French political scientist discusses nationhood during trip to Nigeria

Patrick Weil, renowned French political scientist, recently visited visited Nigeria during which he spoke on issues ranging from nationhood to citizenship.

The visit was organised by Institut Français, the cultural service of the French embassy in Nigeria.

A statement from the service on Monday said the visit was for its annual ‘Quarterly talks’ “aimed at sharing experiences, sharing ideas to help find new solutions together.”

“This year’s talks are organized around the theme of individual interest vs common interest,” the statement read.

“Professor Weil, at the Invitation of the Institut Français in Nigeria, came to Nigeria from the 14th to the 19th of May and gave three lectures.

“The first lecture took place at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on the 14th of May; the second took place at the University of Lagos on the 16th of May; while the third was held at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan.

“In addition to the lecture at the University of Ibadan, Professor Weil also gave a seminar titled ‘The transformation of citizenship and nationality’ for a class of graduate students.

“The lectures were well attended and the subjects of nationhood, nationality and citizenship they addressed encouraged lively discussions among the attendees.”