Draft:Ibrahim Bangura

• Comment: See WP:BLP. Statements, starting with the date of birth, need to be sourced or removed. Greenman (talk) 10:18, 17 December 2024 (UTC)

• Comment: Please use only the family name instead of the full name after the first instance of the full name, per WP:MOS
  I have renamed "Footnotes" to "References" for you. "Ibid" will never work here, not ever. If someone else interposes a further reference between Ibid and the reference then the wrong thing will be Ibid-ed.
  I have run a ckeanup process which has extracted all inline links and turned them into potential references, but I make absolutely no judgement on whether they might be acceptable 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 09:54, 7 December 2024 (UTC)

• Comment: This is hs resumé, not an article about him 🇺🇦 Fiddle^Timtrent Faddle^Talk to me 🇺🇦 22:28, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

• Comment: Where does all this information come from? It's not cited? See the referencing tutorial at WP:INTREFVE qcne (talk) 11:16, 5 December 2024 (UTC)

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Ibrahim Bangura (September 21, 1980) is a Sierra Leonean academic and aspiring politician. Known widely to his peers as IB, Bangura is an accomplished and widely published academic in the fields of youth, governance, human rights, gender and security. An Associate Professor in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, Dr Bangura is also a 2024 Afox Fellow of the University of Oxford. Dr Bangura is a muslim and a father to Petra.

Early Years

Bangura was born on September 21, 1980 in Freetown, Sierra Leone to Mr Mohamed Lainkuray Bangura (widely known within All People's Congress circles as ML) and the late Madam Fatoumata Binta Balde (may her gentle soul rest in peace). Bangura represents a long history of interethnic and cultural diversity in the sub-region as his father hails from Mambolo, Kambia District in Northwest Sierra Leone, and mother a Fullah/Susu with roots in neighbouring Guinea from the Sompare clan. The late Madam Fatomata Binta Balde spent most of her life in Sierra Leone where she gave birth to Bangura and Unisa before immigrating to the United States where she later succumbed to breast cancer in 2009. Madam Fatomatu Binta Balde was a major influence on Bangura's growing interest in gender (in)equality and the need for greater participation and access to public services for women. Dr Bangura is therefore a product of ethnic and cultural diversity with deep values for ethnic diversity, equal opportunities and gender equity.

Bangura was raised in the central district of Freetown (precisely Circular Road and Horton Street). He started school at the young age of 4 at the Cathedral Boys School. In 1990, Bangura took the National Selective Entrance Examination and gained entrance into the Government Rokel Secondary School, a school where he formed relationships with people that are still among his closest friends. He completed his high school education at the St Edward's Secondary School in Freetown, a leading Catholic run school for mostly boys. His years in St. Edward's Secondary School saw Bangura distinguished himself as an eloquent speaker (with a good command of the English language) marking himself out as a keen debater and literary scholar. At St Edwards, Bangura developed a penchant for books and became a rabid reader of the biographies of pan-Africanist leaders, the likes of Nelson Mandela, Che Guevara, Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara to name a few. At St Edward's, he excelled in literature, history and government and during which developed interests in the works of Leo Tolstoy, George Orwell, Alexander Pushkin, Henry Kissinger, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Chinua Achebe, and Mariama Ba.

Teenage Year - The Civil War - 1991-2002

Bangura's teenage years were shaped by the decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone. Experiencing the bloody civil war which was characterised by mass displacements, hunger, murder and dislocation was traumatic at worst and brought Bangura and many other Sierra Leoneans to the margins of poverty and survival. From sharing a small cubicle with seven displaced relatives and sometimes total strangers, years of school closer to foraging for food was a major source of resilience for Bangura.

The civil war and eventual state collapse in 1999 in Sierra Leone exposed Bangura to the brutal realities of how the lack of democratic good governance, political alienation, and marginalisation especially of youth can undermine the stability and peace of the state and society. The near death experiences, especially during the bloody January 6 invasion of Freetown where Bangura and his family were in communities captured by the Revolutionary United Fronts (RUF) with bombs falling in nearby houses and bullets flying all over the place, is a defining moment of Bangura's early childhood experience.

The experience of the civil war also shaped Bangura's empathetic view of people affected by conflict including victims, perpetrators, refugees, migrants and aid workers. It was an experience that was later to shape Bangura's perception of the world and reinforced his conviction in democratic good governance, human rights, equality and social justice. A conviction that became career pursuit as Bangura went on to work with ex-combatants, people affected by conflict and institutions rebuilding societies in and out of conflict in over two dozen countries in Africa and South America. His academic works on subjects of youth marginality, gender equality, good governance, human rights, security, violent extremism and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, are no doubt rooted in his early teenage experiences of the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Education

Bangura is a distinguished alumnus of three prestigious Universities in Sierra Leone, Netherlands and Germany. In 2004, Bangura graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science after four years of academic tuition and scholarship at the Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone famously known as the Athens of West Africa; one of the first universities in colonial British West Africa. At Fourah Bay College, Bangura studied under some of the most eminent Sierra Leonean academics of the likes of Joe. A. D. Alie and the enigmatic Dr. Rev. L.E.T. Shyllon to name but a few. Bangura's years at Fourah Bay College was characterised by academic brilliance and political socialisation where he became a member of the Auradicals Club and Foreign Minister of the Students' Union Government. Bangura also led the All Peoples Congress (APC) Students Association and played a key role in canvassing the party into electoral victory in 2007; a role he played with exceptional aplomb that he became known widely during this period as Comrade APC! A keen socialite with a gentle persona who cut across the social and political divides, Bangura made many friends during his time at Fourah Bay College.

A year after his bachelors, Bangura followed his passion, enrolled and graduated with a Master of Art in Gender Studies in 2007. This was a significant achievement at the time as Sierra Leone had just emerged out of a heinous civil war and was contending with the residual issues of violence against women, patriarchy and male gerontocracy. The MA in Gender Studies was an important pedestal that enabled Bangura to contribute to the constant public discourse and gyrations in a society trying to guarantee protection of women and girls and enhance their status as equal citizens after decades of inequality and marginalisation.

In 2010, Bangura secured the Amsterdam Merits Award to study for a Master in International Development Studies at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. While undertaking his studies at the University of Amsterdam, Bangura started his doctoral studies in Economics at the HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. His supervisors were renowned German economists Prof. Dr. Arnis Vilks and Prof. Dr. Andreas Suchanek. He completed his studies in 2013.

Early Political Career

Bangura was born and raised in a home with undoubtedly strong links with the All Peoples Congress. During his early childhood, Bangura witnessed his father's involvement in politics as the Secretary General of the National Youth League of the party. ML Bangura was a close ally of the then Vice president Sorie Bangura Koroma (Popularly known as SI Koroma). His dad rose through the ranks with multiple positions including the National Organising Secretary of the party from 2007 to 2009.

With his father's strong political ties in the APC, Bangura early on had access to some of the Party's most influential leaders such as Edward Mohamed Turay, Abdul Serry-Kamal, Abdul Karim Koroma (author of the Agony of Nation) and Dr. Abdullai Conteh. Bangura's tutelage at the feet of some the doyens of the APC at the time, was instructive to his political education and access that was later to become a source of strength.

As some of his peers would say, Bangura never joined the APC, he was born and bred in the APC. His gentle persona, humility, and peacebuilding and reconciliation credentials have  always helped him rise above petty squabbles and conflicts to gain the respect and credibility of his comrades in the party.

The military coup that removed the APC from power in 1992, and the consequences for its members, deepened the interest of Bangura to contribute to resuscitating the party at a time when it was not fashionable to be APC. With the declaration of a transition to democracy by the military in 1995, Bangura joined his dad to support the rebuilding of the APC. In 1996, he formed the 'Rising Sun', and started recruiting his peers to support the APC. It was this group that he took to the university in 2000, when he was enrolled. He served as the head of the student's wing of the party from 2000 to 2004. That APC student group he founded has now transformed into the National Union of APC Students; a very vibrant political institution constitutionally recognised as an affiliate member of the APC, with substantial delegates status at its National Delegates' Conference. In 2002, he hosted the campaign of Ernest Bai Koroma at the university who was later to lead the party into governance from 2007 to 2018.

With a successful campaign returning the APC to governance, Bangura continued supporting the Koroma government with international influence and connections. In 2005, he became part of the German Partnership with Africa Initiative of the then President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Prof. Horst Kohler. This initiative brought together young African and German youth from diverse backgrounds, to mentor them for leadership roles in their respective countries. That initiative helped to further shape Bangura's perspectives on politics in a global world, and how the young and older generations could work together to have a progressive world. Through this initiative, Bangura built strong international relations within the European Union (EU), gained access to government officials and built partnerships.

In 2018, Bangura started a campaign to serve as the Secretary General of the party. However, he suspended the campaign when he was asked by the party to mediate a peace process between the party and the National Reformation Movement (NRM), which agitated for constitutionality and more democracy in the APC. On completing the process, he served in the Constitutional Review Committee which successfully inaugurated the first democratic constitution which addressed a number of issues that had created angst and disquiet among members of the APC.

During the 2023 elections, Bangura led the committee that developed the 2023 elections strategy and manifesto, working closely with the flag bearers, Dr Samura Kamara and Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah.

Professional History

Bangura has spent a greater part of his professional life in international development and academia as an independent consultant and academic. He began his career in 2002 in child protection with a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) known as the Post-Conflict Reintegration Initiatives for Development and Empowerment (PRIDE). This was a period towards the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone which had bequeath a litany of social challenges including an army of child ex-combatants and street children. His work with PRIDE which he subsequently headed in 2006 impressed a number of local and international partners.

In 2007 he served as the first Senior Human Rights Officer of the then newly established Human Rights Commission. He then moved to the Netherlands where he worked as a partner of Transition International, a consultancy firm specialised in the socio-economic reintegration of ex-combatants. In 2010, he was employed as the Programme Manager of the Building Global Cooperation Unit of the Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics in Lutherstadt, Wittenberg, Germany. The centre was established by Ambassador Andrew Young, the Former Mayor of Atlanta and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany.

As an academic, Dr Bangura has taught hundreds of students in the University of Sierra Leone where he is an Associate Professor. He continues to mentor emerging scholars in Africa, through the African Peacebuilding Network (APN), and the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA). He has also co-published with several emerging scholars as a means of providing them with platforms to showcase African scholarship.

Dr Bangura is specialised in Security, Gender, and Rights Based Approaches to development. He is a leading expert on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration approaches offering technical expertise and training to governments and international organisations in Africa, Europe, South America including in countries such as Colombia, South Sudan, Uganda, Sudan, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Somalia, and Liberia.

Bangura has vast experience in international development with an emphasis on monitoring and evaluation, strategy and programme development. He is a leading Resulted Oriented Monitoring Expert to which he has assessed more than 100 European Union (EU) funded programmes in over 30 countries in Africa. He has provided expert services for a number of international organisations including agencies of the United Nations, African Union (AU), World Bank, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Mano River Union (MRU).

Dr Bangura lectures in a number of universities and centres of learning including the University of Sierra Leone, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Ghana, and the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) in Sweden. He is an expert trainer at the Barcelona International Peace Centre (BIPC) in Spain, and Transition International in the Netherlands. He has held several research grants including the Social Science Research Council Individual Research Fellowship 2016.

Languages

Dr Bangura is bilingual with a fluency in French and English.

Interests

Dr Bangura maintains a strong interest in films, books, documentaries and environmental tourism.

Publications

1. Bangura, I. 2024. Connecting the dots – poverty, marginality, and the production of aggression and violence in post-war Sierra Leone. Conflict, Security & Development, 1–23.
2. Bangura I, Owusu A, and Quaye AS. 2024. When waiting means trouble: An Enquiry into the Approach toward Prevention against Jihadism in Senegal. Frontiers. Political. Sci.
3. Bangura, I., Owusu, A., & Quaye, S. 2023. Rethinking the Nexus: DDR and SSR in Post- and Evolving Conflict Contexts in Africa. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 19 (1), 3-17.
4. Bangura, I. 2023. When Peace Means Nothing: Reflections on Youth Marginality and Agency in Postwar Sierra Leone. African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review, Volume 13, Number 1, Spring 2023, pp. 106-128. 10.2979/acp.2023.a900892
5. Bangura, I. (Ed.). 2023. Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants in Africa. London: Routledge.
6. Bangura, I., Lonergan, K. & Themnér, A. 2023. Patrimonial Truth-Telling: Why Truth Commissions Leave Victim and Ex-Combatant Participants Aggrieved. Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 17 (4), 371–393.
7. Bah, A., & Bangura, I. 2023. Landholding and the Creation of Lumpen Tenants in Freetown: Youth Economic Survival and Patrimonialism in Postwar Sierra Leone. Critical Sociology 49 (7-8), 1289-1305.
8. Ajayi, T.F.; Gukurume, S. and Bangura, I. 2022 "Strengthening Democratic Governance and Political Stability in Africa: Critical Policy Perspectives" Policy and Practice Brief #060, The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, Durban, South Africa.
9. Bangura, I. 2022. When children become soldiers, can sport help them to find a way back? Association of Commonwealth Universities, London, UK.
10. Bangura, Bangura, Temitope Oriola, Henry Mbawa. 2022. Corruption, Underdevelopment and the Complicity of the Masses in Africa. Brazilian Journal of African Studies, Porto Alegre, v.7, n.13: pg. 81-104.
11. Bangura, I. (Ed.). 2022. Youth Led Social Movements and Peacebuilding in Africa. Routledge, UK.
12. Bangura, I., Chakraborty, Ananya., Garcia-Hernandez, Ana., Kaplan, Lennart., Kuhnt, Jana., Muhumad, Abdirahman A., Steinert, Janina I., & Tellez, Dayana. 2022. Ethical failures in global health research: violations of Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work for All. The Lancet Global Health. Correspondence| Volume 10, Issue 5, E619.
13. Bangura, I. 2022. Livelihoods in Conflict Affected Settings. In Routledge Handbook on Livelihoods. UK.
14. Bangura, I. 2021. Young People, Music and Socio-Political Change in Post-War Sierra Leone. In: (edit) Ugor., Levering Expectations: Young People and Popular Arts Culture in Africa. Boydell & Brewer.
15. Bangura, I. 2021. Trapped in Violence and Uncertainty: Patriarchy, Women, and the Conflict in Somalia. African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review 10, no. 2 (Spring 2021), 80–103.
16. Bangura, I. 2021. Leaving Behind the Worst of the Past: Transitional Justice and Prevention in Sierra Leone. International Center for Transitional Justice, USA.
17. Bangura, I. 2020. Africa-EU Relations and the Politics of International Development. In: (edit) Omeje., 2019. From Africa Rising to How Africa Can Arise: Exploring the Governance, Security and Development Nexus. New York: Routledge.
18. Bangura, I. 2020. Regional Trade and Security Cooperation: A Case Study of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In: (edit) Omeje. K., 2019. From Africa Rising to How Africa Can Arise: Exploring the Governance, Security and Development Nexus. New York: Routledge.
19. Bangura, I. 2019. Resisting War: Guinean Youth and Civil Wars in the Mano River Basin. Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, Vol. 14(1) 36-48.
20. Bangura, I. 2019. Promoting Greater Youth Inclusion and Participation for Better Peacebuilding in the Mano River Basin. Policy Brief. Vol. 13. Issue 06, Institute for Peace and Security Studies, University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
21. Bangura, I. 2018. Bridging the Gulf: Civil Society and the Quest for Peace and Security in Sierra Leone. Journal of African Peace and Security Vol. 1, pp. 36-50
22. Bangura, I. 2018. Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone One and a Half Decades after the Civil War: At what stage does a war-affected country cease to be post-conflict?  In: (edit) Omeje, K., 2018. Peacebuilding in Contemporary Africa: In search of Alternative Strategies. New York: Routledge, pp. 91-110.
23. Bangura, I & Lau, S., 2018. "Obstacles to Peace and Security in North Africa". In: (edit) Omeje, K., 2018. Peacebuilding in Contemporary Africa: In search of Alternative Strategies. New York: Routledge, pp. 166-184.
24. Bangura, I. 2018, Young People and the Search for Inclusion and Political Participation in Guinea. African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review 8, no. 1, 54–72.
25. Bangura, I. 2018, Democratically Transformed or Business as Usual: The Sierra Leone Police and Democratic Policing in Sierra Leone. Stability: International Journal of Security & Development, UK.
26. Bangura, I. 2017. A Call for Constructive Engagement: Youth, Violence, and Peacebuilding in the Mano River Basin Area. Special Issue: African Youth—Generation Next for Peacebuilding?  Kujenga Amani, African Peacebuilding Network, USA.
27. Bangura, I and Söderberg Kovacs, M. 2017. Competition, Uncertainty and Violence in Sierra Leone's Swing District. in Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs (ed.), Elections Related Violence in Africa, London: Zed Books.
28. Bangura, I and Söderberg Kovacs, M. 2017. Shapeshifters in the Struggle for Survival: Warlord Democrats in Sierra Leone. In Anders Themnér (ed.), Warlord Democrats in Africa, London: Zed Books.
29. Bangura, I. 2017. The Gradual Emergence of Second-Generation Security Sector Reform in Sierra Leone. Center for Security Governance, Canada.
30. Bangura, I. 2016. Assessing the Impact of Orthodox Security Sector Reform in Sierra Leone. Center for Security Governance, Canada.
31. Bangura, I. 2016. We Can't Eat Peace: Youth, Sustainable Livelihood and the Peacebuilding Process in Sierra Leone. Journal for Peacebuilding & Development, 11:2, 37-50.
32. Bangura, I. 2013. Book Review: The Limits of Democracy and the Postcolonial Nation State: Mali's Democratic Experiment Falters, While Jihad and Terrorism Grow in the Sahara. Book authored by Robin Edward Poulton and Raffaella Greco Tonegutti.
33. Bangura, I. 2013. The Grip of Death: Stories of Children and the Conflict in Sierra Leone. Miraclaire Publishing House, USA.
34. Poulton, R. and Bangura, I. 2013. Child Soldiers – Reintegrating Boys and Girls Who are Victims of War (April 10, 2013).
35. Bangura, I and Specht, I. 2012. Work not War: Youth Transformation in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Conciliation Resources, UK.
36. Bangura, I. 2011. A Critical Assessment of Development Views of Gender in Africa. Africa Peace and Conflict Journal Vol. 14: 2: 54-65.
37. Bangura, I. 2011. Liberia: The Transition from Destruction to Post-War Reconstruction. Wittenberg Center for Global Ethics, Discussion Paper, Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Germany.
38. Bangura, I. 2011. Higher Education and Economic Development in Sierra Leone. Wittenberg Centre for Global Ethics, Germany
39. Bangura, I. 2010. Making Peace Work: A Case Study of Women Engaged in Peacebuilding Activities in Kailahun. University of Amsterdam, Netherlands (Unpublished thesis).
40. Emerging Issues: Youth, Gender and the Changing Nature of Armed Conflict. Peacebuild, the Canadian PeaceBuilding Network.