The editorial board sets the editorial agenda and periodically reviews the performance of the magazine and ezines (electronic magazines) vis-a-vis contents, social responsibility and ability to reflect the total African character. The board is multi disciplinary and composed of persons, appointed strictly on merit, who have distinguished themselves either as Africans or as experts on African issues. They are all people who are committed to the development of the continent and its people.
Jean Herskovits is Professor of History at the State University of New York at Purchase, where she specialises in African history and politics, having previously taught at Brown University, Swarthmore College, City College of the City University of New York. She holds a D.Phil. in African history from Oxford University.
Her particular interests have been in Nigerian history and politics, U.S. policy towards Africa, and development and security challenges in Southern Africa, later broadened to sub-regional security issues in Southern and West Africa. In that connection, she is co-author of the final report of that project, Militaries, Democracies, and Security in Southern Africa (1997), and author of the subsequent conference report, Militaries, Democracies, and Security in Southern Africa (1998), both published by the International Peace Academy. She has also testified frequently on Nigeria before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Africa subcommittee and the House International Relations Committee's Africa subcommittee.
In December 1998 she became a director of the Lagos-based United Bank for Africa, Plc. She is also a director of the Near East Foundation, based in New York; on the national council of the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists; and chairs the international advisory board of the Shehu Shagari World Institute, founded by Nigeria's first elected president. She has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations since 1976.
Dinguri Nicholas Mwaniki, an economist and policy analyst, is a pan-African and businessman with over 30 years experience mostly in African, Americas and Europe. He holds an MA and Ph.D both in economics from Stanford University, California. His career spans three areas. Firstly in academia and research for approximately 12 years: he taught at the Stanford, California, University system and at the University of Nairobi, rising to the level of an associate professor. Secondly, in international organisations such as the United Nations and the World Bank Group. He has spent many years as a professional, consultant and a member of global high level committees. Thirdly, he has been a businessman and an investor both in Africa and Americas.
Mwaniki has been a member representing the African perspective at the global CGIAR, Private Sector Committee, World Bank, Washington, DC. He is chairman of African Development Alliance, Pretoria/Johannesburg, South Africa and the executive chair of the Coda Corporation Group, world-wide. Professor Mwaniki lives and works from various residences and offices in Africa and United States, including Sandton, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya and New York, United States.
Uju Agomoh is a human rights and penal reform advocate. She is involved in monitoring human rights violations within the justice system and promotion of the agenda for penal reform. Her work includes training, information provision, research, documentation and provision of support services to prisoners, ex-prisoners, torture victims and their families. She has been involved in visits and assessment to more than 60 prisons in Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda and the Gambia. Her work in the field of prison decongestion led to the release of more than 8,000 prisoners in Nigeria between September 1998 and September 1999. Also, she has been instrumental to the development of the Penal Reform Media Network (PERMNET).
She is the founder and executive director, Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), national co-ordinator, national NGO Coalition on Penal Reform, West African regional co-ordinator, African Network Against Torture (ANAT), the President, Women Self Support Program (WSP), and General Secretary of the Association of British Council Fellows (ABCF). She has worked as a lecturer at both the University of Lagos and the Lagos State University. Uju holds three masters' degrees including an M.Phil. in criminology from the University of Cambridge, UK.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Patrick Wilmot obtained a bachelor's degree from Yale and later an MA and Ph.D in philosophy from Vanderbilt, all in the United States. He taught sociology at Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria for 18 years. In 1988, the military government of Ibrahim Babangida deported him from the country for taking more than a passing interest in the way the country was being (mis) ruled by the military despite the fact that he has a Nigerian wife. Patrick has written more than 10 books including In Search of Nationhood (Lantern Books); Sociology: a New Introduction (Collins), and Apartheid and African Liberation (Ife University Press). Patrick now lives in London assessing manuscripts for the African writers series and the Caribbean writers series published by Heinemann. He is a member of council of the African Centre, London and Transparency International.
Patrick Orr is the executive chairman of Raitt Orr, a London based public relations firm with interests in Africa. Patrick has a long history of personal association with Africa. He was information adviser to the Sudanese government between 1974 and 1982 and the only non-Kenyan director of the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation (1975 - 1980). Since 1988, he has been public relations adviser to Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. He is also adviser to the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi, Kenya as well as Japan International Co-operation Agency, London. Patrick is a member of the Africa Committee of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Lawrie Douglas joined the BBC after service in the Royal and Merchant Navies. He left the BBC in 1968 to study for a degree in Russian regional studies at the School of Slavonic Studies, University of London. He also holds a master's degree in British labour history. In 1971, he joined Reuters News Agency to help found its radio news department. Two years later, Lawrie moved to the London Broadcasting Company to start Britain's first 24-hour news and current affairs radio station. He was successively, news bulletin writer, audio editor, network editor, programme producer, editor and programme sequence editor.
Since leaving the LBC in 1995 he has worked mainly for BBC World 's 'Hardtalk' programme. He taught the radio module of the Communications BA Honours Course at Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge for two years. He has also taught young journalists from emerging countries for Radio Nederlands in Holland. Lawrie co-wrote: A guide to Commercial Radio Journalism (Focal Press 1999)
