Dr. Willie Eselebor

Willie holds a Ph.D. & MA in Peace & Conflict Studies and BA in History from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is skilled in Negotiation & Mediation; Monitoring & Evaluation; having trained at the Clingendael Institute, The Hague, KAIPTC, Ghana, IPD Summer Academy, Switzerland, INCORE & Responding to Conflict (RTC) in the UK. He is a renowned Nigerian researcher and consultant specializing in borders, migration, peacebuilding, and conflict sensitivity, and the author of a wide array of books and other publications in these specialized fields. He had an early career with the Nigeria Immigration Service (1980-2012), serving in diverse schedules on border (air, sea & land) controls and migration governance. He also lectured at the Institute for Peace & Strategic Studies (Snr. Research Fellow), University of Ibadan, Nigeria (2012-2021); and attained extensive experience consulting/training for the UNDP, IOM, EU, AU, ECOWAS, COMESA, ICMPD, GIZ and Rwanda Peace Academy on various projects in Africa. Participated in the drafting of ECOWAS Mediation and Facilitation Training Manual, Migration Policy Framework for Africa (2018) and is a founding Member of the Network of Foundations and Research Institutions Promoting a Culture of Peace in Africa (2013). Willie is the past President of the Society for Peace Studies & Practice and one-time Executive Director of CLEEN Foundation. He is also an Executive Committee Member of the African Borderlands Research Network (ABORNE); Trustee on the Board, of the Association of Borderlands Studies (ABS), Board Chair of Building Blocks for Peace Foundation, Border Areas Development Initiatives (BADI); and Founder of Universal Research & Training Institute. His specialties include conflict analysis, peacebuilding, migration, international borders, and security studies