Mojúbàolú Olúfunké Okome

Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome is an international political economist whose scholarly work focuses on the African continent. Educated at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Long Island University in New York, and Columbia University in New York, Okome is a professor of political science at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. She has served as Women's Studies Program director and deputy chair for graduate studies in the Department of Political Science at Brooklyn College. Okome is also a member of the Executive Council of the CUNY University Faculty Senate, a long-term member of the Faculty Senate, and a past representative to the New York City Council's Higher Education Committee.

Okome's research and teaching cover a broad range of interconnected topics in African studies, political science, and international development. Her teaching interests include inclusive and equitable citizenship, particularly in relation to globalization, democratization, and economic development. Her research examines the effects of globalization, postcolonialism, and post-modernity on economic and political transformation, as well as gender, democracy, and citizenship in Africa and African diaspora studies. Okome has consulted on international development issues for organizations such as the United Nations and the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. She served as one of three co-chairs of the New York State delegation to the National Summit on Africa, leading the second-largest delegation to the summit in Washington, D.C.

Okome is the author and editor of seven books. Her debut, "A Sapped Democracy: The Political Economy of the Structural Adjustment Program and the Political Transition in Nigeria, 1983–1993," analyzes the interaction between liberal economic and political reforms in Nigeria, exploring the causes and outcomes of the state's decision to undertake a simultaneous dual transition. The book considers the role of the state, multilateral organizations, and domestic politics as determinants of policy outcomes. Okome has also edited volumes including "State Fragility, State Formation, and Human Security in Nigeria," "Contesting the Nigerian State: Civil Society and the Contradictions of Self-Organization," and, with Olufemi Vaughan, "West African Migrations: Transnational and Global Pathways in a New Century" and "Transnational Africa and Globalization."

Okome is the founder and editor of the online peer-reviewed journal "Ìrìnkèrindò: A Journal of African Migration," which is held in more than 159 libraries worldwide and shares research on Africa from indigenous perspectives. She is also a co-founder of "Jenda: Journal of African Culture and Women Studies." Her essay "African Immigration to the United States: Dimensions of Migration, Immigration, and Exile" is widely referenced in migration studies, examining the economic, sociocultural, and political contexts of migration.

Okome has received several awards, including the Carnegie African Diaspora Alumni Fellowship, the Tow Award for Scholarly Activism from Brooklyn College, and recognition as a Fulbright Specialist Scholar. She was awarded the Lagos Studies Association Distinguished Scholar Award at the University of Lagos for her work in African studies and advocacy for human rights. Okome studies, teaches, researches, and advocates for the advancement of the rights of women, ethnic, racial, and other minorities, contributing to discourse on democracy, governance, and social justice in Africa and its diaspora.