Zainab Usman is a senior fellow and director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. Her fields of expertise include institutions, economic policy, energy policy, and emerging economies in Africa. Her forthcoming book, Economic Diversification in Nigeria: the Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy, is set to be published by Zed/Bloomsbury Press in November 2021.
Prior to Carnegie, Usman was at the World Bank initially as part of the prestigious Young Professionals Program and later as a public sector specialist. At the World Bank, she worked on social sustainability, policy reforms, natural resources management, and disruptive technologies.
She has worked on these issues in Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Serbia, Tanzania, and Uzbekistan. She has also worked at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and has consulted for the Department of International Development (DfID) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in Nigeria.
Usman’s research has been published on various academic, policy, and media platforms. She is co-editor of the book, The Future of Work in Africa: Harnessing the Potential of Digital Technologies for All. She also contributed to World Bank’s flagship report on Rethinking Power Sector Reforms in Developing Countries.
Her other analytical pieces have been published with the journal of African Affairs, the World Bank’s Policy Research and Working Paper Series, and as book chapters in edited volumes with Oxford University Press and James Currey. Her written and broadcast commentary has appeared in Al-Jazeera English, African Arguments, CNN, and Washington Post, among others.
Zainab is a public policy professional based in Washington D.C., United States. She has a DPhil (PhD) in International Development from the University of Oxford.
Her broad expertise is on the institutions and political economy of natural resources management, energy sector, the digital revolution and economic development in Africa. She also works on south-south economic relations.
She did not miss words when she recently said “I predict that difficult but important conversations will happen on social media regulation in Nigeria primarily, as well as some other democracies across Africa. It will likely occur after a massive and unfortunate incident.”
Usman did not shy away from expressing her views on the incident that recently occurred in Oyo state. According to her, “I’m hoping the Nigerian government, including state governors, immediately address the extremely disturbing reports and videos of the targeting and killing of innocent citizens in Oyo State. Immediate action is needed to prevent escalation and reprisals. Sad. Deplorable.” She stated.
