Prof. Dr. Anthony Okeregbe

Short Bio

Anthony Okeregbe, Ph.D, is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, University of Lagos (UNILAG), and also Principal Investigator, Lagos African Cluster Centre of Excellence (ACC) of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence, University of Bayreuth, Germany. Born in Lagos where he lives with his family, Tony had his early education in Lagos and Ibadan. He has a BA (Hons.) in 1990 at the University of Ibadan, MA (1994) and Ph.D (2004) in Philosophy at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. His teaching and research interests are in Philosophy of Religion, Phenomenology and Existentialism, Philosophy and Contemporary African lifeworlds. He is presently a member of the UNILAG Postgraduate Board and chair of the Postgraduate Committee of the Department of Philosophy. From 2012-2014 he was Co-editor of Nigerian Journal of Philosophy.

His new interest in African Studies has drawn him into research projects on knowledge production, socio-cultural life in Africa, amongst others, while exposure to Psycho-Spiritual therapies and mental health has informed his current research adventure into African existential predicament and methodologies of wellness.

A Catalyst Fellow of the Centre for African Studies, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, Dr. Okeregbe is a member of the African Studies Association of Italy (ASAI). He also has Certifications in Andragogy and Competency-based Adult Learning Mechanisms and in Basic Psycho-Trauma Counselling. Prior to his academic career, Tony was Features Editor (Sunday) of The Guardian, Lagos, Nigeria, where he is presently a Visiting Member of the Editorial Board.

Selected Publications

• 2024. Okeregbe, Anthony. and Falaiye, Muyiwa. “Women Sages in Male Epistemic Spaces: An Analysis of Patriarchal Forces in Female Knowledge Production.” In Gatsheni Sabello and Katharina Schramm (eds) Knowing and Unknowing: African Studies at the Crossroads. Leiden: E.J Brill Academic Publishers.
• 2023. Onwudinjo, Andrew and Okeregbe, Anthony. (2023) “Migrating Africans and the Brickwall of European Borders: A Cosmopolitanist Evaluation of Hardin’s Lifeboat Ethics” In Aweto, P. Carchedi, F. & Akinyoade, A. (eds) Human Trafficking in Nigeria 1960-2020: Pattern, People, Purpose and Places. 251-269. African Studies Collection, Vol. 82, African Studies Centre, Universiteit Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands. ISBN: 978-90-5448-198-0 and ISSN: 1876-018x.
• 2023. Okeregbe, Anthony. “Contemporary African Condition(ing) and the Imperative of Street Philosophising: Reflection on Sapa and Other Existentialia”. In Sapienta: Journal of Philosophy. Vol. 18, December 2023. (A Publication of the Department of Philosophy, University of Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria. ISSN: 1595-4943.
• 2021. Okeregbe, A. (2021) “Beyond Aesthetic Appeal to Healing Sounds: An Existential Reflection on George Ehusani's Liturgical Music” (pp. 71-91). In Taiwo Abioye, Arua Eke Arua, Anthony Okeregbe, and Emmanuel Ojeifo (Eds). Between Faith and Social Activism: Essays in Honour of Fr. George Ehusani. London: Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd. Macmillan, ISBN: 978-978-994-679-6.
• 2018. Okeregbe, Anthony. “De-globalizing African ‘Truths’: Some Insights from Frantz Fanon et al” in Philosophia: Journal for Philosophy and Culture. Institute for Medieval Philosophy and Culture, Sofia University, Tzarigradsko shosse 1113 Sofia pp. 48-66.

Project Description

The residency of the Annual Theme Fellowship takes place in the Winter semester from November 1 - December 20, 2024 and during the Summer Semester between April 15 - May 31, 2025. During the Winter Semester, I intend to organise platforms for rigorous and open engagements with scholarly treatment of African agency and temporalities through worked out a reading and discussion session on November 21, 2024 as well as a public lecture by Prof Olufemi Taiwo on December 12, 2024. The reading text for discussion is Olufemi Taiwo’s book Against Decolonisation: Taking African Agency Seriously (AD: TAAS) published in 2022. The motivation for the reading is the perceived connection between Taiwo’s work and the Cluster’s Annual Theme of Temporalities.

Since the grand opening ceremony of the African Research Building in Bayreuth falls within the summer semester of 2024-25, I intend to be at the service of the Cluster in fostering  modalities for a small conference on temporalities scheduled for May 14-15, 2025. It is expected that this conference, which may be slated as an item in celebrating the opening ceremony of the African Research Building, will feature scholarly contributions from invited guest speakers as well as researchers from the University of Bayreuth, the local ACCs and beyond. As an outcome of the conference, I also imagine the production of a publication with global outreach which gives voice to participants.