About Claude Ake
Claude Ake was a Nigerian political scientist from Omoku, in Rivers State, Nigeria. Ake was considered "one of Africa's foremost political philosophers." He specialized in political economy, political theory, and development studies and is well known for his research on development and democracy in Africa. He was professor of political economy and dean of the University of Port Harcourt's Faculty of Social Sciences for some years in the 1970s and 1980s after having taught at Columbia University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1966. He held various academic positions at institutions around the world, including at Yale University, University of Nairobi (Kenya), University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria). He was active in Nigerian politics, a critic of corruption and authoritarian rule in Africa. His permanent home was in Port Harcourt. He is quoted as saying, "In Nigeria, companies like Shell are struggling between greed and fear." In 1991 Ake founded and became the director of the Center for Advanced Social Science, headquartered in Port Harcourt. Claude Ake (18 February 1939 in Omoku – 7 November 1996) was a Nigerian political scientist from Omoku, in Rivers State, Nigeria. In 2003 the Claude Ake Visiting Chair was set up at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, in collaboration with the Nordic Africa Institute, to honour the Ake's memory. Claude Ake Visiting Chair in Uppsala, Sweden.
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