NLI recently inducted 24 new associates. These associates include:

1. Yemi Lawani – 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

The October 2011 NLI Future Leaders Seminar powered by First Bank of Nigeria PLC holds Thursday, October 27 to Saturday, October 29. A Future Leaders class is held in May and October each year for emerging public and private sector leaders aged 25 to 35 years and based in Nigeria or the Diaspora. At the end of each session, the participants become Associates of NLI.

Please click here for more information.

The Aspen Institute and Anne Welsh McNulty, Institute trustee, today announced journalist Dele Olojede as the winner of the fourth annual John P. McNulty Prize. A committee of judges including Madeleine Albright, Olara Otunnu, Shashi Tharoor and Anne McNulty selected Olojede in recognition of his groundbreaking work to deliver unbiased information to the Nigerian public, demand government transparency and advance journalistic standards in the country.

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

On behalf of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI), we thank you for all your support. This year has been a remarkable one for us at the Nigeria Leadership Initiative.

• 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.

The nomination process for NLI’s October, 2011 Associate Programme has begun. This is the ninth in the series. Every year, NLI hosts 3-day residential seminars in May and October as a prerequisite for individuals who wish to join the Associate Programme. The programme is for emerging public and private sector leaders aged 25 to 35 years and based in Nigeria or the Diaspora.

Click here to nominate a Future Leader

President Goodluck Jonathan recently approved the appointment of Ministers who will assist him in discharging his obligations to Nigeria.

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.

The Huffington Post recognizes NLI Associate, Idris Bello as ‘the Greatest Person of the Day’ for working towards the program to create Libraries across Africa. The goal of the program is simply to: “empower individuals through access to information.” By establishing low-cost infrastructure for libraries and connecting people directly with computer training, even the poorest communities can become more self-sustaining. He explained to the post that there’s not always an easily accessible location for young Africans to meet and discuss ideas, to utilize everything people in the U.S. take for granted on the Web. These libraries can also serve as their de facto “Starbucks,” or their “FedEx Kinko’s,” as he put it. Africans need to become more self-sustaining, and should be fully aware of the world outside their own villages, he said.

Idris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, where he was a NNPC/ChevronTexaco Scholar. He also obtained a Master’s of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Houston, and was the recipient of the TPEG Grant Award. He also has an Executive MBA in Global Strategy from Rice University and serves on the Executive Lecture Series Council of the Jones Business School

Idris is on the Board of Directors of several business and non-profit organizations, including Mumineen Foundation Inc., The Small Kindnesses Fund (SKF), and Bell & Gems Resources, Inc.

Read more >>>

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and Mrs Maryam Uwais (NLI Fellows) are some of the appointed members of the newly reconstituted Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspapers and were inaugurated on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 in Abuja.

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai was the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and member of the Federal Executive Council, the highest decision making body in Nigeria from 2003 – 2007. He attended various academic and professional programmes at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, University of London, Harvard Business School, Arthur D. Little School of Management in Massachusetts, Georgetown University School of Foreign Services in Washington, D.C. and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He established and ran what became a successful consulting practice, el-Rufai & Partners, between 1982 and 1998. He also held management positions with two international telecommunications companies, AT&T Network Systems International BV and Motorola, Inc. In October 2001, he was conferred a national honour, OFR (Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria) by the Federal Government of Nigeria while serving as the director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the secretary of the National Council of Privatisation where he spearheaded the privatisation of many government owned companies. In 2005, he was conferred D.Sc (honoris causa) by the University of Abuja, Nigeria.

Mrs Maryam Uwais obtained an LLB (Hons) has been practicing law from the private Firm of Wali‐Uwais & Co from the capital city of Abuja, Nigeria since 1998, after retiring from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Before working at the CBN, she worked as a prosecutor at the Kano State Ministry of Justice and the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.She has been a member and has served on the Boards of several organisations and civil society groups, including the National Human Rights Commission (also serving as Special Rapporteur on Child Rights, thereat); Leapafrica, 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; the Nigerian Investment Climate Advisory Council (an initiative of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, World Bank & DFID); Technical Committees of both the Constitutional Reform Dialogue Mechanism and the Gender and Affirmative Action Coalition, (both Committee’s being funded by the DFID, through Coalition for Change); The African Union Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and is also a founding member of the Nigerian Chapter of Musawah, a Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family. Additionally, she has worked as a Consultant for Open Society Initiative for West Africa, UNICEF, the World Bank and DFID, in projects relating to children & women’s rights, entrepreneurship,education and justice sector reform. Maryam has written several papers; articles relating to economic, social and cultural rights, child justice administration, children and women’s rights (especially on the misapplication of Shari’a law in Northern Nigeria), interfaith dialogue and alsoprepared the Working Paper on Justice Sector Reform. She was also part of a collective of networkers in the formulation of a handbook titled ‘Knowing Our Rights; Women, Family, Laws & Customs in the Muslim World.’

The United States First Lady, Michelle Obama recently delivered a message before leaving on her trip to Africa, urging young people to engage with each other in order to find commonalities. In her message, she said: “When it comes to meeting the challenges of our time whether it is climate change or extremism, poverty or disease, the world is looking to African Nations as vital partners. We will be looking across the continent to young people just like all of you to help lead the way. We’ll be looking to women like Toyosi, she’s a 28 year old from Nigeria who every year gathers 50,000 people for the largest youth conference in the country”.

A University of Jos, Nigeria trained Lawyer, she has pioneered countless youth / professional initiatives and is a very intriguing and most sought after speaker, trainer, panelist and facilitator at several Youth and Professional programs. Partnering several Frontline Corporate Organizations and Multi-Nationals, she is the Convener of what has now undoubtedly become the most attended youth event in Nigeria with about 50 000 participants in 12 Nigerian States; the annual RISE Interactive Youth Forum
She has been actively involved in Local, National and Regional projects and processes on the need to provide a platform for youth inclusion in policy formulation and project implementation. She is a role model to many youths in Nigeria with her ability to initiate and implement youth-led, youth-focused projects aimed at developing the potentials of young people in Nigeria. Partnering several frontline Corporate Organizations and Multi-Nationals, Toyosi, the phenomenal CEO of Nigeria’s first and most prominent youth interest organization, RISE, is a consummate young professional and an outstanding Manager. RISE itself has become a fast growing driving force and skill providing concern for several young people in Nigeria. She is the major driver of Nigeria’s leading Online Youth Interaction Centre (www.risenetworks.org).

Please click here to watch video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SMIxX2zZMms
http://www.whitehouse.gov/youngafrica

The symposium is held annually in honour of NLI’s Founding Patron, Dr. Christopher Kolade CON and brings together eminent public-spirited Nigerians to discuss a topic of national importance. This year’s theme is “Building a New Road Map for Nigeria – Conversations on Values & Nationhood”. Guest Speakers and Panelists include Ms. Megan Hiller, the Head of the UK Parliamentary Committee on Nigeria, Mr. Segun Aganga, NLI’s Founder, Nigeria’s Minister of Trade & Investment, and Chairman of the World Bank and the authors of the NLI White Papers