LECTURE BY PROF. PETER ONI
Prof. Peter Oni a Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Lagos delivered a lecture on Wednesday, July 15, 2026
TOPIC: CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN STATES AND THE RESURGENCE OF COLONIAL DEATH-POWER: A CRITIQUE OF ACHILLE MBEMBE’S NECROPOLITICS
This paper interrogates Achille Mbembé’s theorization of contemporary African states as extensions of inherited colonial political structures. Drawing upon Michel Foucault’s concept of biopower, Mbembé illustrates how, within these states, life is subordinated to the power of death, manifested through fragmented sovereignties, mineral enclaves, and the banality of power, among other modalities.
His exposition of African political spaces, wherein citizens are rendered expendable “living dead,” opens a critical vista for understanding the dynamics of hidden state violence, marginalization, injustice, and inequality.
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