Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi

Profile

After BSc (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE), I completed MSc (Political Science), with a thesis that explored policing structure and insecurity in Nigeria. Both degrees were completed at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, where I am a Lecturer in Political Science. While growing up, I worked with a Radio Nigeria FM station in my home state of Osun, where I anchored programmes in sports, youth and global affairs.

I also have interest in volunteering, especially in environment, sustainable development and elections. My compulsory year of national service with Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was mainly devoted to working as Development Knowledge Facilitator and Secretary of the Millennium (now Sustainable) Development Goals Awareness Creation volunteer group in Ilorin, Kwara State, north-central Nigeria. I worked as ad-hoc staff with Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of the 2015 and 2019 nationwide elections. These activities have galvanised further interests in research on climate governance and electoral administration.

Research interests

My current research draws on my interests in governance and democratic engagement in sub-Saharan Africa, with a primary focus on Nigeria and South Africa. I have been involved in research, some of which appear as journal articles and book chapters, on how public institutions and organisations including the Nigeria Police Force, national legislatures in Nigeria and South Africa, subnational legislatures, electoral stakeholders, political parties, and government agencies engage citizens, including through the use of technologies.

My PhD programme runs under the auspices of the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), as well as the Centre for Democratic Engagement (CDE), the Centre for Global Development (CGD), and the Centre for African Studies (LUCAS). My research is on legislatures and public engagement in Nigeria. I draw on the argument that with respect to how democracy evolves and stabilises, the extant literature leaves significant gaps in understanding Nigeria’s progress from strict procedural norms of constitutions, representative legislatures and voting rights, to adding substantive quality in terms of how the people’s voices are heard and how their will is factored into governance, in the period between elections. The legislature, as the voice of the people in governance, is the core institution suitable for promoting democratic inclusion and public engagement. However, while legislative public engagement has become an important issue in research and practice elsewhere, not much attention has been devoted to Nigeria’s legislatures. In addressing this important gap, my research focuses on Lagos State, Nigeria’s preeminent subnational entity and economic powerhouse, using a multilevel governance approach to explore how the State House of Assembly and MPs from the state in the federal House of Representatives promote public engagement.

Legislative public engagement practices, in this context, are interpreted as what the legislature does to promote public involvement in its traditional activities of law-making, representation, oversight and constituency activities on the one hand, and parallel public relations strategies such as educational outreach and tours, use of online tools, etc., on the other hand. ‘Public’, in this sense, is interpreted to mean non-state citizen stakeholders outside of the parliament – civil society actors such as NGOs, community-based organisations/associations, the media, professional associations, everyday citizens, and so forth.

I have also written blog articles on different elements of democratic engagement, published by The Conversation and the Australian Institute of International Affairs. 

My specific research interests:

• Comparative legislatures
• Democratic engagement
• Digital governance
• Police accountability
• Climate governance
• Youth and politics

Recent publications

1. Odeyemi, T. I., Olorunshola D. T. & Ajibola, B. S. (2023). Turning public engagement into standard practice: institutionalisation in the work of the South African Parliament. The Journal of Legislative Studies. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2023.2195147.
2. Odeyemi, T. I., Igwebueze, G. U., Abati, O. O., & Ogundotun, A. O. (2022). Political hibernation in‐between elections? Exploring the online communication and mobilisation capacities of Nigeria's political parties. Journal of Public Affairs, Volume 22 Issue S1, e2804. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2804.
3. Odeyemi, T. I., & Abati, O. O. (2021). When disconnected institutions serve connected publics: subnational legislatures and digital public engagement in Nigeria. The Journal of Legislative Studies, Volume 27 Issue 3 (pp.357-380). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2020.1818928.
4. Olaopa, O. R., and Odeyemi, T. I. (2020). The media, politics and governance in Nigeria. In E. O. Oni, O. M. Fagbadebo and D. A. Yagboyaju (eds.), Democratic Practice and Governance in Nigeria (pp. 70-86). Routledge, Taylor & Francis. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003029540-5
5. Odeyemi, T. I. (2020). Regional Integration and the Political Economy of Morocco’s Desire for Membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In S. O. Oloruntoba (ed.), Pan Africanism, Regional Integration and Development in Africa (pp. 97-123). Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34296-8_6
6. Odeyemi, T. I. and Abioro. T. (2019). Digital Technologies, Online Engagement and Parliament-Citizen Relations in Nigeria and South Africa. In O. M. Fagbadebo and F. A. Ruffin (Eds.), Perspectives on the Legislature and the Prospects of Accountability in Nigeria and South Africa (pp. 217 – 232). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93509-6_12
7. Odeyemi, T. I. and Obiyan, A. S. (2018). Digital policing technologies and democratic policing: Will the internet, social media and mobile phone enhance police accountability and police–citizen relations in Nigeria? International Journal of Police Science & Management, Volume 20 Issue II (pp. 97-108). Sage. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355718763448

Qualifications

• M.Sc. Political Science
• B.Sc. Politics, Philosophy and Economics

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Democratic Engagement
• Centre for African Studies
• Centre for Global Development