Acada-Activism and Feminist Political Communication in Nigeria

Abstract

African feminism which began as a mix of scholarship, activism and movement saw a huge contribution from women in the academia. Female academics since the twentieth-century Africa succeeded in taking scholarship beyond campus walls, translating it to activism and committing themselves to movements which made sweeping impacts from grassroots to corridors of power at that period. A largely overlooked angle to this is how African feminist scholars have managed to influence governance and policies, such that they also held political offices. By adopting qualitative research methodology, this chapter purposively samples four selected female academics across Nigeria on their political communication tools while on active academic and activist projects. By critically unearthing political communication tools of these women, this work provides a critical discussion of how female academics negotiated power, how they fared, what progress or otherwise have been made so far, and what the future may hold for female academics eyeing political offices.