My Motivation to Obtain a Degree in African Studies

I am honored to apply for the Masters of Arts in African Studies with a concentration in African colonization and modern politics. Africa has become a vital region in the world today with Her fast growing economic development and revolution in politics. Besides, I hail from Nigeria, and its political instabilities have grown since 2015 when I left the country to the United States for my undergraduate education. That’s one of the major reasons I decided to study African Studies in your university. I have my bachelor’s degrees in Global Studies (Political and Economic Development) and Political Science through Idaho State University. During my undergraduate coursework, I did some grounded research on political crisis within Nigeria and Africa. My areas of research were in Fundamentalism of Boko Haram in West African Region and Sino-African relations, my case study was in Chinese influence in Nigeria and Zimbabwe (analyzing and examining if the relations is good or bad and who benefits from its trade agreement). Application for the program was considered after several discussion and meeting with academic advisors and mentors. This is because I have seen it to be a valid tool for me in my quest to create a sustainable government in Nigeria and Africa in general. During the current senatorial election in Nigeria, I have been working with some of the candidates to see what each candidate would bring to their constituency. Furthermore, I was able to set up a foundation back in Nigeria last year, the goal of the foundation is eradication of poverty and sending young girls back to school together with sustainable basic and qualitative education in established institutions around the region. The foundation also create funds for women that want to start a small scale business to boost the local economy. The funds come from donors around the world, to help fund those business and I see the great effort is moving well as anticipated during our planning. The foundation wired her mind on synergizing efforts with some veritable drug agencies to help break the cycle of alcohol and substance abuse. In addition to that, the foundation sets a counselling ground for crucial conservations to put upcoming teenagers on the right track and set the pace.

The foundation provides education and professional training to the gifted and underserved kids in order to develop their vocational and soft skills to creates opportunities for upward economic mobility. Alongside it, the foundation has plans of providing job placement for graduating workforce through the development of sustained employment channels.

The foundation also renders assistance both directly and through establishing social welfare organization that will help rehabilitate women in distress, especially widows without any means of support and those neglected and ill-treated by their husbands or other members of their family to promote self-reliance.

In addition, I have worked with Idaho State University Student affairs to oversee the welfare of international students especially the African students in the community to create a good relations within the students, university and community. I’m currently a member of the student affairs advisory committee and I profoundly know I was invited to the committee to represent the African students and bring their concerns to the international parlance of the university authority. After my research and discussion with the Program director, it will be a great privilege to work with Professor Merle L Bowen (Ph. D. ) because she has conducted extensive research on Politics in Africa and the African diaspora. It will be a tremendous honour working with her, faculty and other course mate during my time in the program. I would be able to gain a valuable transferrable skill through the program to work with several African leaders and young Africans around the world starving to make a change within the continent.