School of Criminology

Professor Fidelis Allen

Honorary FellowProfessor Fidelis Allen

Fidelis Allen, a professor of Development Studies in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Port Harcourt, has been involved in numerous policy and advocacy-based consultancy, research, and evaluation projects.  He had obtained his Doctor of Philosophy  in Political Science from the  University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where he won Canada’s International Development Research Centre’s  Doctoral Award and the University’s Scholarship.  Allen was hired as the lead researcher on a European Union-funded project on climate change, insecurity, and conflict in the Niger Delta, Togo, and Senegal in 2022 as part of the project "Coping with Climate Change as a Cause of Conflict in Coastal Areas of West Africa." This project was delivered to inform decisions about interventions in communities by a consortium of four non-governmental organizations in Nigeria, Ghana, and Europe. In 2020, he received Nigeria's National Research Grant (TETFUND) to study social cohesion in Nigeria. He has served twice as a non-residential Research Fellow at the African Polling Institute in Abuja on Nigeria's Social Cohesion research project, funded by the Ford Foundation. He was also a co-recipient of Nigeria's National Research Grant (TETFUND) to explore new perspectives on oil theft, resource governance, and Nigeria's Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).

He was a Letsema Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Pan-African Studies and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg in 2022. He received South Africa's National Research Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship in 2011 to research environmental social movement activities in South Africa and the Niger Delta. He is currently helping to assess the quality and impact of research portfolios for certain applicants at the organisation. Allen served two terms as director of the University of Port Harcourt's Centre for Conflict and Gender Studies where his roles included quality assurance and leading funded research on youth and women. Allen received a written commendation from the university's top management for outstanding performance. He also served as Head of the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the same university. Allen was a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Environmental Futures at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, where he researched and delivered a paper on local knowledge and climate adaptation in Niger Delta communities. He has examined PhD, Master's, and undergraduate students from several universities, including the University of Nigeria, Babcock University, University of Johannesburg, University of Pretoria, University of the Witwatersrand, Northwest University Mafikeng, and Niger Delta University.

Allen is a member of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators in Nigeria. He has a successful practice with cases involving environmental and commercial disputes between communities and corporations in the Niger Delta. He is a registered neutral party with the Rivers State Multidoor Courthouse. 

Selected Publications

Edited books

  1. Allen, F., & Amadi, L. (Eds.). (2022). Decolonizing colonial development models in Africa: A new postcolonial critique. Lexington Books.
  2. Allen, F., & Amadi, L. (Eds.). (2022). Global food politics and approaches to sustainable consumption: Emerging research and opportunities. I.G.I. Global Publisher.
  3. Allen, F. (Ed.). (2011). Public policy analysis. Shapea Publishers Nigeria Limited.

Journal Articles

  1. Allen, F. (2023). Trends in environmental activism. International Political Science Abstracts, 73(4), 511-522.
  2. Allen, F. (2023). The U.K., U.S., and Mauritius: A clash of interests. Pan-African Conversations, 1(2), 131-138.
  3. Amadi, L. A., Allen, F., & Mai-Bornu, Z. L. (2023). Democracy, separatist agitation and militarised state response in Southeast Nigeria. Review of African Political Economy. https://doi.org/10.1080/03056244.2023.2174846
  4. Amaso, B., & Allen, F. (2023). The United States’ recognition of Jerusalem and power projection in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Journal of Political and Administrative Studies, 120-130.
  5. Allen, F. (2023). Nigeria: Decolonial climate change adaptation and conflict, evidence from coastal communities of the Niger Delta. Conflict Studies Quarterly (42), 3-23.
  6. Mai-Bornu, L. Z. & Allen, F. (2022). Chosen trauma, emotions and memory in movements: The Ogoni and Ijaw in the Niger Delta. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies, 13(2 & 3).
  7. Allen, F. (2021). COVID-19 and sexual and reproductive health of women and girls in Nigeria. Cosmopolitan Civil Societies, 13(2).
  8. Chide, P. I., & Allen, F. (2021). Diaspora remittances, child-soldiers and insurgency in Somalia. Journal of Political and Administrative Studies, 2 & 3, 87-120.
  9. Ojirika, C. U., & Allen, F. (2021). Internal party democracy, the National Assembly and good governance in Nigeria. Journal of Political and Administrative Studies, 2 & 3, 274-285.
  10. Agbedi, F. Y., & Allen, F. (2020). Oversight functions of the National Assembly in Nigeria: Issues and challenges. Journal of Political and Administrative Studies, 1(1), 97-112. University of Port Harcourt.
  11. Ekong, J. P., & Allen, F. (2019). Citizen’s participation in political and development process in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria (1999-2019). Journal of Political and Administrative Studies, 1(1), 1-10. University of Port Harcourt.
  12. Allen, F., & Eze, P. (2019). Achieving sustainable development goals in the Niger Delta: A corporate social responsibility pathway. European Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 3(4).
  13. Allen, F. (2015). Partnership for peace: Tackling the threats and raising the prospects for peace in Rivers State. Advances in Social Sciences Research, 3(2).
  14. Allen, F. (2015). Climate capitalism and failure of policy: The real threat to human security. In Proceedings of the First National Conference of the Centre for Niger Delta Studies, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, December 2-3.
  15. Allen, F. (2015). The state of climate justice movement in South Africa. Capitalism Nature and Socialism, 26(2), 46-57. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, U.S.A.
  16. Allen, F., & others. (2015). Transparent youth empowerment schemes: A tool for conflict mitigation and peacebuilding in Nigeria. African Conflict Profile, 2(3), 19-35.
  17. Allen, F., Barikor, I., Gilbert, L. D., Akutson, S., & Yacob-Haliso, O. (2014). Is United States of Africa through federalism possible? Port Harcourt Journal of Social Science, 5(1 & 2), 63-73.
  18. Allen, F. (2012/13). The enemy within: Oil in the Niger Delta. World Policy Journal, 29(Winter), 46-74.
  19. Allen, F. (2012). Oil and security in the Gulf of Guinea: Reflections on the external and domestic linkages. Journal of Sustainable Development, 5(4), 132-140.
  20. Allen, F. (2012). Niger Delta oil fires, illegal pollution and oppression. In Centre for Civil Society and Dartmouth College Climate Justice Research Project, The C.D.M. in Africa Cannot Deliver the Money (pp. 47-52). Available at: www.cdm-africa.org
  21. Allen, F. (2012). Planning the urban future of Port Harcourt: Limitations of the neo-liberal approach. Niger Delta Research Digest, 5.
  22. Allen, F., & Lucky, D. (2012). Natural disasters, state response and human rights: Reflections on impact of the 2012 flooding on the Niger Delta. Niger Delta Research Digest, 6(1), 119-141.
  23. Uzodike-Okeke, U., Allen, F., & Whetto, A. (2010). Making Nigerian federalism work: Fixing the democracy deficit. Loyola Journal of Social Sciences, 24(2), 163-185.
  24. Allen, F., & Uzodike-Okeke, U. (2010). Oil, politics and conflict in the Niger Delta: A nonkilling analysis. Africa Peace and Conflict Journal, 3(2), 32-43.
  25. Allen, F. (2010). Social movements. In International Encyclopaedia of Political Science (pp. 1562-1565). Washington, DC: Sage Publications.
  26. Allen, F. (2009). Irregular forces and security in the Niger Delta. Journal of International and Peace Studies, 7(8), 33-54.
  27. Ojakorotu, V., & Allen, F. (2009). From authoritarian rule to “democracy” in Nigeria: Citizens’ welfare a myth or reality. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 1(2), 152-192.
  28. Allen, F. (2007). Ethnicity: On-going debates, policy implication and prospects for democratic local government system. Journal of Development Studies, 3(1), 96-116.
  29. Allen, F., & Ekine, C. (2004). Federalism in Nigeria: Reflections on restructuring 1985-1993. Niger Delta Journal of Development Studies, 3(1), 395-399.
  30. Allen, F. (2002). Nigeria foreign policy on the Middle East 1960-1990. Journal of Geographic Thought, 4(1), 54-63. University of Port Harcourt.
  31. Allen, F. (2001). Oil and gas pollution management policy and the development of the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta Journal of Development Studies, 1(1), 140-156.
  32. Allen, F. (2002). Electoral governance in Nigeria. The Niger Delta Journal of Development Studies, 2(1), 287-292.
  33. Allen, F. (1998). Ethnicity and federalism: The Nigerian experience. Journal of Nigerian Affairs, 3(2), 20-25. 

Chapters in Books

  1. Allen, F. (2023). Africa can nourish herself. In N. Bassey (Ed.), Politics of turbulent waters: Reflections on ecological, environmental and climate crises in Africa (pp. 100-103). Health of Mother Earth Foundation.
  2. Allen, F. (2022). Violence, politics and food insecurity in Nigeria (pp.1094-1111). In Research anthology on strategies for achieving agricultural sustainability. IGI Global Publishers.
  3. Allen, F., & Amadi, L. (2022). Introduction. In F. Allen & L. Amadi (Eds.), Decolonizing colonial development models in Africa: A new postcolonial critique (pp. vii-1). Lexington Books.
  4. Allen, F., & Ogbe, J. E. (2022). Agricultural policy and food security in Nigeria: An appraisal of the ban on rice importation, 2015-2020. In C.-R. Cherji, A. Pop, & C. Sandu (Eds.), Conflict and climate change (pp. 34-45). Accent.
  5. Amaso, B., & Allen, F. (2022). Water management in the West Bank: Implications on Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In C.-R. Cherji, A. Pop, & C. Sandu (Eds.), Conflict and climate change (pp. 63-76).Accent.
  6. Allen, F. (2020). Institutional mechanisms for advancing the course of women in oil-producing communities of Nigeria: Reflections on the Women Non-State Network Pathway. In B. Anam & A. Ogbuagu (Eds.), Gender perspectives in development. Advanced Publishers, Nigeria.
  7. Allen, F. (2018). Politics of state/oil multinational alliance and security response. In E. N. Prince (Ed.), The political ecology of oil and gas activities in the Nigerian aquatic ecosystem (pp. 295-305). Elsevier Inc.
  8. Allen, F. (2016). Decolonizing African political science and the question of relevance of the discipline for development. In S. J. Ndlov-Gatsheni & S. Zondi (Eds.), Decolonizing the university: Knowledge systems and discipline in Africa (pp. 181-192). Carolina Academic Press.
  9. Allen, F. (2016). Book review. In V. E. Nweke (Ed.), Adjudication and other strategies of conflict resolution in Nigeria: Essays in honour of Honourable Justice Chukwuneneye Ichegbo Uriri, Retired Judge of High Court of Rivers State (pp. 260-263).Pearl Publishers International Limited.
  10. Allen, F. (2015). Governance and violent struggle for power in Mali: Implications for Nigeria. In S. K. Ewusi (Ed.), Peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa: African perspectives (pp. 116-159). UPEACE Africa Programme.
  11. Allen, F. (2015). Status analysis of renewable energy resources in Nigeria. In G. U. Ojo (Ed.), Climate change and energy democracy: A pathway to development.Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria.
  12. Allen, F. (2014). Police brutality in Nigeria: Political context and forms. In D. E. Agwanwo (Ed.), A political economy of policing in Nigeria, Volume 1 (pp. 139-150).Aboki Publishers.
  13. Allen, F. (2013). Political killings and violent conflict in Nigeria. In J. Evans Pim (Ed.), Nonkilling security and the state (pp. 375-388).Center for Global Nonkilling.
  14. Allen, F. (2013). Climate-justice-driven social movements: Alternative development forces or agents of change in Africa. In N. S. Sylla (Ed.), Rethinking development (pp. 129-154).Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.
  15. Allen, F. (2011). Theories, models and issues in public policy analysis. In F. Allen (Ed.), Public policy analysis.Shapea Publishers Nigeria Limited.
  16. Allen, F. (2011). Understanding public policy and public policy analysis. In F. Allen (Ed.), Public policy analysis.Shapea Publishers Nigeria Limited.
  17. Alapiki, H., & Allen, F. (2007). Oil and democracy in Nigeria: Oiling the friction? In B. O. Chokor & A. O. Ozo (Eds.), Environment and society in Nigeria (pp. 163-261). Environment and Behaviour Association of Nigeria.
  18. Allen, F. (2005). Electoral governance in Nigeria: Comparing the role of the civil society and incumbent political parties. In G. Onu & A. Momoh (Eds.), Elections and democratic consolidation in Nigeria (pp. 316-325). Nigerian Political Science Association.
  19. Allen, F. (2005). Nationalism, ethnicity and democratic consolidation in Nigeria. In J. Tournon & R. Maiz (Eds.), Ethnicity and politics (pp. 309-335).L’Harmattan.
  20. Allen, F., & Okeke-Uzodike, U. (2005). Making Nigerian federalism work: Fixing the democracy deficit. In W. O. Ali (Ed.), Federalism and the national question in Nigeria (pp. 163-175).Nigerian Political Science Association.
  21. Allen, F. (2004). Issues in public policies in Nigeria. In H. Alapiki (Ed.), Modernisation and development in Africa (pp. 59-85). Amethyst and Colleagues Publishers.

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