Meet Our Team

Edmund Chilaka is an adjunct Lecturer of maritime transport, logistics and port management at the University of Lagos Institute of Maritime Studies and the Director of International Centre for Indigenous Maritime Trade and Transport Studies. He is a Visiting Research Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University UK and the Curator of the NNSL Online Archive www.nnslweb.com  His Ph.D. research completed in 2015 led to the publication of The Rise, Fall and Liquidation of Africa’s Pioneer Carriers: Nigerian National Shipping Line and Black Star Line, available as E-book here. Dr. Chilaka is the Editor-in-Chief of Dredge Drill & Haul magazine (www.ddhmag.com) and the National Coordinator of the Nigerian Dredging Summit and Exhibition series since 2007. He is also the Managing Editor of the University of Lagos Journal of Transport and Logistics, ujtl.unilag.edu.ng  He mentors post-graduate students for global exposure through foreign field trips and has led student delegations to tour transport-related organizations in London, Liverpool, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utretch, and Malmo. He was the LOC Secretary for the University of Lagos International Conference on Land and Development in Lagos whose papers were published in 2020. In July 2024, he launched his latest publication titled Nigeria’s Shipping Policy and Maritime Trade up to the Early 21st Century, available as an E-book here. A present research focus is the study of coastal shipping and ferry services provision along the Dakar-Luanda range in West and Central Africa.  Other research interests include maritime history, maritime trade, piracy and armed robbery against ships, inland water transport studies, and Nigerian sand mining and dredging studies. His published books, peer-reviewed journal articles and newspaper opinions are accessible online at Google Scholar and other search engines. http://www.linkedin.com/in/edmund-chilaka-867870187 

Dr. Emma Roberts Ph.D., B.A. (Hons) is Associate Dean for Global Engagement and Reader in History of Art and Design at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), UK.  She also heads the BA (Hons) History of Art and Museum Studies course at LJMU.  Having lectured on all aspects of History of Art and Design for twenty-five years, including for London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, Emma is a highly experienced university lecturer who is also a frequenter of ocean liners as an enrichment lecturer in her spare time and whose areas of academic research include maritime art and design.  Emma is the author of several academic books (Art and the Sea [2022], Jamaica Making [2022], Who Do You Think You Are? The Asia Triennial Manchester [2018], The Public Sculpture of Cheshire & Merseyside [2012], The Liverpool Academy: A History and Index [1997]) as well as journal articles and conference papers.  Emma is also a curator of exhibitions- including the ground-breaking Jamaica Making exhibition in Liverpool, UK [2022], which was opened by former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Rt. Hon. Bruce Golding.  She participated in the historic celebrations in Liverpool for the 175^th anniversary of the Cunard line, by curating an exhibition of Cunard memorabilia, coordinating an academic symposium on Cunard, and presenting lectures on Cunard at Liverpool Maritime Museum. Emma has also appeared on The History Channel, BBC Radio Four, and on Channel Four (UK) television in her capacity as an expert on art and design.

Dr. David Aworawo is Professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies in the Department of History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos. He obtained his Master’s and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in History at the University of Lagos. He was Head of Department, History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos from 2020-2023. Prof. Aworawo is author of the award-winning Doctoral thesis titled: “Diplomacy and the Development of Equatorial Guinea, 1900- 1990”. He is co-editor of the books: Issues in Nigerian Government and Politics (Lagos, 2003); Contours of Historical Scholarship in Africa: Late twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries (Wukari, 2017), Issues in Diplomacy and Strategic Studies (2019) and co-author of Henry Olufemi Adefope: A Legacy of Honour (2021). Prof. Aworawo has published widely in the areas of African politics, economic development and international relations. Some of his essays include: “Backwards to the Future: Culture, Environmental Management and Sustainable Development in Nigeria since the mid-1970s”, The Quint Journal (University College of the North, Manitoba, Canada) and “Development Crisis and Ideological Shift: Africa’s Economic Policy in an Era Global Recession”, African Journal of Governance and Development. Prof. Aworawo is a consultant to a number of national and international organizations.

Minayo Nasiali is an Associate Professor of History at the University of California-Los Angeles. She received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 2003 and her doctorate from the University of Michigan in 2010. From 2010-2011, she was a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the University of California-Berkeley Department of History. Her research has appeared in the American Historical Review, the Journal of Urban History, the International Journal of Maritime History, and French Politics, Culture and Society. In 2016, Cornell University Press published her first monograph, Native to the Republic: Empire, Social Citizenship and Everyday Life in Marseille since 1945. She is currently finishing her second monograph, entitled: Sea Traffic: Race, Rebel Sailors, and Offshore Capitalism in the Afro-European Maritime World. This twentieth century history examines how African mariners circumnavigated the discrete but overlapping ventures of commerce and empire, and how their mobilities illuminate overlooked dynamics of maritime capitalism.

Dr. Abdul Khalique joined Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) as Head of the Maritime Centre in 2016, a position he still holds today. At the time, LJMU was offering merchant navy cadet training, and Dr. Khalique was entrusted with overseeing a significant transformation. He led the reintegration of a comprehensive portfolio of STCW courses by merging the Liverpool Maritime Academy with the Lairdside Maritime Centre, rebranding the unified entity as the LJMU Maritime Centre.  In June 2024, he bagged a professional doctorate (Doctor of Engineering, EngD) and serves as the Programme Leader for the EngD course at LJMU.

Dr. Khalique began his maritime career by undertaking pre-sea training at the Pakistan Marine Academy, where he was awarded the President of Pakistan Gold Medal for being an outstanding cadet. He went to sea in 1991 and earned his first Certificate of Competence (CoC) as a Second Mate from the Australian Maritime College in Tasmania, where he also received the Merchant Navy Tasmania Prize. After obtaining the required sea service for a Chief Mate CoC, he joined Blackpool & the Fylde College and completed a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Nautical Science. He then pursued an MSc in Computer-Based Information Systems at Sunderland University.

After completing his studies in the UK, Dr. Khalique sailed for a time before moving to New Zealand, where he completed a Diploma in Shipping at the New Zealand Maritime School. While in New Zealand, he was offered a position as course  developer for a new merchant navy cadet training program at the North Atlantic Fisheries College (now NAFC Marine Centre) in Shetland Island. Here, he played a key role in branding the NAFC Marine Centre’s merchant navy and fishing vessel education programs as the Shetland School of Nautical Studies (SSNS). He remained at SSNS until 2008 where he was appointed as a Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) examiner and moderator for several subjects. He continues to hold this role, contributing to both merchant navy and fishermen’s examinations. During his time at SSNS, he passed the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) membership qualifying exam.

Dr. Khalique has dedicated over 34 years to the maritime industry, during which he has educated hundreds of seafarers and others involved in the maritime industry. He is the author of seven UK-published books and numerous journal papers and magazine articles. He secured research funding of  £170k from MarRI-UK for the project Lookout Awareness of Distractions: The creation of a Distraction Evaluation Ratio (LADDER). This project aimed to investigate the distractions caused by multifunction displays (MFDs) on modern ship bridges, with the goal of improving lookout awareness and safety.

Moustapha Sall is Associate Professor of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage in the History Department of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal. He holds a doctorate in Philosophy and Humanities, majoring in Art History and Archaeology, from the Free University of Brussels, and two postgraduate diplomas (DESUP and DESS) in Development Social Sciences. In addition to his research focusing, among other things, on the study of settlement and identities in relation to material culture, interactions between local cultural groups (Baynounk, Diola and others), and cultural heritage in Senegambia. He is conducting ethnoarchaeological research in the Center-west (Saloum delta with its shell mounds) and south-west (Casamance), along the coast, and rivers of Senegal.

A Visiting Researcher at the Centre d’Histoire Culturelle des Sociétés Contemporaines (CHCSC) at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin en Yvelines (France), with a chair grant from the ‘Jean d’Alembert’ Idex Paris Saclay program, he is involved in Transcultur@, a project to edit a dictionary of cultural history around the Atlantic Ocean. He has published many articles, including, in 2017, title “les réseaux commerciaux baynounk en Sénégambie (Afrique de l’Ouest)”, In Balard, M & C. Buchet (eds) The Sea in History. The Medieval World. La mer dans l’histoire. Le moyen-âge, Boydell & Brewer Incorporated, Rochester : 654-666.

A former head of the History Department, Prof. Sall has been very active in Erasmus mobility since 2002 as a coordinator with several French, Spanish, Polish and other universities. For three years, he was a technical adviser to the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. From 2021 to 2023, he was appointed Erasmus+ Senegal Focal Point by the European Union. He is the Vice-President of the Pan-African Archaeological Association (PAA) and former President of the West African Archaeological Association (WAA) and a member of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISPP, the Society of Africanist Archaeologist (SAFA), ICOM, ICOMOS and CODESRIA.

Dr. Alan Bury is a Chartered Logistician and a Senior Teaching Fellow in the School of Engineering at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), a role he has held since 2022. He has been with LJMU since 2011, initially as a Research Associate (2011-2015) and later as a Lecturer (2015-2022). During this time, he completed his PhD in Transport and Logistics. Before joining LJMU, Dr. Bury spent nine years as an Officer in the Merchant Navy (2002-2011). As a Merchant Navy Officer, Dr. Bury operated world-wide, first on container ships and then cruise ships. During his time at sea, he amassed over ten thousand watchkeeping hours, providing him with a wealth of practical knowledge that now informs his work in maritime education.

Since joining LJMU, Dr. Bury has either taught on or led over 42 modules within nautical and engineering programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The subjects he has taught have focused on supply chains, logistics, transport, shipboard operations, and navigation. He has also delivered a variety of short courses utilising LJMU’s £2.5 million full mission ship simulator. In total, Dr. Bury has trained hundreds of currently serving seafarers. He has also supervised over 22 BSc and 36 MSc dissertations, in addition to contributing to the supervision of 6 PhD theses. To date, Dr. Bury has been involved in research projects totalling over £6.5 million in value. He has authored over 60 works in total, contributing to the work of Liverpool John Moores University’s Maritime Centre (LMC); the Applied Computing Research Group (ACRG); and Logistics, Offshore and Marine Research Institute (LOOM).

Dr. Bury’s contributions to both higher education and the maritime industry have been recognized through prestigious honours, fellowships, and awards that collectively highlight his impact in both academic and professional spheres. Among these accolades, during LJMU’s Bicentenary celebrations, Dr. Bury was named among a select group of two hundred remarkable individuals whose lives have been intertwined with the university’s history, either as influential figures who have shaped its legacy or as beneficiaries of its educational mission. Additionally, his exceptional contributions to the maritime industry were acknowledged with the prestigious Merchant Navy Medal for Meritorious Service (MNM). This state award, the highest honour available to members of the UK Merchant Navy, recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding devotion to duty and exemplary service, setting an exceptional example for others.

Kamil Kaminsky is a Doctor of Engineering student at Liverpool John Moores University with seven years of experience working with simulator equipment manufactured by Kongsberg and Wärtsilä (formerly Transas). In the UK, there are around 19 large ship simulator centres, each with a unique setup and a focus on different aspects of seafarer training. The simulator setup at LJMU is special because it is focused on research, and the industry frequently utilizes it to provide customised training on future ship configurations and port infrastructure designs. This is the most interesting aspect of my work at LJMU. I have experience developing mathematical models for vessels based on real-life specifications. Additionally, I have created numerous virtual training environments, including ports and surrounding areas, for both commercial clients and research purposes. This work involves using Autodesk 3DS Max software, along with specialized Virtual Shipyard software developed by Wärtsilä.

These varying experiences have given me a unique perspective on viewing training environments. I can draw interesting correlations between user behaviour and the training conditions. My background in IT enables me to implement software-based solutions to meet research requirements. I also have experience working on research projects for PhD students, where I gather data and provide support in creating test environments within a simulator setting. I have gained experience with data gathering using eye-tracking devices during the project – Lookout Awareness of Distractions: The creation of a Distraction Evaluation Ratio (LADDER) funded by MarRI-UK.

Throughout my career, I have worked in a variety of educational settings, ranging from primary schools to universities. Most of my experience has been in the IT field (2010-2017), specifically focusing on Windows computer networks and infrastructure. I have provided technical support to hundreds of users and developed websites and web content. Among the more exciting aspects of my work have been live sound support roles for public events.

ONGUENE ATEBA Julien Grégoire is of Cameroonian nationality. He holds a research master’s degree in applied transport and logistics, a postgraduate diploma (DESS) in Economics: option Multilateral Trade Policies and Negotiations and a doctorate/Ph.D. in Economics. He is an Associate Professor of Transport, Logistics and Economics at the Universities and IPES of Cameroon. He was an Associate Professor at the Sorbonne Institute of Paris from 2023-2024 in the field of Customs, Transport and International Trade. He has been a consultant in Customs and Transit and in consultancy firms where he has retrained executives of transport and logistics companies for 10 years. He is an Associate Researcher at the Centre for Studies in Economics and Management at the University of Yaoundé 2 and the author of several articles and books published nationally and internationally in the field of logistics, transport and economics.

Dr. Onguene has taken part in several national and international scientific symposiums and conferences. He supervises a number of students in writing their dissertations and placement reports for their BTS, License and master’s degrees in transport and logistics. He has sat on a number of juries to defend BTS, License and master’s degrees. He is one of the pioneers in Africa to write a doctoral thesis on the problems of economic emergence. A certified GIZ and AFOP expert in Agrobusiness and Agropastoral Entrepreneurship, he claims to be part of a new school of thought in African Development Economics (NEPDA) through “The Theory of Ongueneism”, regarding the current dynamics of economic emergence in Africa. An economic intelligence strategist, from 2016 to 2024, he was Head of Studies at the Higher Institute of Agronomics Sciences, Environment and Rural Entrepreneurship in Sa’a, Cameroon.

Dr.  Stephen Afenyo Dehlor is the Deputy Registrar, Academic Affairs at the Regional Maritime University, Ghana; a Higher Educational Institution with full diplomatic status owned by five member countries namely: Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone headquartered in Accra, Ghana. He is also a part-time lecturer with Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, UK and a local Coordinator for the Abuja MOU Port State Control Officers programme for the University.

Dr. Dehlor holds Higher National Diploma in Hotel, Catering & Institutional Management Studies from Ho Technical University, Ghana; Bachelor’s Degree in Education from University of Cape Coast, Ghana; Master of Science Degree in Educational Policy and Management Studies from University of Twente, Netherlands; Master of Social Science Degree in Human Resource Development from University of Leicester, United Kingdom and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in Management and Human Resource Development Policy from IIC University of Technology, Cambodia.

He is a Fellow and Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Management & Leadership, USA and Full Member of Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management, Ghana.  He is a certified Quality Management System Auditor and Quality Assurance Expert in Higher Education.  A member of the West African Anglophone Quality Assurance Network.  Member of the School of Graduate Studies Board, Joint Admission Board and Research and Journal Editorial Board. He served on several Committees of the University due to his extensive experience and high level of expertise in his diverse field of study. Dr. Dehlor has a great leadership competencies grounded in contemporary organisational development principles with regards to higher education management.

In 2019, he won a two-year proposal for National Multiplication Training on Internal Quality Assurance and Curriculum Development for Anglophone West Africa Higher Education Institutions held in Nigeria and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ). Also, he led student recruitment drive of the University to Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria in 2015 and the Republic of The Gambia in 2023. He represents the University at Ministry of Transport (Ghana) stakeholders meetings and other important meetings of Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, Ghana Shippers Authority, Ghana Navy and National Commission for Civic Education, Ghana. See more here https://gh.linkedin.com/in/dr-stephen-afenyo-dehlor-933a08b2

KOUASSI Kouakou Siméon is a full professor of Archaeology, specializing in ceramics, shell mounds and heritage. He is based in the Tourism, Spaces and Societies department of the University of San Pedro in Côte d’Ivoire, where he is the Dean of the UFR Logistics and Tourism, Hospitality and Catering, and former head of the Archaeology Pedagogical Unit at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan. In addition, he is an associate member of the UMR 6566-CReAAH of the Center for Research in Archaeology, Archaeosciences and History at the University of Rennes 1 (France). He is a member of the Group of Multidisciplinary Methods Contributing to Archaeology (GMPCA), of the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (UISSP), former Secretary General and General Treasurer of the West African Archaeological Association (WAAA).

He was twice a CODESRIA laureate in 2009 on scientific writing and 2019 on the contribution of art to the development of Africa ; laureate in 2022 of the Associated Study Directors (DEA) program with residency at the University of Lorient (France) where he developed the project “European manufactured products from the 17th – 19th centuries exhumed in coastal Côte d’Ivoire (Grand-Bassam – Assinie). Contribution to the knowledge of Europe – West Africa relations”. A study whose first results were published in 2024 in e-Phaïstos with Elvis BOYA and Bernard Gratuze.

His interests in pre-colonial and contemporary history have led him to undertake several study trips to Senegal, Burkina Faso, and France, where he contributed to research on polished axes published in L’Anthropologie in 2023 in Volume 127 with Kouadio René BOUADI, Djidéré BALDÉ, Kouakou Sylvain KOFFI and Abdoulaye CAMARA ; on shell mounds published in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology in 2022 with Léon Fabrice LOBA and Etienne N’doua ETTIEN ; to excavate stone architecture sites in Loropéni in Burkina Faso, paleometallurgy in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, salt in Marsal in France.

His interest also in the knowledge of the populations of the coastal and Atlantic zone of Côte d’Ivoire led him to direct a book published in 2019 entitled The sea, another path to development in West Africa. Issues and perspectives published in Paris by Indes Savantes which came from the conference The sea, the other path to development: issues and perspectives that he organized in September 2016 in Abidjan. Since 2021 he has been reflecting on the problem of the valorization of archaeological sites in his country through their development in tourism. This other interest comes from the position of Research Officer that he held at the Ivorian Ministry of Tourism and Leisure from March 2020 to October 2021.

Dr. Isaac Chiawolam Nwaogwugwu joined the Department of Economics, University of Lagos in  2000 as a Faculty Member and rose through the ranks to become Professor of Economics in 2022. He is a public economist who worked extensively in monetary and financial economics. He bagged  his PhD Economics degree in 1999 and an M.A. (Economics) in 1988, both from the M.S. University of Baroda, India. He also holds a first class B.Com (Economics and Accounting) degree from Rani Durgavati University, Jabalpur, India (1986).

Professor Nwaogwugwu has consulted widely for many organizations including the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, The World Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, the National Institute for Sports, Nigerian Communications Commission and the Lagos State Government. He is also the former Chief Consultant of The Corporate Advisors Limited (a private sector outfit that specializes in economic, business, management and financial consultancy services). In 2019 he founded the ‘Fiscal and Financial Economists Society of Nigeria’, a professional body that aims at deepening academic and professional knowledge-base in public finance, monetary economics and financial economics. He has participated in many national and international workshops and conferences and published widely in national and international journals.

Mariama Gueye is an associate professor in the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar. She is a specialist in the History and Civilizations of the Ancient Worlds. She has a unique thesis at the Institut des Sciences et Techniques de l’Antiquité (The Institute of Sciences and Antiquity Techniques) of the Université Franche Comte in France. She is also a temporary attaché for Teaching and Research (ATER) at the University of Franche Comte.

Mariama is the author of Captifs et Captivités: discours littéraires  et iconographiques (IIIe Siècle av JC- IIe Siècle après JC Paris, L’Harmatttan, coll. Histoires-Textes-Societes, 2013,322p. ISBN: 978-2-348-01360-2(Captives and Captivities : Literary and Iconographic discourse (Third Century BC-Second Century  AD). She has also published numerous works on a range of topics related to diplomacy, the army, non-combatant populations and dependence in the Roman world. Her teachings focus on the city, citizenship, political institutions, dependence, international relations, numismatics, the use of web resources, and the issues she deals with cover a wide range of themes related to the lives of the ancients.

As Head of the history of Ancient Worlds Master’s program (HICMA) at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop, she has been deeply involved in the LMD (Bachelor-Master-Doctorate) reform which resulted in the documentation of her report titled “E-Learning and Massification: Experimenting with an Online Ancient History Course” and thereby producing a Research Project that was defended at the University of Kurt Bosch, in Switzerland. Mariama is also a holder of an international Master’s Degree in E-Learning. She is a tax point and a member of the ECOWAS Regional Research Policy document team (PRR). Currently, she is the Director of the Academic Journal “Annales de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines “of the Université Cheikh Anta Diop.

Dr Alban Igwe is a Multimodal Transport, Logistics and Supply Chain specialist, Maritime Lawyer, Educationalist, Consultant and Trainer with over twenty-five years’ local and international experience. He was a former Director, Education and Training at the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria under the Federal Ministry of Transportation and Former Deputy National President, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Nigeria. He is currently a member of the United Nation’s Advisory Group on Trade and transport Locations (UNLOCODE); Member, Board of Directors, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Nigeria; Chairman, multimodal Transport Committee for the Government of Anambra State and Principal consultant at Etcetera Consults Limited.

Dr Alban has been a faculty at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Bells University of Technology, Ota, Lagos State University, Redeemers University, Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) and an external Examination Moderator for Maritime Academy, Oron. He was also a trainer for the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Army Logistics Schools. He has trained over two hundred faculty members in Logistics and Supply Chain from Universities across Nigeria including the University of Lagos, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Benue State University, Redeemers University of Nigeria, Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria, Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic Sokoto amongst others. Dr Alban was a consultant to ABC Transport PLC, Nigeria where, in 1999 he carried out a pioneer transport feasibility study between Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire leading to the birth of ECOWAS Coach Services between Nigeria and Ghana.  See more here, https://www.linkedin.com/in/alban-igwe-llm-phd-277bab26

Capt. Tajudeen Alao is a seasoned Master Mariner with over 4 decades in maritime practice. He attended Southampton School of Navigation Warsash for his cadetship career and Humberside College of Further Education for his  Class 2 and Class 1 Certificate of Competency.  He attended University of Lagos for Masters in Transport Planning and Niger Delta State University for a Postgraduate Diploma in Marine Surveying.  He took command of oceangoing liners with defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line,  Nigerian Green Lines and Republic of Iran National Shipping Line.  He worked as a ship surveyor and Examiner of Masters and Mates with Nigerian Flag Administration, NIMASA. He was a Flag and  Port State Surveyor for 15 years. He is a practicing Part-time Lecturer at the Institute of Maritime Studies,  University of Lagos and Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.  He is an Academic Moderator for ND/HND for maritime colleges and an Assessor for National Board of Technical Education in Nigeria. He is a member of many professional bodies in Nigeria and the UK and represented Nigeria in IMO meetings, where he was in the sub-committee on safety of navigation. He was also a member of the Committee on Wreck Removal and the IMO Global Reg on non-conventional ships. He is the President of Nigerian Association of Master Mariners.

Olunifesi Adekunle SURAJ is an Associate Professor of Strategic Communication, Disinformation, Digital and Media Literacy at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Nigeria. He is the Co-Lead of the global UNESCO MILID University Network and the Continental Coordinator of the African Chapter of the UNESCO University network. Dr. Olunifesi is a Fellow of Deutshe Welles Akademia (DW, Germany), British Academy of Management (BAM, UK), Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), affiliate member of International Panel on Information Dissemination (IPIE, Switzerland), board member of Media Diversity Institute (MDI, UK), Chartered Institute of Information and Strategic Management (CIISM), Institute of Management Consultants (ISM), Fellow, Institute of Security Nigeria (FISN), a member of the Patron Board of AfroFutureTech International, EduGist International and African Center for Public Leadership (ACPL), Executive Director of African Centre for Media and Intercultural Dialogue (ACMID), and Chief Executive Officer of WitsEdge Consultancy Limited. He is a thought leader on media, information and digital literacy and a member of the United Nations Global Expert Group on addressing hate speech through education, and a Global Co-lead, UNESCO University Network on Media and Information Literacy & Intercultural Dialogue (UNITWIN-MILID), UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance Committee Member on disinformation and fake news, and UNESCO’s National Coordinator for media and information literacy’s curriculum intervention in Nigerian universities. Dr. Suraj is a Lufthansa Certified Design Thinking Expert and accredited Tutor of Enterprise Systems Fundamentals with SAP University Alliances. He holds a Certificate of Achievement of EC-Council on fundamentals of cybersecurity and code for Africa on fact checking.  See more here https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/JED-6411-2023

Dr. Okwy Peter Okpala is a Senior Lecturer in Department of Accounting, University of Lagos and Managing Partner of Okwy Okpala & Co. (Chartered Accountants). He is a versatile academic, consummate professional accountant, researcher and trainer, with experience in tax consulting, auditing, business formation and human capital development in both private and public sectors. He is a board member in several organizations and leverages his professional practice and academic experiences in designing and facilitating impactful trainings, skill acquisitions and retreat programmes for organizations within and outside Nigeria.

Dr. Okpala has been involved in the formation of many commercial ventures for the University of Lagos and led or participated in feasibility studies and business planning for clients in industries such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, and the financial sector.

A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Dr. Okpala joined the academic staff of the Department of Accounting University of Lagos in 2005 where he obtained M.Sc. and Ph.D. His Bachelor’s degree was bagged from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1991.  Dr. Okpala has authored many articles in reputable local and international learned journals. His areas of research interest are human capital accounting and sustainability and integrated reporting. Happily married with children, Okwy is passionate about active service and holds leadership positions in the Church and several communities.

Dr. Eucharia Iruka Ebelechukwu is a Senior Lecturer of Comparative Literature in the Department of European Languages and Integration Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, Nigeria. She is a holder of a B.A (French/German), University of Nigeria Nsukka , M.A and Ph.D. (French) University of Lagos. Initially interested in Carribean literature in her Master’s Degree Program, her thesis, which is on the works of Albert Camus and Franz Kafka reoriented her towards 20th-century French and German literatures. Her focus is on French literary thoughts from the 18th to the 21st centuries and translations.

Dr. Eucharia has attended many conferences, seminars, trainings and workshops within and outside Nigeria. She has taught a wide range of courses (spanning from language to literature in French and German languages) in the Department of European Languages and Integration Studies, held administrative posts in the department, and served as member of committees in the Faculty and supervised many undergraduates and master’s degree projects. She currently has PhD. candidates under her supervision. She is the author of many publications and a member of the UFTAN (University French Teacher’s Association), WAITI (West African Institute of Translators and Interpreters) and NATOG (Nigerian Association of Teachers of German).

Dr. Ege, Emmanuel is a specialist in transportation. He has been teaching transportation in the Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos in the past 20 years. Dr. Ege has published more than 30 articles in local and International journals. He handles Traffic Impact Assessment for construction companies and consults for some government agencies in the transport sector. At the moment, he is looking critically into the use of active transport or Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) within the University of Lagos campus.

Dr. Richard Chinye Osadume currently serves as a Senior Lecturer/Senior Research Fellow at the Nigeria Maritime University, the Head of Research and Development, and the General Manager of the University Consultancy and Investment Company.  He is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in both development finance and maritime transport administration with a Ph.D. in Finance (Development Finance) and a Master of Maritime Transport Administration and Management (MMAM), alongside other qualifications in finance and management. Before joining academia, Dr. Osadume enjoyed a successful career in the Nigerian finance industry, rising to the position of Senior/Regional Manager at various prominent institutions. This experience allows him to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application in the maritime finance and development sector.

Dr. Osadume is a prolific researcher with over 65 publications in prestigious national and international journals. His research interests lie primarily in development finance, maritime transportation, and maritime finance. He is a prospective member of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration (CIOTA) and a professional member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Dr. Osadume is a well-rounded individual with a passion for his field. His commitment to research, education, and industry development makes him a valuable asset to any organization.

Dr. Victor Omoke is an Associate Professor of Maritime Transport and the Dean of the Faculty of Transport, Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, and a member of the University Council. He holds a Bachelor of Technology, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in Maritime Transport Management, with specialization in shipping management, port operations, port competitiveness and maritime logistics.

Dr Omoke has always been a strategic trainer and technical research consultant in the maritime industry, particularly focusing on educational capacity development and various research products for the use of the maritime industry at large. The summary of his progression was from a lecturer in the Transport Department of Bells University of Technology, Ota, from 2008-2012 to a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Transport Management Technology, Federal University of Technology, Minna from 2012-2019. He is also a recurrent trainer of the various cadres of staff of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) from 2018 to date.

He has extensively researched and made several publications internationally and regionally in maritime transport management, aviation management, land transport, transport logistics and operations research. He was a key member of Federal University of Technology Minna Consult and a senior member of the team of consultants that developed and established IBB/NIMASA Maritime Institute for the IBB University in Lapai Niger State in 2013. Specifically in 2017, he handled a technical research project that determined the competitiveness of Nigerian seaports in relation to the ports in West and Central Africa. He has won several research grants. He is a member of Chattered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria.

Capt. Kwame Deynu is a Master Mariner and also holds an MA Degree in Port & Shipping Administration from the University of Ghana, Legon. He is an Associate Fellow of the Nautical Institute (AFNI) of UK with an extensive seafarer carrier spanning 25 years, starting as a Deck Cadet and rose through the ranks to Master on several ship types such as reefers, general cargo, bulk carriers, and container ships on international and coastal voyages. He transitioned to shore-based roles in the Ghana Maritime Authority, first as Chief Examiner of Masters & Mates, and later on as Deputy Director of Inland Waterways, before going on compulsory retirement in 2016.

Whilst at the Ghana Maritime Authority, Capt. Deynu undertook several Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses at the International Maritime Institute, Trieste–Italy, World Maritime University, Malmo, etc. He attended several IMO Technical meetings such as Maritime Safety Committee, STCW sub-committee, ISPS sub-committee, and MEPC sub-committee. At the Ghana Maritime Authority, he doubled as a Visiting Lecturer at the Regional Maritime University from January 2000 to date. He is also a Visiting Lecturer at the Kofi Anan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Teshie Ghana and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana for 3 years. His areas of specialization are marine pollution, advanced fire fighting, oil & chemical tanker operations, IMDG Code and multimodal transport systems. Capt. Deynu is a Liberia International Ship & Corporate Register (LISCR)-certified Safety Inspector and ISM, ISPS, and MLC 2006 Auditor.

Irène CHIEWOUO KUETCHE is a Cameroonian and a PhD holder in Sociology. Her main areas of research are population and development issues, and more specifically gender and inclusivity. Her doctoral work focused on the theme of ‘Gender and Conjugality of People living with Disabilities in Cameroon: Identity Constructions, Logics and Power Relationships’. She is an associate lecturer at the University of Yaoundé 1 in the Gender and Development Professional Masters programme. She is attached to the Laboratoire Camerounais dÉtudes et de Recherches sur les Sociétés Contemporaines (CERESC) and works as a technical consultant for the Human Science Research Council of South Africa as part of the Gender and Inclusivity Project of the Science Granting Councils Initiative in Africa. She has contributed to several scientific articles, the latest of which is entitled ‘Public policies for young people with disabilities: the dynamics and challenges of social integration in health and education in Cameroon’ (2023). As a social entrepreneur, she is Technical Director of the Association des Acteurs de Développement (ADEV), where she is responsible for writting and managing community projects. She advocates for a more equitable and inclusive society, environmental protection and the fight against climate change.

N’GUESSAN A. Alexis Bernard is Associate Professor (CAMES) in the Geography Department at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He holds a Doctorate in Geography (specializing in marine geography and ocean exploitation, with a focus on ports and maritime transport), obtained in 2010. In 2015, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Espaces, Nature et Culture (ENeC) laboratory, UMR 8185, at Paris Sorbonne University (Paris IV) in France. In 2017, he joined the GRIF team at the Faculty of Planning, School of Architecture, University of Montreal in Canada, as part of a project to create a model village in Côte d’Ivoire.

Obtaining the “Sustainable Port Cities” qualification certificate in 2024, issued by the International Institute of Ports and Cities (IIPC) and the International Association of Cities and Ports (AIVP), enables him to offer innovative solutions for the management and optimization of port activities in West Africa.

N’GUESSAN A. Alexis Bernard is the focal point in Côte d’Ivoire for the “Afrique Atlantique” network, which brings together researchers and teacher-researchers in the field of transport and logistics. He is also Principal Researcher at the Center for Maritime Port and Logistics Research (CREMPOL) of the Regional Academy of Marine Science and Technology (ARSTM) in Abidjan, and Associate Researcher at the Population and Development Cartography Laboratory (CAPDEV) at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University. He is also responsible for the research area “ sustainable transportation: challenges and forward thinking ” of the Sustainable Transport and Mobility division of the UNESCO Chair in Prospective Anticipation and Sustainable Territory (CUAPTD) at Alassane OUATTARA University in Bouaké (Ivory Coast).

His research activities focus on ports, land and maritime transport networks, logistics, distribution and supply chain management, port city governance, and the restructuring of port areas. He is the author and co-author of several scientific articles.

N’GUESSAN A. Alexis Bernard has presented dozens of papers at conferences and congresses, at the invitation of Ivorian and foreign institutions. He has co-edited four collective works published by EMS Editions (France), with the financial support of the SEFACIL Foundation (France): “Le port dans la ville” (The Port in the City) (2017), “Réflexions sur la force de travail dans les milieux portuaires et péri-portuaires” (Reflections on the workforce in port and peri-port areas) (2018), “Les ports secs, outil d’accélération socio-économique en Afrique Atlantique” (Dry ports, a tool for socio-economic acceleration in Atlantic Africa) (2021), “Ports et transition énergétique en Afrique Atlantique” (Ports and energy transition in Atlantic Africa) (2025).