Niger_Delta

Statement in Support of my Application This postgraduate programme will enable me to understand the links between complex emergencies, ethnic conflicts and forced migration in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria where I come from as well as why the local conception of health ,development aid and agencies aren’t improving the living conditions of the people in our locality. I would also like to explore the latest findings in development policy and management and how it is related to local governance in contemporary African villages including the multifaceted dimensions of development and its impact on extreme poverty. This offer will also deepen my interests in urban development and local economic growth, particularly in war torn cities prevalent in the Oil-rich Niger-Delta where I grew up. This postgraduate offer will also allow me to explore the unusual relationships between environment and development, with its huge impact in shaping the social and political theory in development circles as well as its potential in influencing policy reforms and environmental governance. It will also harness my knowledge-base on political ecology and environmental science, and on new ways to implement global environmental policy (such as the climate change convention) in developing countries like Nigeria through partnerships between state and non-state actors; including the impacts of new management practices among ECOWAS member states for the legitimacy and effectiveness of multilateral development organizations. In addition, this offer will enable me to discern the real definition of effective aid; including how emerging democratic states in Africa must harness development aid to improve the quality of Life of their increasing population. This will empower me to advocate for effective strategies for directing foreign aid to promote pro-poor agendas and reduction of extreme poverty through effective social security mechanism workable in a developing country context and the promotion of political will, to positively drive sustainable development. This offer will also deepen my understanding of the informal economy and non-state governance in Africa; including cross-border trading systems and regional integration, the expanding urban informal sector, rural non-farm activities, small-enterprise clusters, and informal enterprise associations prevalent in developing and transitional economies. I would also like to understand the link between the changing character of the informal economy in contemporary Africa and the implications of economic informalization for development, democratization and globalization.