Dr Olayinka Ajala is a lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Leeds Beckett University. He has previously worked at the University of York and the University of Newcastle. Olayinka holds a doctorate degree in Politics from the University of York, a Master's degree from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex where he studied Globalisation and Development and a Bachelors degree in Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.

In 2014, Olayinka was a visiting fellow/lecturer at the Combating Terrorism Centre, United States Military Academy, West Point. He has consulted for local and international organisations including the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the Government of Belgium and was a lead panel analyst on 'Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa', a round table discussion at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.