Olamide Samuel

Olamide leads network and engagement initiatives at Open Nuclear Network (ONN) a PAX sapiens Programme.

Olamide Samuel manages ONN’s network and engagement initiatives such as the Creative Coalition, a dynamic network of aligned non-governmental which creates and executes bespoke engagement strategies to reduce nuclear risks.

Before joining ONN, Olamide served as Special Envoy of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy AFCONE. Previously, Olamide led the European Leadership Network’s ‘Protecting the Non-Proliferation Treaty‘ programme during his Policy Fellowship. Olamide completed his Postdoctoral research as a Research Associate in Nuclear Politics at the University of Leicester, and as a Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS University of London. While at SOAS, Olamide lectured in the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, teaching MA courses on International Security, and Diplomatic Practice. In addition, Olamide led the university’s global nuclear disarmament programme, SCRAP Weapons, from 2019 to 2021. He led the programme’s efforts to strengthen arms control diplomacy at the United Nations and African Union.

In 2023, Olamide co-founded the Africans Against the Bomb coalition in collaboration with Prof. Vincent Intondi and leading policymakers and academics. In 2020, Olamide was appointed as a member of the Vatican Covid-19 Security Task Force inaugurated by Pope Francis. In this capacity, he convened the Global #FreezeWeapons Campaign which was adopted by the Holy See. Olamide has worked closely with various states, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), and the Managing the Atom Project at Harvard University, to advance nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. He sits on the advisory boards of various non-profit organisations, including the Nuclear Information Service, demilitarise education, 1.2 Diaries, Centre de Recherche et d’Information pour le Désarmement et Sécurité, among others.

Olamide holds a PhD in Security and Intelligence (2019) and an MA in Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy (2015), both from the University of Buckingham’s Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies (BUCSIS). He also holds a B.ILD in International Law and Diplomacy, from Babcock University (2009).

Olamide spends his free time as a hyperrealist artist, using graphite, charcoal and other mediums to create artistic impressions.
Olamide is the co-author of two books, Open Source Investigations in the Age of Google (2024) and The Global Third Nuclear Age (2025). He is also the author of numerous academic articles and opinion pieces relating to international security, nuclear non-proliferation, and open-source investigative methodology, featured in outlets including Al-Jazeera, The BBC, France 24, allAfrica, ChannelsTV and more, where he regularly comments on security and defense issues. His academic writing has been published in the Review of International Studies and he co-authored “Justifying Attacks on Nuclear Facilities” which was the most read article of 2024 in The Nonproliferation Review. With President Mary Robinson of The Elders, Olamide featured in the documentary, Solutions to Existential Threats which was viewed over a million times in its first month.