Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Human Communications
Howard University
1990

Master of Science (M.S.)

Advertising
Northwestern University
1985

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Mass Communications
University of Nigeria
1981

Undergraduate Courses

SLMC 302 – Introduction to Sports Communication

SLMC 250 -- Introduction to Leadership and Management Communications.

COMC/SLMC 202 – Introduction to Communication Theory

COMC 214 – Elements of Persuasion

COMC 262 – Intercultural-Racial Communication

COMC 307 – Intra/Interpersonal Communication

COMC 353 – Organizational Communication: Leadership & Management 

COMC 410 – Conflict Management & Negotiation Strategy

COMC 490 – Communication Research Methods

CHON 300 – Honors Junior Research Seminar

CHON 400 – Honors Senior Research Seminar

Graduate Courses

CCMS 724 – Seminar in Leadership & Diversity 

CCMS 714  – Communication and the Black Diaspora

COMC 510 – Communication Theory II

COMC 591 – Communication Research Methods

COMC 702 – Qualitative Research Methods

COMC 706 – Communication Theory Building & Application

Nominated as Top Reviewer for the Sports Communication Interest Group of the International Communication Association (ICA), 2018

Howard University Administrator of the Year from the Howard University Students Association (HUSA), 2013

Nigeria: Observations before and during the World Cup

Nigeria: Observations before and during the World Cup

The World Cup is the pinnacle of Nigeria’s football participation. While it brings excitement to the country, it is intricately welded to politics at ethnic, national and international levels. What this paper investigatesis Nigeria’s relationship with World Cup football- and the intersection of this relationship at three levels of politics. It frames this relationship using theoretical lenses ofnationalism, pan-Africanism and post-coloniality. These frames help us to understand why Nigerians at the World Cup, support not just the Nigerian team but other African teams and teams with players of African heritage.

Rediscovering Mediatization of Sport

Rediscovering Mediatization of Sport

Throughout the last decade, the term “mediatization” has attracted a great deal of attention among a growing number of scholars with an interest in the media and sport nexus. The term indicates “all the transformations of communicative and social processes (…) which follow from our increasing reliance on technologically and institutionally based processes of mediation.” When studying mediatization, authors generally focus on the proliferation of communication media and how this influences long-term social change and structural transformations in almost all sectors of modern societies. The aim of this special issue is to introduce mediatization as an analytical concept and phenomenon in relation to sport, and to illustrate how it is culturally contextualized and can therefore play out in different ways. Thus, our intention is to introduce more geographic and cultural diversity to our scholarly knowledge about dependencies between media and sport and to show the consequences these dependencies may have.

Media Framing of Race and Football in Colonial Nigeria: 1914 to 1950s

Media Framing of Race and Football in Colonial Nigeria: 1914 to 1950s

This paper examines 41 Nigerian newspaper articles, selected purposively, from 1914 to 1953. The newspapers identify racial framing of football under British colonial rule. Although there are studies of colonial football in Nigeria, few address its interaction with racialization. The articles are selected from three Nigerian newspapers – Nigeria Pioneer, The Times of Nigeria, and the West African Pilot. The earlier Nigerian newspapers – Nigeria Pioneer and The Times of Nigeria – were prominent in the use of thematic frames such as European racial superiority, football as cultural superiority, and Nigeria’s physical performers and expressionism. On the other hand, the West African Pilot, established much later by and for Nigeria’s indigenous interest under colonial rule, challenged those conceptions. The findings demonstrate that inter-racial competition under colonial rule in Nigeria was racialized in the media. In addition, it also shows that media ownership interest was critical in reporting football and race during the period.

African footballers’ wives

African footballers’ wives: “Those paid in dollars and pounds, their head is not five!”

Marrying a footballer may be perceived as exotic, going by the popularity of footballers, but as some studies note, coping with lives of footballers who migrate frequently is challenging. Life as the wife of an itinerant footballer involves frequent relocations. But most of these studies rarely gain insights from wives; instead, they rely on secondary sources such as their husbands for insights on the wives’ and families’ lives. Nevertheless, the views of these women are important and contribute to a better understanding of their lives and those of their family. This study reports interviews of 17 wives of migrant footballers in Nigeria. The interview participants acknowledge stress in their life but they also tell stories of how they continue to cope with such stress using various modes of interaction with their environment. The socio-cultural environment has its impact on the type of coping strategies that the women choose to use. While the wives increasingly find coping strategies for the footballers’ absences, they also move towards loathing their husband’s work and career.

Interrogating internal migration of elite Nigerian footballers

Interrogating internal migration of elite Nigerian footballers

There is a growing body of academic studies on international migration of football labour. Most of the migrations occur as a result of economic disparities with footballers leaving poor economies, like Nigeria, in droves in search of better employment in the wealthy leagues. Although there is increasingly studies on internal or intra-national migration of footballers, few of them have addressed reasons why these footballers migrate. This study, using the unfolding theory of voluntary turnover, attempts to fill this gap. It investigates internal migrations of football labour in Nigeria in search of reasons for such migrations and also what drawbacks accompany such migrations. Information on such migrations may provide insights to the broader international migrations of football labour. The findings show six major reasons why players migrate and four drawbacks from migration.

Selected Books

Women's Football In Africa

This is the first book to take an in-depth look at women’s football in Africa. Exploring the history, contemporary landscape, and future development of the women’s game on the African continent, this book offers an important new perspective on the rise of women’s sport more broadly.

Barack Hussein Obama's Presidency: Rhetoric and Media Frames

This book presents research-based investigations of the communicative aspects of Barack Obama’s presidency, with a focus on ethnicity, gender, and culture as they interact with communication. It examines Obama’s rhetorical strengths, that also inform his visual rhetorical control, and looks beyond Obama’s messaging to examine how the news framed his presidency.

Donald Trump's Presidency: Communicating Race and Migration

This book captures Donald J. Trump’s presidency by addressing the remarkable tropes that defined that period. It offers research-based investigations of the communicative aspects of Trump’s presidency, with a focus on race, immigration, xenophobia, and social conflicts as they interact with communication.

Ethnicities: Media, Health, and Coping

This book brings ethnicities into focus by presenting contemporary ethnic discourses that capture and highlight disjuncture within the concept of the idealized “globalizing” world.

Africa’s Elite Football: Structure, Politics, and Everyday Challenges

This book explores various aspects of intranational elite football in Africa, drawing on the expertise of notable scholars from across the world.

Sport Communication: An International Approach

Sport is a global business. Now more than ever, sport communication professionals need to understand sport’s global reach in order to develop their full potential. This is the first textbook to introduce the fundamental principles and practice of sport communication from an international perspective. Combining business strategies with insights into social issues such as gender, disability and national identity, this is an accessible, practical and engaging guide to the essentials of sport communication.