Afe Babalola University 2-Day Virtual International Conference - COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future of International Relations

The Department of International Relations and Diplomacy Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria present 2-Day Virtual International Conference Themed, COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future of International Relations. 

Date: 15 - 16 July 2020

Time: 2pm West Central Africa

At the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease in late December 2019 (COVID-19), the world entered into 2020 in utter dread of a borderless ferocious “invisible enemy.” The international crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic sparked, first, a wave of conspiracy theories, then followed by an avalanche of predictions about new world order. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and still impacting, international politics in much-conflated ways, ranging from the battered global economy, disruptive social interaction, overstretched healthcare system, suspicious relations between states, and so on. While state actors would want to follow a perspective (s) that they think safeguards their existential survival, it is apparent that no state is self-sufficient to single-handedly fight the aggressive nature of the virus. 

The best option would be a return to a world order of mutual understanding and cooperation through multilateral organizations. But how ready are state actors in a threatening and uncertain international milieu? Renowned scholars, diplomats, and international relations experts have been invited to interrogate various issues relating to the theme of the Conference.

Keynote Speaker:          Professor Philip Cotton - Vice-Chancellor, University of Rwanda

Opening Address: Professor Smaranda Olarinde, Vice Chancellor, Afe Babalola University, Nigeria

 

OTHER SPEAKERS                              

Ambassador (Prof.) George Obiozor – Former Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States, Israel and Cyprus

Topic: COVID-19 Pandemic and U.S-Africa Relations: Challenges and Prospects

Prof Okechukwu Ukaga - Professor of Sustainable Development and the Executive Director of Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership, University of Minnesota, United States

Topic: COVID-19 Pandemic and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2 in Africa

Prof. Nuhu Yaqub – Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Abuja and also the Former Vice-Chancellor, Sokoto State University

Topic: COVID-19 Pandemic, Africa’s Debt and Development Partners

Ambassador (Dr.) Humphrey Orjiakor – Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations at Geneva (2011-2015) and Former Ambassador of Nigeria to Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein

Topic: COVID-19 and the future of International Economic Relations

Colonel (Dr.) Wilson Ijide – Retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army and Lecturer at the Department of Psychology & Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan      

Topic: “COVID-19 Pandemic and the Conspiracy Theories: Part of Great Powers Hegemonic Rivalry?”

Ambassador Abdul Bin Rimdpa –Former Nigeria Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany

Topic: COVID-19 Pandemic and Nigeria’s Diaspora Policy: Challenges and Options

Professor Rabiu Magaji – Professor of NeuroScience/Neurophysiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

Topic: COVID-19 Pandemic, WHO and the Great Powers Race for Vaccine: Africa’s Dilemma

Mr. Owei Lakemfa -  Journalist, Columnist Vanguard Newspapers and Human Rights/Labour Union Activist

Topic: COVID-19 Pandemic and the Struggle Against Racial Inequality/Xenophobia

Prof. Elizabeth Ojo - Head of Department, Nursing Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Nigeria

Topic: COVID-19 Pandemic and Africa’s Health Infrastructure

Prof. Samuel Igbatayo – Professor of Economics, Afe Babalola University, Nigeria

Topic: COVID-19 Pandemic and the Challenges Facing African Continental Free Trade Agreement

Dr. Jamiu Oluwatoki - Former, Head of Department History and International Studies, Lagos State University

Topic: COVID-19 Pandemic and Issues surrounding Migration

Join via Zoom

Meeting ID: 851 5720 0948

Password: 669637