Our Leadership Council
We are advised by exceptional leaders from Africa's public and private sectors.
Their experience in areas such as governance, public policy, philanthropy, academia, the media and healthcare is vital to our work, Such knowledge and expertise helps us to design and deliver effective programmes that improve the lives of Africans.
Chairman
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Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is a two-time President of Nigeria. He served as Nigeria’s military Head of State from 1976–79, becoming the first military ruler in Nigeria to hand over power to a democratically elected government. In 1999, he was elected civilian President and held office until 2007.
He currently serves as United Nations Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region and the Africa Union’s High Representative to the Horn of Africa. One of Africa’s most respected elder statesmen, he has been involved in numerous international mediation efforts and has overseen the democratic elections of countries across the African continent.
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Abubakar Mahmoud is a distinguished lawyer, with significant experience in local and international dispute resolution and advising complex commercial transactions.
He is the Managing Partner at Dikko and Mahmoud and a past Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Ltd. He was also the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Kano State, Nigeria.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Master’s degree in Company and Labour Relations Law, both from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
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Dr Akudo Anyanwu is an award-winning global health expert, public health innovator, and social entrepreneur with over 20 years' experience in the field of international development. She currently serves as the Vice President and Head of Business Development at the Clinton Health Access Initiative.
Dr Anyanwu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology from Lehigh University in the US, a Doctorate of Medicine from Tufts University in the US, and a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University’s School of Public Health.
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Dr Andrew S. Nevin has over 35 years of experience working at the complex intersection of economics, strategy, capital markets, social enterprises, and investment. He is currently a Research Professor and Inaugural Director of The Brainomics Venture at the Center for Brain Health, University of Texas at Dallas in the US.
Dr Nevin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Western University, a Master’s degree in Economics from Western University, a Master’s in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Oxford, and a doctorate in Economics from Harvard University.
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Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega, OFR was the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Nigeria from 2010 to 2015, during which time he presided over the conduct of two successful and widely acclaimed general elections.
Currently a Professor of Political Science at Bayero University Kano in Nigeria, Professor Jega has written extensively on Nigerian politics, elections, and democracy. He also serves on several international boards, including the Kofi Anan Foundation’s Electoral Integrity Initiative, and the International Federation of Electoral Systems (IFES). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Bayero University, Nigeria and a Doctorate from Northwestern University, Illinois, USA.
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Dr Dere Awosika is an accomplished administrator with over 35 years’ experience in public sector governance. She was Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Interior, the Federal Ministry of Science & Technology and the Federal Ministry of Power. She retired as a Federal Permanent Secretary in January 2013. She is a former Chairperson of Access Bank Plc, and currently serves as the Chairperson of the International Foundation Against Infectious Disease in Nigeria, and is also the founder of the Christian Benevolence Foundation.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, an MSc in Clinical Pharmacy, and a Doctorate in Pharmaceutical Technology from the University of Bradford in the UK. She is a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacy.
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Professor Enase Okonedo, FCA, is currently the Vice-Chancellor of the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, Nigeria. Prior to this, she was Dean of Lagos Business School (LBS) from 2009 to 2020 and was instrumental in transforming Lagos Business School into a globally recognised institution and the foremost business school in Africa. She is a Professor of Management.
Professor Okonedo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Benin, Nigeria, an MBA from IESE Business School, Barcelona in Spain and a doctorate from the International School of Management, Paris in France.
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Ernest Ebi is a distinguished figure in the Nigerian financial services industry with a career spanning more than four decades. He has served in executive capacities at the African Continental Bank, New Nigerian Bank, Diamond Bank and Fidelity Bank. He was Deputy Governor in the Central Bank of Nigeria from 1999 to 2009 and was a former chairman of AIICO Pension Managers.
He holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and an MBA from Howard University, Washington D.C in the US.
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Fola Laoye is co-founder and CEO of Iwosan Investments Limited, a Health Investments Holding Company and the owners of Iwosan Lagoon Hospitals. She is also a founding board member of Hygeia Group Nigeria, the founders of Hygeia HMO and Lagoon Hospitals, where she held various leadership roles including CEO (2002-2012) and Chairperson (2012-2015).
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos in Nigeria and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Dr Jeya Wilson brings a wealth of experience in international development, corporate governance, cybersecurity and digital risk management. She has served in numerous capacities including as Director at the United Nations Development Programme and as Chair, Independent Oversight Committees of the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organization. She currently serves on the board of the Commonwealth Sports Foundation and is a Trustee of the Oxford Union.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand and a doctorate in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where she was President of the Oxford Union.
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Ken Ofori-Atta is an eminent Ghanaian economist and investment banker who served as the country’s Finance Minister for over seven years. He has over 30 years’ experience in the Ghanaian and international financial sector and co-founded the investment banking firm Databank Group in 1990, serving as the company’s Executive Chairman until his retirement in 2012.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Columbia University, New York, US, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management in the US.
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Dr Omobola Johnson is Senior Partner of TLcom Capital, a venture capital firm with a focus on deal flow generation, investment, and value generation in technology companies in sub-Saharan Africa. She was Country Managing Director of Accenture, Nigeria and served as Nigeria’s first Minister of Communication Technology from 2011 to 2015.
Dr Johnson holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Manchester in the UK, a Master's degree in Digital Electronics from King's College, London in the UK and a doctorate in Business Administration from the School of Management of Cranfield University, also in the UK.
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Dr Uzodinma Iweala is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and medical doctor. As the CEO of the Africa Center, he is dedicated to promoting a new narrative about Africa and its diaspora. He is currently a visiting professor and writer-in-residence at New York University, USA. Prior to this, he was the CEO, Editor-In-Chief, and co-founder of Ventures Africa magazine, a publication that covers the evolving business, policy, culture, and innovation spaces in Africa. A prolific author, he wrote Beasts of No Nation, a novel released in 2005 to critical acclaim and later adapted into a major motion picture.
He holds a degree in Medicine from Columbia University, New York, US and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Yemisi Ayeni is a former Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Closed Pension Fund Administrator Ltd, a position she held for 10 years until her retirement in April 2015. In November 2004, she became the first Nigerian woman to be appointed to the board of a Shell company in Nigeria when she was appointed Finance Director at Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Company. Yemisi was a Council Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and was also Vice-Chair of the Pension Fund Operators’ Association of Nigeria and Chair of its Institute Committee.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, concentrating in Accounting and Business Finance, from the University of Manchester and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in England and Wales in 1989.
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Dr Zainab Usman is a Director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. Her fields of expertise include institutions, economic policy, energy policy, and emerging economies in Africa. She currently sits on the advisory board of the Energy for Growth Hub in Washington, D.C., and on the editorial board of Premium Times in Nigeria. Previously she was a Public Sector Specialist at the World Bank where she worked on the governance and institutions of natural resources management, energy sector reforms, service delivery as well as south-south economic relations.
Dr Usman holds a Bachelor’s degree from Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, a Master’s degree from the University of Birmingham in the UK and a doctorate from the University of Oxford.
