Scholars

Adedapo Sijuwade is a social worker with over seven years of experience in humanitarian services, project management & community development. Adedapo has a degree in Sociology and professional courses in humanitarian works. He is particularly attracted to the quest of creating and enabling a safe environment for vulnerable groups. He believes in timely and collective action in response to the plights of marginalized groups, orphans, and vulnerable children to overcome their unpleasant situations through quality intervention, community engagement, and advocacy. He shares the vision of protecting the dignity of human lives and hopes for a just society for all with an emphasis on enhancing the quality of human existence. Adedapo is a social reformer, who is proactive about addressing social issues. His understanding of social issues, such as gender inequality, poverty, child rights, climate change, resulted in numerous achievements among the communities where he worked. He has been involved in various initiatives in his quest to improve the quality of life among vulnerable children to increase school enrollment and retention among teenage girls to avoid teenage pregnancy.

Ako Eyo Oku is a young leader with extensive experience in broadcast media and public service. Ako has worked for the Nigerian Television Authority for nine years, where she has served three different regions and over 200 Nigerian communities with enlightening, educational, and entertaining TV programs. Ako is committed to community development and advocacy for social change. She has been an active leader in several organizations, including the Child Rights Club, Rotaract Club, MDGs/SDGs Mass Awareness Group, Strategy and Innovation for Development Initiative, and the Young African Leadership Initiative. She founded the Global Learning Community Program, a community of practice that encourages worldwide learning at the local level via MOOCs and GLAMs. In 2019, Ako participated in the US government-sponsored Mandela Washington Fellowship, where she received training on Leadership in Public Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ako is a Commonwealth+ Open Source Leader, a World Pulse Ambassador, and an African Changemaker. Ako belongs to Chatham House, TED, Creative Commons, and Wikimedia communities.

Angela Umoru has three years of experience in the nonprofit and media sectors. Angela earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Mass Communication from Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria. She is a 2020 World Literacy Foundation Ambassador and has utilized the opportunity to maximize and strengthen her fundraising, leadership, and advocacy skills. As a literacy advocate, she raised awareness on how illiteracy affects daily life by curating and sharing 112 “literacy stories” on social media. Previously, she worked as a Media and Communications Officer at Skills Outside School Foundation (SOSF), focusing on publicity for the Foundation’s work in life skill education for disadvantaged youth while securing relevant partnerships through digital media and production of media materials. In the time she worked with SOSF, she raised the organization’s profile by increasing social media followership by over 80% and spear-headed partnership discussions with various organizations. Currently, she is the Chief Operating Officer at Jela’s Development Initiatives (JDI), where she leads the teams in providing access to water, mental healthcare, and blood donors and promoting youth empowerment through volunteering. Through these experiences, she developed strong advocacy and collaboration skills. Angela is most interested in good governance and improving inclusion in education and mental health advocacy.

Ekene Ibekwe has four years of experience in the non-profit sector. He completed a Non-profit Leadership and Management program and earned a Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology from Imo State University in Nigeria. While working as a Team Head at Best Nurture Academy in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, he led the team to provide quality education for over 350 children in rural communities at little or no cost. He inspired his team to develop learning curricula and community engagement strategies that encouraged young people to seek education and stay away from the vices that consumed the community. Ekene has collaborated with non-profits to provide educational services to the underprivileged children in neglected rural communities. This was to make education accessible to rural community children and give them hope for a better and brighter tomorrow. Ekene promotes moral and literacy awareness through his programs. As a peer health educator, Ekene has trained teenagers on HIV/AIDS and adolescent reproductive health. He has empowered young people through peer education programs to become peer educators, thereby multiplying the effect of knowledge transferred. Through these experiences, Ekene has developed strong project management, curriculum development, stakeholder and community engagement, communication, and leadership development skills.

Eyitayo Alimi is an IT professional with seven years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Eyitayo is a graduate of Computer Engineering from the Federal Polytechnic Offa in Nigeria. While working as the Head of Information Technology at a Nigerian public relations organization, she founded the digital media sister company and used technology to improve work processes and client projects. As a teenager, she volunteered with the nonprofit Stepwise Organization to advocate for reproductive health among teenagers and youth. Combining her experience as a Software Engineer and her passion for nonprofit advocacy, she founded and currently manages African Women in Technology and Business (awitb.org), a nonprofit that empowers women with technology and business skills. She currently leads the Cyber Threat Research Team at her company, NectarHub Software Company, where she provides incident response support and training for clients. In 2018, she won the Google Women Techmakers’ Scholars Award in recognition of her academic excellence and exceptional community advocacy in the STEM field. In 2019, she won the prestigious Techwomen Emerging Leaders Award in San Francisco, California. With several cybersecurity certifications from Cisco and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, she studies to stay updated on the latest cyber threats. When she’s not hunting cyber threats, she hunts mushrooms, hikes, knits, or makes dresses.

Gregory Asiegbu has five years of experience as a trainer and consultant. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri in Nigeria, and a Master’s degree in Oil and Gas Management from South American University in Delaware through distant learning. While working as a Management Researcher with Lagos Business School, he helped conduct research that provided strategic insight for entrepreneurs’ in Nigeria’s business environment. These insights include adopting digital technology, an efficient inventory management system, and operational improvement. He is enthusiastic about the promise of digital platforms in accelerating Africa’s industrialization. He has co-authored a book on Africa’s platforms and the evolving sharing economy. Previously, Gregory worked as a Project Coordinator and a founding member of a non-profit aimed at bridging the skill gap amongst African youth. Gregory has volunteered as a Project Coordinator on an SDG’s Advocacy Project in Nigeria, where he organized a medical outreach, skills, and capacity-building program for Internally Displaced Persons. Through these experiences, he developed vital research, analytical, project coordination, and implementation skills. He is an excellent communicator, leader, team member, and able to study trends and proffer solutions. Gregory enjoys focusing on the topics of human capital development, entrepreneurship, and emerging technology.

Janet Ajala is a dynamic leader who is passionate about championing Women’s Rights. She has over 13 years of experience in the non-profit sector. She currently works with the International Rescue Committee in Nigeria, where she currently serves as a Field Coordinator. She is responsible for the day to day running of the activities of her field location, where she ensures the necessary humanitarian assistance is provided to the thousands of vulnerable individuals displaced by the prolonged armed conflict in Northeast Nigeria, ensuring they have access to the much-needed medical care, education, and women protection and empowerment activities. In addition to her current role, she heads the IRC Nigeria Women at Work Group, a group established by the organization to provide a safe space for women in the organization. Under this group, she provides leadership on all fronts for the over 300 women in the Country program pushing for their interests with the Senior Management Team and ensuring there is more female inclusion and representation in the organization. Prior to joining the International Rescue Committee, Janet worked with the TY Danjuma Foundation as State Coordinator, where she coordinated the activities of the various community-based and faith-based organizations funded by the Foundation to implement Youth and Women Empowerment programs and Health. Janet obtained a BA in English from the University of Ibadan and an MA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the same university.

Jennifer Bertilla Ejinkeonye is a Bachelor’s degree holder in English and Literature from the University of Benin, Nigeria. She is a passionate and goal-driven individual who is interested in helping women and girls improve their chances for a better future by contributing to their knowledge and skills. As a gender equality advocate, she continuously attempts to establish a place for women and girls with little to no information on how to improve themselves in the rural areas of Nigeria. Presently, she works with a non-profit organization, Women Empowerment Education and Peace Building Initiative (WEPBI) where she has developed excellent communication and social team working skills. Jennifer implements these skills to expand her leadership responsibilities to continue advocating for women and girls in rural areas. She is the acting Program Officer of WEPBI and has channeled her energy towards ongoing projects like One Girl One Pad Initiative, Women Leadership Academy, and the Women’s Voice and Leadership project. She is also a basking entrepreneur — the founder and CEO of Recardos Bertie, an e-commerce that is progressively operating in Lagos, Nigeria. Jennifer is an enthusiastic writer and blogger who advocates for the need to reform the identity of the male gender in today’s African society through insightful writings on her new blog known as ‘The Kings’ Lounge.’ Jennifer is an ambassador of the World Literacy Foundation (WLF). She is also undertaking a special development project called the Female Entrepreneurial Leadership Development (FELD). The project is established as part of her community service through the Atlas Corps Virtual Leadership Institute program. FELD is a means of creating sustainable entrepreneurship platforms for females in Nigeria. The project is in line with the UN’s Sustainability Goals of Zero Hunger, Quality Education, Decent Work, and Economic Growth as well as Reduced Inequality. These sustainability goals are to be achieved over time through activities that will cut across the three focus areas of the project which are: Digital Technology for Entrepreneurial Advancement, Enhanced Agricultural Learning and Skill Acquisition.