Claude Ake

Professor Claude Ake (18 February 1939 in Lagos; 7 November 1996) was a Nigerian political scientist. Ake gained a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1966 and during his life he held various academic positions at institutions around the world, including Yale University (United States), University of Nairobi (Kenya), University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria). He was active in Nigerian politics and is well-known for his work in studies of development and democracy, his overriding concern being Africa. He died in an aeroplane crash on a flight between Port Harcourt and Lagos in Nigeria.