Claude Eleme Ake was born in Omoku, in Nigeria on the 18th of February 1939. His parents both deceased , Geoffrey Ake a politician and Christiana Ake, a woman leader and Trader

He attended Kings college, Lagos, the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and then on to the University of London where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1962. He got his Masters and doctorate degrees from Columbia University, New York, USA in 1963 and 1966. From 1966 - 69 he served as Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University and , from 1969 - 72 as Associate Professor of Political Science at Carleton University, Canada and at the Universities in Tanzania and Kenya both in East Africa before returning to Nigeria to be the Dean of Social Science in the just founded University of Port Harcourt. in his Home State, Rivers State.

Claude had a brief stint with Politics, and was the State Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1989.

The optimizing of his career was at his establishing an independent Research Institute in Nigeria, Centre for Advanced Social Sciences (C. A. S. S). "The" Think Tank to foster development from within and application of scientific knowledge to actual development problems in Africa, enabling Africa to become a producer of knowledge.

The Rockefeller Foundation made it possible for Claude to study in the United States of America through grant and scholarship. He was a Woodrow Wilson scholar with the Smithsonian Institute and a fellow of the Brookings Institute. He tried to give back to the country that input much into him when he taught as a visiting professor in Columbia, Michigan or Yale Universities.

He presented papers in seminars and Conferences on campuses in the United States of America, Latin America and in Canada. As the foremost authority of the Political Economy of Africa. He was a member of various Associations amongst which are the Nigeria Political Association and the Council for Development of Economic and Social Research in Dakar, Senegal He worked closely with the World Bank, Ford Foundation, The International Institute of Labor Studies in Geneva, The African Capacity Building Foundation in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands, World Institute for Development Economics Research, Helsinki, Finland and the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan to mention a few.

Prof. Ake served in many international organizations. He was a Consultant of the International Development Research Center, Canada; The United Nations Economic Commission; the United Nations Development Program; The African Development Bank and the World Bank.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of UNHCR, Geneva; International Institute of Labour Studies, Geneva, International Social Science Council, Paris, The World Bank's Council of African Advisers; The UNESCO expert group on Social Development in Africa and the African Capacity Building Foundation .

Prof. Claude Ake was also in a team selected by the United States National Democratic Institute of International Affairs to oversee the Election in Chile in 1989, and for several years he presided over the Council for Development of Economic and Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA).