Funmi Olonisakin (born 8 February 1965) is a

British Nigerian British Nigerians are British people of Nigerian descent or Nigerians of British descent. This article is about residents and citizens of Nigerian descent living in Britain. Many Nigerians and their British-born descendants in Britain live in So ...

scholar, who is a Professor of

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

peace and conflict ''Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by ...

at King's College London, and an Extra-Ordinary Professor at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

. She is the founder and former Director of the African Leadership Centre (ALC) founded on the principle of

Pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic ...

to build the next generation of leaders and scholars on the African continent with core transformational values. Olonisakin is the Programme Director of the ALC's

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

(MSc) programmes on Leadership, peace and security. She is a research associate of

Political Sciences Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

, and was an

Andrew Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitt ...

distinguished scholar and a distinguished fellow of the

Geneva Centre for Security Policy The Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) is an international foundation that was established in 1995 under Swiss law to "promote the building and maintenance of peace, security and stability". The GCSP was founded by the Federal Department ...

(GCSP). She is currently an appointed member of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

(UNSC) advisory group of experts. on the review of the UN Peace-building Architecture."Secretary-General Nominates Advisory Group of Experts on Review of Peacebuilding Architecture"
United Nations , Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, 22 January 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015. Olonisakin is currently the Vice President/ Principal (International) of King's College London. She was previously the Vice-Dean International, Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy, King's College London, she is the first black female professor and the first black woman to deliver an inaugural lecture at King's College London.

Education

Born in South London in a Nigerian family, 'Funmi (Oluwafunmilayo) Olonisakin obtained her first degree at the

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

(

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

). She went on to obtain her master's degree in War Studies as well as her

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

in War Studies at King's College London.

Career

In a career that spans many decades, Olonisakin has continued to build a critical mass movement of African leaders and scholars with intrinsic values that promote

pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic ...

on integrity, respect for diversity, pursue of excellence, engaging the youth agency in Africa and independent thinking. She advocates for closing the bridges between the

academics An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

policies Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

and

practice Practice or practise may refer to: Education and learning * Practice (learning method), a method of learning by repetition * Phantom practice, phenomenon in which a person's abilities continue to improve, even without practicing * Practice-based ...

s. Through the African Leadership Centre (ALC), knowledge sharing and transfer especially through mentoring activities have been one of the ways that Olonisakin employed with the inclusion of several renowned mentors in the faculty to engage with the fellows of the ALC. Olonisakin recently stepped down as the Director of the ALC, while continuing to support the Centre in various capacities."Adjunct Faculty"
African Leadership Centre. Retrieved 23 June 2016. Aside from teaching, Olonisakin contributes to African

debates, on which she has to her credit a wide ranges of

publications To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Con ...

. She is a founding member of the African Security Sector Network (ASSN) and served as its West African Regional Coordinator from 2008 until 2012. She served on the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Fragile States from 2008 to 2010 examining and evaluating how transformative leadership can have such lasting impact on governance and post-conflict reconstruction. Olonisakin was once a staff of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

, through the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, where she managed the African unit. During her professional engagement in this role, "she facilitated the establishment of the National Commission for War Affected Children in Sierra Leone and the Child Protection Unit in the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

(ECOWAS)." She has served many other roles with the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of member states of the African Union, 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling fo ...

and

ECOWAS The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an area of , and in ...

especially in the women's in peace-building, governance, children in conflicts thematic areas. She was also the Director of the Conflict, Security and Development Group at King's College London from 2003 till 2013. Waxing stronger in her chosen field to make indelible marks and prints in the world, Olonisakin is currently contributing her knowledge to the African Peace and Security Architecture as a member of the advisory group of experts for the Review of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture. She is on the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI) as International Advisory Board's member; the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) board; the Tana High Level Forum on Security in Africa and on the Boards of Trustees of International Alert and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. Olonisakin is the first black woman to reach the professorship cadre at King's College, London, and has been named in the ''

Powerlist The ''Powerlist'' is a list of the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. The list is updated annually and has been published in book format by Powerful Media since 2007. The ''Powerlist'' is ...

'' of Britains most influential people of African origin, including in the Top 10 of the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

ranking, and inclusion in the following

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

editions.

Ideology

Olonisakin upholds a progressive, diverse and transformative approach to life. She thrives on evidence-based research and strongly promotes

transformational leadership Transformational leadership is a theory of leadership where a leader works with teams or followers beyond their immediate self-interests to identify needed change, creating a vision to guide the change through influence, inspiration, and executing ...

."JSO Interview, Funmi Olonisakin, 21st June Part 1"
(YouTube video), Radio African Group, 24 June 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2015.

Selected publications

Books

* ''Militancy and Violence in West Africa: Religion, Politics and Radicalization'', ed.James Gow, Funmi Olonisakin & Ernst Dijxhoorn. London: Routledge, 2013. * ''Women and Security Governance in Africa'', ed. Funmi Olonisakin &

Awino Okech Awino Okech is a Kenyan academic, based at the University of London's SOAS, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where her "teaching and research interests lies in the nexus between gender, sexuality and nation/sta ...

. Oxford: Pambazuka Press, 2011. * ''Women, Peace and Security: Translating Policy into Practice'', ed. Funmi Olonisakin, Karen Barnes & Eka Ikpe. London: Routledge,2011. * ''Security Sector Transformation in Africa'', ed. Alan Bryden & Funmi Olonisakin. Munster: Lit Verlag, 2010. * ''The Challenges of Security Sector Governance in West Africa'', ed. Alan Bryden, Boubacar Ndiaye & Funmi Olonisakin. Munster: Lit Verlag, 2008. * ''Peacekeeping in Sierra Leone: The Story of UNAMSIL''. Boulder and London: Lynne Reinner, 2008. * ''Global Development and Human Security'', ed. Robert Picciotto, Funmi Olonisakin & Michael ClarkeNew Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, 2007. * ''A Handbook of Security Sector Governance in Afric]'', ed. Nicole Ball & Kayode Fayemi. London: Centre for Democracy and Development, 2004. * ''Reinventing Peacekeeping in Africa: Conceptual and Legal Issues in the ECOMOG Operations''. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2000. * ''Engaging Sierra Leone''. London: Centre for Democracy and Development, 2000. * ''Peacekeepers, Politicians and Warlords'', by Abiodun Alao, Funmi Olonisakin & John Mackinlay Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 1999.

References

External links

African Leadership Centre

King's College London

African Security Sector Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olonisakin, Funmi Academics of King's College London Nigerian officials of the United Nations African Union Living people Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom Obafemi Awolowo University alumni Nigerian feminists Nigerian women academics Yoruba women academics Alumni of King's College London Nigerian scholars 1965 births Fellows of King's College London