Category: Leadership & Diplomacy

Tonye Cole and Muhammed Sanu Abdullahi have been appointed by the World Bank Group into its Expert Advisory Council on citizen engagement.

The council was established in 2014 to guide the development and implementation of the Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in the Bank’s operations.

The strategic framework of the council was designed to give citizens a stake in decision making to improve the intermediate and final development outcomes of their partnerships with government.

Mr. Tonye Cole, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Sahara Group, who is one of the first two Nigerians ever to be appointed to the Council, said:

“The World Bank is a results-driven institution. I am delighted at the opportunity to collaborate with other members of the Council on robust agenda setting and implementation of initiatives that are so crucial to global sustainable development.

My work with global agencies and institutions on sustainable development has only reinforced the importance of private and public sector collaboration. My colleagues and I believe continued cross-sectorial and multi-stakeholder engagement can transform the landscape on sustainability and social development for the next generation. I am feeling very positive as we collectively embark on this new chapter.”

Mr. Tonye Cole is one of the two designated private sector specialists on the Council, composed of two representatives each from civil society, academia, the private sector, governments, foundations and development partner/donor organisations.

Muhammed Sanu Abdullahi represents the Government of the State of Kaduna.

Other new members joining the Council are: Flavia Milano (Inter-American Development Bank), Helena Bjunemalm (Swedish International Development Agency), and Emily Martinez (Open Society Foundations).

World Bank official Jeff Thindwa, Manager of the Global Partnership for Social Accountability and who oversees the Council nomination and selection process, on Cole’s addition to the Council said:

“Mr. Cole will bring a unique private sector perspective to the Council. Combined with his longstanding experience serving global development institutions in various capacities, this positions Mr Cole to make an impactful contribution to the work of the Council.”

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been appointed into the board of Twitter Inc. alongside Robert Zoellick (previously president of the World Bank) as new independent directors.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is the third woman and first African to ever be appointed unto the board of Twitter.

Continue reading Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Appointed To The Board Of Twitter [2018]

Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom has presented to Hauwa Ojeifo, Isaac Ezirim and Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph with a Queen’s Young Leaders Award at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London in honour of the work they are doing to transform lives in their communities (in Nigeria).

Continue reading 3 Nigerians Receive Queen Elizabeth’s Young Leaders Award [2018]

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has been honored with the Commander of the Order of Mono − the highest civil honor of Togo.

The Commander of the Order of Mono national honour, bestowed on personalities who have shown exceptional merit, was awarded by the Head of State of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, on the sidelines of a visit to Togo for the launch of the Mécanisme Indicatif de Financement Agricole (MIFA), a program aimed at improving farmers’ access to finance.

MIFA is based on Nigeria’s successful experiences with NIRSAL, where it helped de-risk lending by commercial banks to agriculture.

Addressing participants at the ceremony, Dr. Adesina said:

“Transforming agriculture is the key to reviving rural economies and turning them into new zones of economic prosperity. The MIFA initiative you are launching today is another building block in Togo’s agricultural transformation strategy jointly developed by the African Development Bank and the Government of Togo, with the support of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing system for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

When fully implemented, it is expected to rapidly increase bank lending to the agricultural sector, reduce interest rates, and reach 1 million farmers with access to credit in the next 3-5 years.”

In attendance at the event were President Gnassingbé and members of his cabinet, including Prime Minister Komi Selom Klassou, members of the diplomatic corps, the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, NIRSAL CEO, Aliyu Hameed, as well as representatives from the private sector.

The African Development Bank has helped Togo implement AgriPME, a system that allows farmers to access fertilizer using their mobile phones.

In 2016/2017, more than 77,500 farmers, 38% of them women, received their fertilizers through the system. AgriPME has allowed the government to better target farmers and deliver subsidized farm inputs. AgriPME has also improved transparency, accountability and increased public spending efficiency. A total of 40,000 MT of fertilizer were provided to farmers, compared to 30,000 MT on average over the period 2009-2015, an increase of 45%. The system has also led to CFAF 3.5 billion in savings for the Government of Togo.

Since the beginning of its operations in Togo in 1972, the African Development Bank Group has approved 76 operations representing a total of USD 538.24 million.

Continue reading Aliko Dangote Named UNWTO’s First African Ambassador For Responsible Tourism

West Africa Health Examinations Board (WAHEB) Registrar/CEO, Dr. Gladys Nchelem Ihunda, has received the 13th edition of the Nelson Mandela African Leadership Award on Administration and Humanitarian Services Per-Excellence. The event held at Central Medical Laboratory Hall, Yaba, Lagos.

African Youth Parliament (AYP) Speaker, Hon. Bamikole Oladele Babs, leading the conferment of the award, said AYP’s quest seeking outstanding humanitarianism, found all the qualities required to win the international award in Dr. Ihunda.

He said:

“We seek to find ourselves role models, outstanding and mentors in life as we found in Dr. (Mrs.) Gladys Nchelem Ihunda, an erudite peace builder, experienced woman of invaluable intellectual prowess, a proven public and  private sector leader par-excellence.”

According to Hon. Bamikole Oladele Babs, Dr. Ihunda ranked among 12 African leaders, who earlier received the international award. They included, former President of Ghana, Mr. John Agyekum Kuffor, Founder, Afe Babalola  University,  Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Aare Afe Babalola, former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, former World Court Judge Bola Ajibola and CEO, Peace Connect  Multinational  Companies, Freetown, Sierra-Leone, Professor Clement K. Dzidonu, etc.

Ambassador Peters Emuze has been elected to the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) to represent the African continent for a four-year tenure, in a keenly-contested election held at the UN Headquarters, New York.

CESCR is the body of 18 independent experts that monitors countries’ compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of citizens by its States parties. The committee was established under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution 1985/17 of May 28, 1985, to carry out the monitoring functions assigned to the UN ECOSOC.

Peters Emuze, who entered the race barely two months to the election, beat candidates of six other countries; Algeria, Sudan, Niger, Uganda, Cameroon and Mauritius, who had been campaigning for upward of one year. His victory, in securing the first of the two seats for Africa is seen as a ‘feather’ for Nigeria which would also improve Nigeria’s future “diplomatic leverage”.

However, Cameroon withdrew at the last minute while Mauritius’ candidate defeated Algeria’s in a run-off to secure  the second seat for Africa.

Fielding candidates for CESCR would require the country’s permanent mission to the UN. In this instance, the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN at New York and Geneva, in conjunction with all the 54 Nigerian missions in ECOSOC member states, coordinated the process and canvassed for votes for the position.

Nigeria’s Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande, wrote to all the 54-Member States of ECOSOC, seeking their support for Nigeria’s candidate.

Nigeria’s Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Samson Itegboje, said it became impossible to get countries to step down for Nigeria, as all of them wanted to “go for broke”.

According to Nigeria’s Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN:

“The victory has raised our profile on the international stage. I don’t think there are many countries that can pull such outing, two months to the election. We can call it a miracle but it was a result of hard work, strategy and good relations.

Also, we presented the best, as our candidate has got the required experience including being the former Charge d’Affaires at the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN Offices in Geneva.”