Claude Ake

Claude Ake (18 February 1939 in Omoku – 7 November 1996) was a Nigerian political scientist from Omoku, in Rivers State, Nigeria. Ake (pronounced AH-kay) 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 (United States), 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.

Academic career Before becoming a dean at Port Harcourt, he taught at universities in Canada, Kenya and Tanzania.

At Yale, he taught two political science courses—one, called State in Africa, which was for undergraduates and graduate students, and another for undergraduates, about aspects of development and the state in Africa. He added that Ake "was not only, in my view, the top African political scientist, but an extraordinarily courageous person. The Nigerian Government was often at odds with him, and nevertheless, they recognized his stature." doing so to protest the execution of a minority rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa. Ake was a critic of Shell and the oil industry. 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. The center is a think-tank for social and environmental research. It also played a practical role, functioning in the early 1990s as an honest broker concerning oil revenues and environmental issues between local officials and representatives of several minority groups in the oil-producing area in southeastern Nigeria.

Ake was one of 144 people killed when ADC Airlines Flight 86 between Port Harcourt and Lagos in Nigeria crashed. most popular for directing the video for This Is America by Donald Glover (Childish Gambino).

Claude Ake Visiting Chair at Uppsala University 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. The Chair is open to social scientists researching at African universities on issues related to war, peace, conflict resolution, human rights, democracy and development on the African continent.

Selected works Social Sciences as Imperialism (1979) Revolutionary Pressures in Africa (1978) A Political Economy of Africa (1981) The Unique Case of African democracy, International Affairs, April 1993. Democracy and Development in Africa (1996) The Feasibility of Democracy in Africa (2000 - published posthumously)https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/19/world/claude-ake-57-nigerian-scholar-and-activist.html