Guiding CRCA's Research, Strategy, and Institutional Development

Dr Dodeye Uduak Williams is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Calabar, Nigeria, with more than two decades of experience in teaching, research, and policy engagement. A former Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Edinburgh, she specialises in strategic studies, peace and conflict studies, international relations, and security studies. Her research focuses on religion and politics, terrorism and violent extremism, counterterrorism, and religiously motivated violence in Africa. As Founder and Director of CRCA, she provides strategic leadership for the organisation's research, analytical, and policy-engagement activities, advancing evidence-based approaches to conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and security governance across the continent.

Dr. Efem N. Ubi is the Director of Research at the Conflict Research Consulting and Advocacy (CRCA). He is a Professor of International Relations, Strategic Studies, and China-Africa Studies at the Institute of African Studies (IASZNU), College of Country and Regional Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China. He holds a Ph.D. in Contemporary International Relations from Jilin University, Changchun, China. A distinguished scholar and policy practitioner, Dr. Ubi has made significant contributions to the fields of international relations, strategic studies, peace and security, African foreign policy, and China–Africa relations. Prior to his current academic appointment, he served in several senior leadership positions at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, including Director of Studies (2024–2026), Director of Research and Studies (2020–2024), and Acting Director-General. As Director of Research at CRCA, Dr. Ubi provides strategic leadership for the Centre's research agenda, overseeing multidisciplinary research programmes, policy studies, and analytical publications. He leads research initiatives that generate evidence-based policy solutions on conflict prevention, peacebuilding, governance, regional security, diplomacy, and foreign policy across Africa. He also mentors researchers, strengthens institutional partnerships, and contributes to the development of CRCA's flagship analytical products and knowledge platforms. Dr. Ubi is the proponent of the Pre-emptive Peace and Security Approach (PPSA), a strategic framework that advocates proactive conflict prevention through the identification and mitigation of structural and socio-economic drivers of instability before violence or conventional early warning indicators emerge. His work has contributed significantly to contemporary thinking on preventive diplomacy, African security governance, and sustainable peacebuilding. He has authored and edited numerous scholarly books, policy reports, and peer-reviewed publications. His recent works include Silencing the Guns, Volume 2: Reviewing the Agenda and Reassessing the Prospects (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026); Nigeria: The Absence of National Identity? in Political Identity and African Foreign Policies (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2024); Pre-Emptive Peace and Security Approach in Africa-China Security Cooperation (2024); China and Africa's Peace and Security: Examining China's Role in Nigeria's Insecurity (Routledge, 2020); and several edited volumes on terrorism, democracy, foreign policy, and strategic affairs.

Dr. Veronica Akwenabuaye Undelikwo is an Associate Professor of Sociology (Demography) at the University of Calabar, Nigeria. She brings over three decades of experience across academia, public service, and the development sector. Her work on the leadership page. Her work spans conflict and human security, demography, public health, gender, migration, and community development, with extensive experience leading and supporting multidisciplinary research and policy initiatives funded by organizations such as UNAIDS, WHO, USAID, UNDP, and FIND. As Director of Strategy and Partnerships, she leads CRCA's institutional development, external partnerships, and strategic engagement with governments, multilateral organisations, civil society, and academic institutions, advancing the Centre's long-term growth, sustainability, and visibility while ensuring alignment with its mission of African-led, evidence-based policy engagement.