The life of Professor Oyewale Tomori is a compelling testament to how policy, perseverance, and purpose can converge to shape history. Born into a large farming household in Ilesa, his early life seemed destined for anonymity. Yet, the introduction of free education under Obafemi Awolowo altered that trajectory, opening a path that would carry him …
Ìyá ni wúrà, ìye bíye — “mother is gold” — is a beloved Yoruba song that eulogises the impact of mothers, particularly Yoruba mothers, on society. That impact reached an extraordinary new level with Adedotun Fowora Akande, whose sacrifice of a flourishing banking career to care for her son with autism ultimately birthed Nigeria’s first …
Dotun Akande: How One Nigerian Mother Built Nigeria’s First Autism Centre Read More »
As Professor Babajide Owoeye marks his 70th birthday, his life offers a remarkable story of scholarship, vision, and institution-building in Nigeria’s educational landscape. Renowned as a scholar of International Relations, he is equally distinguished as an educational entrepreneur whose vision spans the entire knowledge value chain. From establishing a book publishing enterprise to founding a …
Born on 18 January 1959 in Badagry, Itunu Hotonu was raised without gender limits in an academic home that nurtured ambition and courage. From Architecture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka to becoming Africa’s first female admiral in the Nigerian Navy, her life redefined leadership, resilience, and possibility. First Daughter Raised Like a Son On …
Amos Tutuola’s life is a testament to the power of authenticity. Born in modest circumstances in Abeokuta, limited in formal education, criticised for his language, he nonetheless became a pioneering figure in African literature. As a self-taught Nigerian writer, he demonstrated that literary greatness does not require perfect grammar but profound imagination. His family background …
In Nigeria’s entrepreneurial landscape, Foluso Phillips proved that Nigerian entrepreneurs can leave behind legacies that do not crumble into memories once they retire. As founder and chairman of Phillips Consulting Limited, he spent four decades demonstrating a singular truth: businesses built on institutional frameworks, not individual brilliance, endure. His story offers a blueprint for young …
Foluso Phillips: Building Institutions That Outlive Their Founders Read More »
In an industry where many believed women are expected to serve as secretaries to bosses, not lead teams, she trained the first 67 engineers for Nigeria’s landmark Escravos Gas Project, many of whom now hold the nation’s most powerful energy positions. And in a society where girls are told to dream small, her father taught …
When Dr. Muyiwa Bamgbose reflects on his life, he says with characteristic humility, ‘I don’t know whether I have a career path because I’ve just been doing things, you know, that I come across.’ But what a journey those ‘things’ have been. At 70, this biochemistry-trained entrepreneur has recycled batteries into exported lead, turned waste …
In Nigeria’s public education system, many teachers simply want to teach and retire. Given the profession’s poor pay and the extensive community service attached to the nature of teaching, this modest ambition is understandable. Yet Dr. Rasheed Adekunle Fasasi saw the teaching profession differently, as a platform to mould minds, build character, and strengthen the …
Picture this: You’ve just graduated from Florida International University with a Master’s degree in Hospitality Management. Multiple lucrative job offers await you in America. Instead, you pack a tent, grab a torchlight and backpack, and head straight into a lion-infested forest in rural Nigeria. What greater show of courage and bravery, of being a true …
