.
“I am always amazed how people don’t think about the link between climate change and conflict. Despite numerous studies on conflict dynamics in Africa, climate change has rarely been identified as a major factor impacting conflict or displacement,” explains Olayinka. “I am especially excited to join ACDI as I will be exposed to more active research on climate change within all sectors. Climate change has become a major element of my research on conflict, and I am excited to continue the journey over the next year.”
Recent publications from Olayinka Ajala
Ajala, O. 2021. Evolution and Decline: Transformation of Social Movement in Nigeria. Review of African Political Economy.
Ajala, O. 2020. New drivers of Conflict in Nigeria: An analysis of the conflicts between farmers and pastoralist. Third World Quarterly 41 (12) 2048-2066.