Nigeria's Path Forward: Religion, Politics, and Peacebuilding (Postponed)

Join us for a discussion on Nigeria’s Path Forward: Religion, Politics, and Peacebuilding, featuring Nigeria’s Ambassador Samson Itegboje, Professor Carl LeVan, and Rev. Dr. Nathan Hosler.
The event will explore the religious, governance, and political roots of communal conflict in Northern and Middle Belt Nigeria, particularly in states such as Kaduna and Jos, and highlight the role of faith-based and policy actors in advancing peace and coexistence.

This event is co-sponsored by the Abdul Aziz Said Peace Chair and the SIS Africa Research Cluster, in partnership with the SIS Career Center.

The SIS Career Center will also be present with information tables for students interested in careers in diplomacy, peacebuilding, and international development.

Bios:

Ambassador Samson Itegboje is a seasoned career diplomat and international relations strategist with over three decades of distinguished service in Nigeria’s Foreign Service. Currently serving as Ambassador and Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, D.C., he is driving initiatives to strengthen Nigeria–U.S. relations in political cooperation, trade, education, and cultural exchange.

His extensive diplomatic career spans Africa, the Americas, and Asia, including service in Venezuela, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and multiple postings in New York at Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, where he rose to Deputy Permanent Representative and chaired the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (C-34). Ambassador Itegboje has also held senior leadership roles at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Offices of the President and Vice President of Nigeria. His career reflects a steadfast commitment to advancing Nigeria’s global engagement, multilateral diplomacy, and sustainable peace.

Nathan Hosler is the director of the Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy in Washington DC. As he has been involved in peace building and advocacy work for more than 12 years, his portfolio ranges from U.S. foreign and defense policy including U.S. – Nigeria policy, issues related to the Middle East conflict and the Asia Pacific over to immigration policy and farm worker justice. He sits on the boards of Churches for Middle East Peace, the National Council of Churches, the National Farm Worker Ministry, Heifer International and Creation Justice Ministries.

As part of his advocacy efforts, he is also the co-founder of the Interfaith Working Group on Drone Warfare, the Nigeria Working Group and the WISC Working Group on Asia Policy.

Additionally, he pastors at the Washington City Church of the Brethren and holds an MA in International Relations and a PhD in Theological Studies working in Theological Ethics.

Professor Carl LeVan is a political scientist specializing in comparative democracy, political institutions, and African politics. He is a Professor in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C., where his teaching and research focus on governance, representation, and security in Africa, with particular emphasis on Nigeria.

His most recent book, Contemporary Nigerian Politics: Competition in a Time of Transition and Terror (Cambridge University Press, 2019), provides an in-depth analysis of democratic change and political competition during a pivotal era in Nigeria’s development. He is also the co-editor, with Patrick Ukata, of The Oxford Handbook of Nigerian Politics(Oxford University Press, 2018), and the co-author (with Todd Eisenstadt and Tofigh Maboudi) of Constitutional Politics in Africa: Patterns of Reform, Political Discourse, and Institutional Change (Cambridge University Press, 2022), which examines the democratizing effects of participatory constitution-making since 1974.

Professor LeVan has published extensively on topics such as authoritarianism, coalition governments, the Boko Haram insurgency, and the challenges of democratic erosion in “post-truth” societies. His research and commentary have appeared on major international media platforms including CNN, PBS NewsHour, NPR, BBC World, Al Jazeera, and MSNBC.