UI Lecturer Wins 2025 Rahamon Bello Best Thesis Award

A lecturer at the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan, Dr. Oluseyi Obateru, has been declared winner of the 2025 Rahamon Bello Award for best Ph.D thesis in African Studies.
The Director, Institute of African and Diaspora Studies (IADS), University of Lagos, Prof. Ayo Yusuf, announced this while briefing journalists on Monday in Lagos.
He stated that the winner’s thesis is titled: ‘Dynamics of Urban Landscape Structure and its Impact on Ecosystem Services in the Rainforest and Guinea Savanna Ecoregions of Nigeria’.
According to him, Obateru’s thesis was an important contribution to the growing sub-field of urban environmental studies, with a focus on Guinea Savanna ecoregions of Nigeria.
He added that the literature was well tackled, with the review exploring various relevant dimensions of the topic.
Yusuf stated that mixed methods are employed and well explained, showing good theoretical grasp of the subject matter.
“The thesis not only contributes to the knowledge of the ecosystems of the focus region, but also contributes importantly to the methodology of the field.
“It is a well written and accessible work. It also appropriately employs the technical register of the field. The additional technical integration and finesse recommend it to the top of the pack in this competition,” he stated.
Obateru was supervised by Professors Apollonia Okhimamhe, Olutoyin Fashae and Dr. Christopher Conrad.
The IADS director also named Tholithemba Nombulelo Shange, from South Africa, as the first runner-up for the award.
He said that Shange’s thesis is titled: ‘Identity and Environmental Harmony as Practiced by Table Mountain Doctors; A Struggle Over Land and African Healing Systems.”
Prof Yusuf said Nombulelo, supervised by Prof. Pearl Mpilenhle Sithole, is relevant to Africa and the conceptions of space, spirituality and healing.
“It examines the life and identity of the Table Mountain doctors of South Africa. The thesis relates their struggles on the issue of healing herbs and related conflicts.
“It employs a mixed method approach, which is a combination of ethnography, grounded theory, engaged heritage institutions and archives and ‘thick descriptive’ approaches.
“These approaches do need to be delineated technically. The thesis contributes the ukuthunywa approach, which the author links to the ubuntu and which seems akin to participatory action research,” he said.
According to him, the literature is well explored, though the extensive literature on African indigenous knowledge systems seems restricted to only three sources, including the author’s works, in the thesis.
He added that the thesis was written in accessible narrative style, though the technical register of the field was not much evident.
The director also announced Abdullahi Babagana, a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, as the second runner-up. His thesis is titled: ‘Analysis of Terrorist Attack Places in Maiduguri, Nigeria’.
According to Prof. Yusuf, the thesis investigates how Maiduguri’s urban form, street network and place-based attributes, contribute to terrorist target selection and attack concentration, providing spatial intelligence crucial for urban resilience and proactive planning.
“The thesis is particularly topical in view of the ongoing and escalating terrorist attacks in Nigeria. It is also an important contribution that is critical for urban planning and urban security in Africa.
“Mixed methods are employed, including the use of the Risk Terrain model and many others; a well explained multidimensional perspective. The thesis is well written, with an appropriate title,” he said.
The directed announced that the award presentation ceremony would hold on December 4, at the institute.