Prof. Dr. John Agbonifo

John Agbonifo is professor of development studies and director of the Global Affairs and Sustainable Development Institute (GASDI), Osun State University, Nigeria. He holds a PhD in development studies from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. His scholarship spans development studies, political ecology, environmental humanities, human security, and sustainability, with a particular interest in the intersections of environment, memory, culture, and justice. His recent work explores the environmental humanities through studies of the Benin Bronzes, ecological justice, colonial ecocide, irregular ecology, and recovery of indigenous environmental knowledge embedded in Oríkì and other African memory traditions. He has published on environmental conflict, resource governance, state legitimacy, insecurity, and sustainable development in Africa. Professor Agbonifo convenes the annual International Sustainable Development Dialogue (ISDD), an internationally recognized platform that brings together scholars, policymakers, and development practitioners to rethink Global South development challenges. His current research seeks to develop African-centered theories that connect ecological restoration, cultural restitution, memory, and sustainable futures.

RCC Project: Sacred Artefacts, Colonial Plunder, Broken Ecologies: The Benin Bronzes and Ecological Justice (PDF, 75 KB)

Selected Publications:

• “Sanctions for Conflict Resolution.” In Elgar Encyclopedia of International Sanctions, edited by Clara Portela, Andrea Charron and Mirko Sossai. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2026.
• “Fuel Subsidy Protests in Nigeria: The Promise and Mirage of Empowerment.” Extractive Industries and Society 16 (2023): 1–7.
• with Anita Lundberg and Hannah Regis. “Tropical Landscapes and Nature-Culture Entanglements: Reading Tropicality via Avatar.” eTropics 21, no. 1 (2022): 1–27. https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.21.1.2022.3877.
• with Martin Atela, Ayo Ojebode, Tade Akin Aina, Marjoke Oosterom, Racheal Makokha, Oluwabusolami Oluwajulugbe, et al. “Demanding Power: Struggles over Fuel Access in Nigeria.” IDS Working Paper No. 554. Institute of Development Studies, 13 August 2021. https://doi.org/10.19088/IDS.2021.054.
• “Nonstate Armed Groups, Leadership, and Sanctions Effectiveness.” African Security 14, no. 1 (2021): 27–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392206.2021.1904536.
• Environment and Conflict: The Place and Logic of Collective Action in the Niger Delta. Routledge, 2018.