Ibrahim Anoba

Ibrahim sitting down in chair with a book on his lap and carrying a microphone in one hand. He is wearing glasses and multi-colored cultural garments.

D.E. in African Diaspora Studies
History Graduate Group

Ibrahim Anoba is a doctoral student of African history in pursuit of a designated emphasis in African and African American studies at the University of California, Davis. He was born and raised between Lagos Island and Ikorodu. Ibrahim is an African affairs analyst with media interests in human rights and the political economy of modern Africa. His broad academic research interest is in the evolution and responses of Yoruba social institutions to European colonization in the nineteenth century.

Selected published works

1. Anoba, I. B. (2022) "Odù Ifá in Transition: Contemplating Boundary Mechanisms in Discursive and Critical Appreciation of the Ifá Corpus," Journal of Religion in Africa vol. 52, no. 1, 195-219.

2. Anoba, I. B. (2022) "Africa shall stretch her hands unto God: Ethiopianism as a Pan-African Religious Freedom Movement (1880–1940)," Journal of Church and State vol. 64, no. 1, 42-65.

3. Anoba, I. B. (2021) "Pan-Africanism: A History, by Hakim Adi," book review, African Historical Review, 1-3.

4. ibrahim Bàbátúndé Anọ́ba, (editor) The Future of Democracy in Africa: Voices from Leading African Think Tanks, (Lagos: Kachifo, 2025).

5. ibrahim Bàbátúndé Anọ́ba, “Cyber History: Homespun Historians, Ethnonationalism, and Recasting Yorùbá Oral Traditions in the Age of Social Media,” History in Africa, Volume 50, May 2023, pages 155–181: DOI.

6. ibrahim Bàbátúndé Anọ́ba, “Odù Ifá in Transition: Contemplating Boundary Mechanisms in Discursive and Critical Appreciation of the Ifá Corpus,” Journal of Religion in Africa, Volume 52, Issue 1, 2022, pages 195–219: DOI.

7. ibrahim Bàbátúndé Anọ́ba, “Africa Shall Stretch Her Hands Unto God: Ethiopianism as a Pan-African Religious Freedom Movement (1880–1940),”  Journal of Church and State, Volume 64, Issue 1, Winter 2022, pages 42–67: DOI.

8. ibrahim Bàbátúndé Anọ́ba, Review of Letters, Kinship, and Social Mobility in Nigeria by Olufemi Vaughan, in African Studies Review: DOI.

9. ibrahim Bàbátúndé Anọ́ba, Review of Pan-Africanism: A History by Hakim Adi, in Africa Historical Review: DOI.

10. ibrahim Bàbátúndé Anọ́ba, “Africa does not need China’s ‘Debt-Trap’ Belt and Road Initiative to Develop,” The International Affairs Review (George Washington University), October 2021.

11. ibrahim Bàbátúndé Anọ́ba, “How a Population of 4.2 Billion Could Impact Africa by 2100: The Possible Economic, Demographic, and Geopolitical Outcomes,” SAIS Review of International Affairs (Johns Hopkins University), 24 September 2019.

Education and Degree(s)
  • Doctor of Philosophy (candidate), African History with Designated Emphasis in African Diaspora Studies. University of California, Davis
  • Master of Arts, African History, University of California, Davis
  • Master of Research (with distinction), History of Africa and the African Diaspora. University of Chichester
  • Bachelor of Science (with Honors), Political Science. Olabisi Onabanjo University
Honors and Awards
  • The Huntington Library: Exchange Fellowship at the University of Birmingham
  • Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University: Humane Studies Fellowship (summer research)
  • New York Public Library: Short-Term Fellowship Award, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
  • Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University: Melville J. Herskovits Library Research Grant
  • The Bancroft Library at the University of California: Bancroft Library Summer Study Award, Berkeley
  • American Society for Legal History: Student Research Colloquium travel support
  • Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives: Lynn E. May Jr. Study Grant
  • Hoover Institution at Stanford University: Silas Palmer Fellowship
  • Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University: Michael & Andrea Leven Fellowship (summer award for early doctoral research)
  • Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University: Humane Studies Fellowship (publication grant)
  • Professors for the Future Fellowship Program and Award, University of California, Davis, Office of Graduate
  • History Department, University of California, Davis: Departmental Winter Research Travel Award
  • College of Letters and Science, University of California, Davis: Graduate Research Award
  • Office of Graduate Studies, University of California, Davis: Michael G. Lee and Patricia Spears Lee Family Award
  • Office of Graduate Studies: 2024/2025 Continuing Student Fellowships
  • History Department, University of California, Davis: Departmental Summer Research Award
  • Shields Library, University of California: Graduate Student Library Prize
  • History Department, University of California, Davis: Departmental Spring Conference Travel Award
  • History Department, University of California, Davis: Emile Scholz Prize for most outstanding second-year graduate student research paper in history
  • College of Letters and Science, University of California, Davis: Dean Fellowship (summer research grant)
  • History Department, University of California, Davis: Reed-Smith Summer Research Award
  • History Department, University of California, Davis: Departmental Conference Travel Grant
  • History Department, University of California, Davis: Five-Year Doctoral Fellowship.