The prestigious Henley Business School, University of Reading, United Kingdom has announced the appointment of Muhammad Sani Abdullahi as an associate and founding member of its Dunning Africa Center.

Making the announcement, Rajneesh Narula, Director of both the Dunning Africa Centre and the John Dunning Centre for international business, noted that Abdullahi, an astute and erudite Development Economist, would be joining the institution as it begins operations at its African Center, in the same month.

“We believe that your experience and background would not only enhance our profile but that in the longer run, your ongoing work helps contribute to our objectives to improve the business environment in African countries,” read the joint statement announcing the appointment.

It also reiterated that: “The Dunning Africa Centre (DAC) will emphasise both conceptual and applied research with the aim of optimising the engagement of African firms and governments with the forces of globalization, particularly those relating to trade and foreign direct investment.”

Abdullahi is the former chief of staff to Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, and the current Commissioner for Budget and Planning in Kaduna State.

Other notable appointees include Andrew Mold, the Acting Director of the Subregional Office for Eastern Africa, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); Prof. Aloysius Newenham-Kahindi, a Canada Research Chair in International Sustainable Development at the Gustavson Business School, the University of Victoria in Canada; and Dr Helena Barnard, Professor at the Gordon Institute of Business Science of the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

The Centre has a threefold objective, which includes nurturing academic researchers in management, business studies and economics interests in globalization, as well as acting as a ‘virtual hub’ that promotes collaboration between research institutions, universities and businesses to study the impact of globalization and international business.

These are in addition to offering short, intensive courses to help managers and policymakers across Africa to handle these challenges.

Abdullahi, who currently serves as a member of the World Bank Expert Advisory Council on Citizen Engagement, was before his appointment in Kaduna, a policy adviser at the Executive Office of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in New York.

TodayNG