Ngozika Obi-Ani - MIASA - Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa

Ngozika Anthonia Obi-Ani is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of History and International Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her research is multidisciplinary, connecting history, sociology, conflicts, health, gender studies, as well as urban, cultural, and memory studies. My overall research is thinking globally about gender equality, reducing inequalities, sustainable peace, justice, and the role of stronginstitutions in ensuring equality. I have published articles and book chapters in reputable local and international journals and has attended numerous conferences both within and outside Nigeria. Ngozika is an alumnus of Partnership for African Social & Governance Research, (PASGR) Nairobi, Kenya. She is currently a fellow of Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa, MIASA, working on,” Post-memory, Trauma and the Nigeria-Biafra War: A Case of Uju Anya’s Tweet on Queen Elizabeth 11”. I am a former recipient of fellowships from the following programs and universities: African Humanities Program (AHP), A.G Leventis, School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), University College London (UCL), African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the (Social Science Research Council, SSRC), Institute of Human Rights-Alliance for Historical Dialogue and Accountability (ISHR-AHDA), University of Columbia, New York. Other awards and recognitions include a fellowship from the Ife Institute of Advanced Studies, IAS, recognition as the 2021 CODERSRIA Gender Institute Laureate and membership of Conflict West Africa Network, Lagos (CORN), the Lagos Studies Association, LSA and Historical Society of Nigeria, HSN.

MIASA Project: Postmemory, Trauma and Nigeria-Biafra War: A Case of Uju-Anya’s Tweet on Queen Elizabeth 11

This research attempts to understand how the second generation of Nigeria-Biafran war survivors have appropriated the memory transmitted to them by their families and how this collective trauma and inherited memories have irrevocably affected their group identities. For instance, on September 8, 2022, the world woke up to the news of the demise of Queen Elizabeth 11. The news of her death was received with mixed reactions in the former colonies of Britain across the world. People took to their different social media handles to express their feeling about the death of the longest-reigned British monarch. Of most significance was a tweet by Professor Uju Anya wishing Queen Elizabeth II “excruciating death” when the royal family announced that the Queen was critically ill. Her tweet sparked outrage from various quarters of the world. In Nigeria, her emotional outburst conjured up harrowing traumas of the Nigerian-Biafran War of 1967-1970, particularly among the Igbo who bore—and continue to bear—the brunt of the war. Anya’s outburst resurrected the claim that the British monarch is complicit in the “Igbo genocide” and, thus, in the continual collective trauma of the Igbo people.

Selected publications

2022 “Not all deities were transformed in Igboland: a cultural history of the Api-Opi deity”, , Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. no. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-07-2021-0132.
2021, “Presumed Urbanization: The Experiences of Onitsha City Slums Dwellers”, Citis, vol.119(9):103399, December, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103399
2021 “Interrogating the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Policies in Nigeria, 1986-2018”, Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol.8 no.1. https://doi.10.1080/23311983.2021.1932283
2021. “Covid-19 Pandemic and the Nigerian Primary Healthcare System: The Leadership Question”Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol.8 no.1.
2021, “Creativity, Spirituality and Society: A Study in Preservation of Ikenga and Ofo Sculpture in Contemporary Igbo Society”, Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. no. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-12-2020-0178.
2020. “A Historical Perspective of Nigerian Immigration in Europe” Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol.7 no.1, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2020.1846262
2020.“Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and the Renewed Quest for Biafra”, Cogito –Multidisciplinary Research Journal, vol. xii, no.3, 97-119.
2020. “Women and the Upsurge of ‘Baby factories’ in Southeastern Nigeria: Erosion of Cultural Values or Capitalism? Journal of International Women Studies (JIWS),21(6), 406-418.
2020. “Social Media and the Covid-19: Observations from Nigeria”, Cogent Arts & Humanities, vol.7 no.1. https:/doi/full/10.1080/23311983.2020.1799483
2020. “Urbanization in Nigeria: The Onitsha Experience,” CITIES, vol. 104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102744
2020. “Xenophobia: South Africa as a Mirror on Insecurity in Nigeria”, Nigerian Forum, The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, vol.41, no.1.

Personal website

Institute:
University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Year:
2022/2023