Adeola, a law graduate of the University of Lagos, was invited by the African Union Commission in April 2011 as a guest speaker at the plenary session of the African Youth Forum where he addressed the forum on Readiness to reform National Laws and Legislation in compliance with the African Youth Charter. His recommendations were part of the Forum resolutions presented to the Africa Union Head of States at the Malabo, Equatorial Guinea AU summit, in July 2011.

The thrust of the agreement signed on 4th November, 2011 at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between the African Union Commission, Youth Division and Adeola for Know Your Constitution Initiative, is that he will develop mobile and facebook applications of the African Youth Charter in the six (6) African Union Official Languages: English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Swahili and Spanish and genarally popularize the African Youth Charter so that every phone user in Africa can have access to the Charter at the push of the button on their palms.

“The African Youth Charter enshrines the rights and duties that are critical to the survival of African Youths. Being an international treaty, it has to be signed, ratified, and transformed into the local laws by the African Union member- states before implementation. Many countries have not yet ratified the charter, not to talk of domestication,” Adeola observed in Addis Ababa.

He carried out opinion polls online alongside other Young social developers scattered across Africa in 2011 and realized that about Eighty Five percent (85%) of African Youths had not heard about the charter, let alone engaging their government to sign, ratify, transform into local law and implement the charter. He was of the view that African Youths cannot engage their leaders on the content of the charter because they are ignorant of their rights and duties contained in the document.

Speaking on the expected results of the project, Adeola said, “it will go a long way in making youths across Africa understand their Civil/Political rights and socio-economic rights alongside their duties towards national and international development. Moreover, it will go a long way in making all African Union member- states sign, ratify, transform into local laws and implement the charter in order to empower youths to get involved in the drive towards sustainable development in Africa.”

Adeola added that it would take twelve months to complete the project as it would not only involve mobile applications but also massive awareness campaigns. “My team will work with young technocrats, Young Africans who have distinguished themselves in important areas of life, Pan African Youth, National Youth Council of AU member- states and others” while responding to questions at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Thirty (30) year- old Adeola Austin Oyinlade is the President of ‘Know Your Constitution Initiative’, an organization that educates Nigerians and non- Nigerians alike to know their legal rights and provides solutions to legal issues that arise in people’s daily activities free of charge. It has been carrying out this project through on-air programes and international conference

His immense contribution to expanding the frontiers of Liberty, Human rights, democracy and happiness of Nigerians and Non- Nigerians alike through the Initiative has fetched him recognitions and awards from many national and international organizations and recently, the US Department of state in May, 2011 featured him on the US Government blog for helping Nigerians know their rights and immense contribution to the development of Africa. For details about the US department of state recognition, kindly click here.

Adeola was invited as a speaker at the African Parallel session of the 7th UNESCO Youth Forum on October, 2011 in Paris, France to give a testimony on youth- led social innovations from the perspective of his Initiative.

He was commended by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navanthem Pillay last year for his ‘work to promote understanding and awareness of human rights in Nigeria when he distributed 10,000 copies of the Nigerian Constitution to Lagosians to mark the International Human Rights Day 2010 and demonstrated the relevance of the provision of the constitution to their daily life activities.’ He also organized a two- day Human Rights international Conference to empower Nigerians and Non-Nigerians alike free with 22 National and International lawyers as resource persons.

He has written many articles in contribution towards debates on national and international issues such as good governance in economic and social development, peace and security, Human rights, democracy, rule of law and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals which have been published in Nigeria and international print and online media. For details about Adeola, click here.

A 1989 graduate of International Relations from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife with a Master’s in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, Adeniyi joined THISDAY in January 1999 as Deputy Editor of the Sunday Newspaper. A year later, he became the editor of the Saturday newspaper. In 2001, he became the Editor of the Sunday newspaper and in 2005, he was appointed THISDAY editor, a position he occupied until he left to join the Yar’Adua government as Special Adviser on Communications.

After serving for nearly three years as the spokesman to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and one year in the United States as a research scholar at the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University, Mr Olusegun Adeniyi was appointed the Chairman of the Editorial Board in 2011.

Book Copies will be available for sale in major bookstores across the country.

Mr. Gbenga Oyebode is the managing partner of Aluko & Oyebode and in that capacity coordinates the various practice areas of the Firm. In addition to his managerial role, he heads the Firm’s corporate and energy practice areas. Mr. Oyebode has also been involved in the negotiation of complex commercial agreements for a wide variety of transactions and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He was conferred with the distinguished National Honour of Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFR) in December 2001. Mr. Oyebode was a former partner at Ajumogobia, Okeke, Oyebode and Aluko [Barristers, Solicitors and Notaries], having previously worked at the Gulf Oil Company, Lagos and Houston and also associated with White and Chase, New York.

Mr. Oyebode was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1980 and to the New York Bar in 1983. He holds an LL.M from Pennsylvania as well as LL.B Hons from the University of Ife, Ile-Ife.

Olusegun Aganga: Commander of the Order of the Niger [CON]

Mr. Olusegun Aganga is currently the Minister for Trade and Investment for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prior to his current portfolio, he distinguished himself as the Minister for Finance. Before being called upon to serve his country, Mr. Aganga was a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs International, London, having meritoriously served, for 22 years, with Ernst & Young, London where he established and led the European Alternative Investment Management Practice. Amongst his other contributions, Mr. Aganga serves on a number of Boards and Committees including Technoserve and The Prince’s Trust Invest in Futures Committee. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA), he was the former Chairman of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), Prime Brokerage Committee (f. London Investment Banking Association), as well a member of European Commission (EC) Alternative Investment Management Expert Group. Additionally, he served on the Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Technical Committee on Nigerian Capital Market Structure. Mr. Aganga is a Chartered Accountant with degrees from University of Oxford, UK, and University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Maryam Uwais: Member of the Federal Republic [MFR]

Mrs. Maryam Uwais is currently the Managing Partner of the Law Firm of Wali‐Uwais & Co. Prior to her current engagement at Wali-Uwais & Co., she worked at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from where retired from public service. A former prosecutor with the Kano State Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Uwais was also a member of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission. Amongst her numerous outstanding contributions, to the Nigerian nation and society, were membership on the Boards of several organisations and civil society groups, notably: the National Human Rights Commission (where she was a Special Rapporteur on Child Rights); LEAP Africa; Youth Business Initiative; Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR); the National Consultative Committee on Justice Sector Reform; the Working Group on Fiscal Responsibility Law; the Justice Research Institute; Coalition Against Tobacco; Nigerian Investment Climate Advisory Council; Technical Committees of the Constitutional Reform Dialogue Mechanism and the Gender and Affirmative Action Coalition; and the African Union Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

Mrs. Uwais was also a founding member of the Nigerian Chapter of Musawah, a Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family. Moreover, Mrs. Uwais, through consultancy work, has lent her technical expertise of various issues and projects on children & women’s rights, entrepreneurship, education and justice sector reform. She has consulted for Open Society Initiative for West Africa [OSIWA], the United Nations Children Education Fund [UNICEF], the World Bank, and UK’s Department of Foreign Investment and Development [DFID]. Some of her writings included several papers and articles on rights (economic, social and cultural), child justice administration, children and women’s rights (especially on the misapplication of Sharia law in Northern Nigeria), and interfaith dialogue.

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma: Commander of the Order of the Niger [CON]

Currently the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] and the Vice Chairman of Linkage Assurance Plc, Senator Udoma is also Director of Unilever Nigeria Plc. In addition to his varying stellar performance in the business sector, Senator Udoma had a distinctive political service as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, from 1999 to 2007, where he was a Senate Chief Whip and Leader of the South-South Caucus of the Senate (2004 and 2007). Senator Udoma was a former Partner at David Garrick and Company (1981-1983), having also previously worked as an Associate in Chris Ogunbanjo and Company (1980- 1981). His passion for the development of Nigeria’s future leaders was evidenced by his tenure as a lecturer at the University of Lagos. Senator Udoma holds the M.A. Degree in Law from Oxon as well as B.A and B.L Degrees in Law.

Jim Ovia: Commander of the Order of the Niger [CON]

A co-Founder of Zenith Bank Plc., Nigeria, Mr. Ovia served as Zenith Bank’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from 1990 – 2010. Under his leadership, Zenith Bank Plc. expanded to include Zenith Insurance, Zenith Bank Securities, Zenith Pension Custodian, and more. Taking Zenith Bank Plc. public on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, in July 2004, Mr. Ovia was responsible for the Bank’s growth and success which resulted in a credit rating of AA – from Fitch Ratings. In 2007, Mr. Ovia embarked on another significant entrepreneurial success: he established Visafone, a Nigerian mobile and fixed telecommunications company. Mr. Ovia has a passion for and dedication to issues of tertiary education in Nigeria. Drawing on his impressive professional and pedagogical experiences, he is a member of several Boards of learning institutions: the Governing Council at Lagos State University and the Board of Trustees of Redeemer’s University. Additionally, he was formerly on the Board of American International School Lagos. With a major in Business Administration, Mr. Ovia earned a Bachelor of Science from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and an MBA (Banking and Finance) from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1979. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School’s Executive Management Program.

1. Akinyemi Lawal – Vice President, Helios Investment Partners, LLP, Lagos
2. Amina Cephas Gadzama – Executive Director, MANA Foundation for Grassroot Development, Yola; Founder, Act for Conceptual Change Initiative
3. Chidiebele Iwuchukwu – Management Associate ( Associate Director), Standard Chartered Nigeria, Lagos
4. Clara Ohakim – Finance Operations , Reporting/Compliance – Team Member, SHELL, Lagos
5. Damilola Olawuyi – Doctoral Fellow, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
6. Judith Onugu – Research Engineer, Caterpillar, Inc., Chicago, USA
7. Mary Olushoga – Program Manager, Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, New York, USA
8. Michael Omidiora – Researcher, Aalto University, Finland
9. Mohammed Mijindadi – Commercial Director for East & West Africa, General Electric Company, Abuja
10. Muktar Gadanya – Senior Registrar, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano
11. Olubankole Wellington – Founder and CEO, Empire Mates Entertainment, Lagos
12. Sani Aliyu – Managing Partner, Nouvea Delice Private Equity Firm, Abuja; Co-Founder and Director, Grassroot MFB
13. Saude Abdulfatah – Progrect Supervisor, Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), Sokoto
14. Taofeek Siyanbola – Associate & Head, Structured Finance Desk, CardinalStone Partners Limited, Lagos
15. Tokunbo Koiki – Executive Director -Programs, Emotional Development Academy, Mental Health Foundation, Lagos
16. Tolulope Abari – Practice Manager, Tope Adebayo LLP, Lagos
17. Tunde Ajia – Rollouts and Initiative Manager, Visa Europe, United Kingdom; Founder, Confluence Corner, United Kingdom
18. Luqman Edu – Director, Fortis Project Services, Lagos; Joint Ventures Planning Department, NAPIMS, Lagos; Founder, We Talk Nigeria
19. Damilola Olubanwo – Investment Banking Analyst, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Lagos
20. Oladayo Olagunju – Founder and CEO, Nyoombl, California, USA
21. Charlotte Ashamu – Associate Operations Officer, Business Advisory Services, International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, Johannesburg, South Africa
22. Chinedu Odebeatu – Business Manager, Retail, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Lagos
23. Adebimpe Ihekuna – Product Manager for Mortgages and Personal Loans, First Bank of Nigeria, Plc, Lagos
24. Chike Anikwe – Senior Associate, Aluko & Oyebode, Lagos

Please click here for more information.

Dele Olojede is the Executive Chairman of Timbuktu Media. He has over 25 years of extensive experience in journalism. He is the former Foreign Editor for New York Newsday where he worked until 2004. He founded Timbuktu Media later that year after relocating temporarily to South Africa. In 2005, he won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for his retrospective on Rwanda a decade after the genocide.

Please click here to read more:
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/news/2011/10/25/john-p-mcnulty-prize-announces-2011-winner
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204777904576651481119112252.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

• Two of our Fellows were appointed ministers;
• Two of our Associates successfully ran for Senate and State House of Assembly
• Seven of our Fellows contributed to the publication of our first White Papers series.

We had planned to discuss the issues raised in the White Papers at a symposium on October 24 and then celebrate our successes with a gala on October 29. Unfortunately, we have had to make the difficult decision to postpone the two events due to an unexpected conflict.

A major socio-economic development event has been scheduled for the same week as our events and it will mean the absence of our special guests, some of our Fellows and a sizeable number of our supporters.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this change has caused in your schedule. In the coming weeks, we will keep you informed about the new dates.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

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NLI Founder and Former Minister of Finance, Mr. Segun Aganga, has been re-appointed as a Minister.

Segun Aganga is Nigeria’s Former Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Board of the Bretton-Woods Institutes, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs London. Prior to joining Goldman, Segun was at Ernst & Young for 22 years where he established and led the European Alternative Investment Management Practice.

Segun has been the Chairman of the London Investment Banking Association’s prime brokerage committee and the Alternative Investments Managers Association’s hedge fund committee. He also sits on a number of boards including Technoserve. He is the founder of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI).

NLI Fellow and Chairman, Editorial Board of The Guardian, Dr. Reuben Abati has been appointed Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

Reuben Abati had a First Class Honours degree in Theatre Arts at the University of Calabar and won the Vice Chancellor’s prize as the overall best graduating student of the university in 1985. He also distinguished himself as a University Scholar at the University of Ibadan where he did his Masters and Ph.D programmes.
He completed his Ph.D at the age of 24 within just two years, specialising in Dramatic Literature, Theory and Criticism. He also did a Journalism programme as Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow, College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park, United States between 1996 and 1997.

In 1999, Abati earned an LL.B (Hons) from the Lagos State University, Ojo. Some of the awards he has won include The Cecil King Memorial Prize for Print Journalist of the Year, 1998; The Diamond Award for Media Excellence for Informed Commentary, 1998; Fletcher Challenge Commonwealth Prize for Opinion Writing, 2000; and Diamond Award for Media Excellence for Informed Commentary, 2000 and Freedom Peace Prize for Journalism (2006). Before taking up a career in journalism, Dr. Abati was a lecturer in the Department of English, Ogun State University, now Olabisi Onabanjo University. He has been a member of the Governing Council of the same University since 1999.

Dr. Abati is a widely published author and literary critic.

NLI Fellow and Managing Director of The World Bank Group, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been appointed Minister of Finance

From June to August 2006, she was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria, overseeing Nigeria’s External Relations. From July 2003 to June 2006 she served as Minister of Finance and Economy of Nigeria and Head of Nigeria’s much acclaimed Presidential Economic team responsible for implementing a comprehensive home grown economic reform program that stabilized the macro-economy and tripled the growth rate to an average 6 percent per annum over 3 years. Her achievements as Finance Minister garnered international recognition for improving Nigeria’s financial stability and fostering greater fiscal transparency to combat corruption. In October 2005, she led the Nigerian team that negotiated the cancellation of US $18 billion or 60 percent of Nigeria’s external debt with the Paris Club. The debt deal also included an innovative buy-back mechanism that wiped out Nigeria’s Paris club debt and reduced the country’s external indebtedness from US$35 to US$5 billion. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala oversaw Nigeria’s first ever Sovereign credit rating of BB- from Fitch and Standard and Poor’s—a rating that grouped Nigeria with other emerging market countries such as Brazil, Vietnam, Venezuela, and Philippines.

Previously, she pursued a 21-year career as a development economist at the World Bank, where she held the post of Vice President and Corporate Secretary. This included two tours of duty (six years) working in the East Asia Region, the last tour (1997-2000) as Country Director Malaysia, Mongolia, Laos and Cambodia during the East Asian financial crisis; two duty tours in the Middle East Region, the last (2000-2003) as Director, Operations (deputy vice-president) of the region. Dr Okonjo-Iweala also served as Director of Institutional Change and Strategy (1995-1997). In this post she assisted with the implementation of the Bank’s reform agenda. From 1989 to 1991 she was Special assistant to the Senior Vice President, Operations, an assignment that enabled participation in high level policy formulation and discussions for countries as diverse as China and Burkina Faso.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was educated at Harvard and has a PhD in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is fluent in French, Ibo and English with working knowledge of Yoruba. She has received numerous awards, including Honorary Doctorate of Letters from University of Dublin, Trinity College, 2007, Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Colby College, 2007 and Brown University, 2006, Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Northern Caribbean University, Mandeville, Jamaica, 2005, Time Magazine’s European Hero of the Year Award, 2004, for her work on economic reform in Nigeria, Euromoney Magazine Global Finance Minister of the year, 2005, Financial Times/The Banker African Finance Minister of the year 2005, This Day (Nigeria’s premier newspaper) Minister of the Year award 2004 and 2005.

NLI Fellow and Accenture’s Country Managing Director for Nigeria, Mrs Omobola Johnson has been appointed Minister of Technology and Communications

Omobola holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Manchester and a Masters degree in Digital Electronics from King’s College, London.

She joined Accenture, then Andersen Consulting in 1985. In the seventeen years she has been at Accenture, she has progressed through various roles and is currently the Country Managing Director for Nigeria.