Dr. Ndidi Nwaneri

That I ended up an overeducated social justice academic and professional should be attributed to my passion for both social justice and intellectual pursuits. I was born and raised in Nigeria, the fifth child of a family of seven. Although I did not lack necessities, my family was lower than ‘middle class’. I obtained my basic – primary and secondary school – education from the Nigerian public school system.

I became an avid reader very early in life. Books were an escape from a family, community and society that normalized abuse and other forms of social injustice. What irked me the most was not so much the injustice itself as its normalization. I was deeply bothered by the manner of thinking or the “philosophies” that grounded my society. The “irk” has propelled and fuelled my professional and academic career.

I wear my background as a badge of honor. I am proud of the fact that I never accepted or normalized injustice and have in fact, built a career in the pursuit of both social and global equity.

I hold a 1998 B.Sc. in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria, as well as a 2009 M.A. in Philosophy and Social Policy from the George Washington University, Washington D.C. I also hold a 2018 Ph.D. in Social and Political Philosophy from Loyola University Chicago. After my undergraduate training, I built a career in rural development and NGO management, from which I moved to public policy, and then on to academic research in global justice.

I currently work as a public policy and social development consultant. My academic interests include the intersections of technology and economic development, as well as global equity and existential risk research. I am also interested in African art, religion and medicine, as an avenue into African persons and philosophies.

My educational and professional interests have taken me to many parts of the world. I wrote my dissertation on two research fellowships in Germany. In addition to Nigeria, I have studied and worked in Cameroon, Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, Costa Rica and Cuba.

These opportunities have enabled me develop expertise in diverse fields and areas of knowledge. I have expertise in social and international development as well as public policy. I am fluent in Igbo, Yoruba and English, with some working knowledge of French. I am also a good orator but a better writer and researcher. I am passionate about fitness and The Arts, and aspire to become a Salsa dancer.

I live in Abuja, Nigeria.