Former minister and founder of Human Capital Africa, Oby Ezekwesili, has been announced as the keynote speaker for the 7th edition of the annual Penpushing Media anniversary lecture.
The event is scheduled to hold on July 31, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Chairperson of the anniversary lecture, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, made the disclosure while speaking with journalists. She stated that Ezekwesili had accepted the role and confirmed her physical presence at the event.
According to Akiyode-Afolabi, the keynote speaker will speak on the theme “Reworking Nigeria’s Federalism: Perspective on Restructuring and Fiscal Federalism.” She added that four intellectuals would be joining her as panelists during the lecture.
Ezekwesili praised the organisers for their commitment to promoting critical conversations through media, saying she commended the editorial board and planning committee of Penpushing Media “for the foresight and relevance in the media industry.”
Ezekwesili served as Nigeria’s minister of solid minerals and later as minister of education before she joined the World Bank in 2007. At the World Bank, she rose to become Vice President for the Africa region, overseeing over 1,500 staff and managing projects and sectoral work across 47 Sub-Saharan African countries with a lending portfolio nearing $40 billion.
She currently serves as a senior economic advisor at the Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative under the Open Society Foundation, advising nine reform-focused African presidents on economic development strategy, policy, and implementation.
Ezekwesili is also a board member of several prestigious organisations, including Bharti Airtel, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), New Africa Magazine, Central European University’s School of Public Policy, Harold Hartog School of Government and Policy, Center for Global Leadership at Tufts University and the Global Advisory Board of Facebook’s Community Leadership Program.
She is a member of the Board of Directors of AfriHeritage Institute, a member of the Global Board of Governors of NCMG International and part of the UNHCR’s Advisory Group on Gender, Forced Displacement and Protection, as well as the Advisory Board of the Atlantic Dialogues.
Her global influence has earned her several recognitions, including being named among BBC’s 100 Women in 2014, TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2015 and Genius: 100 Visions of the Future by the Albert Einstein Foundation in 2017.
Ezekwesili is also known for her advocacy for democracy and good governance, dating back to her days as a young professional in the late 1980s. She was the first woman to chair The Concerned Professionals Citizens Movement, which fought for the end of military rule and the actualisation of the annulled 1993 election won by Moshood Abiola.
In 2014, she co-founded the Bring Back Our Girls movement to raise global awareness about the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State. The group became a major voice for the rescue of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram.
She later launched the #RedCardMovement in 2018, a citizens-driven advocacy platform focused on ending bad governance in Nigeria, regardless of party affiliation.
Ezekwesili is also the founder of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) and co-chair of the #FixPoliticsInitiative, which established the school to groom a new generation of competent, ethical, and capable public leaders.
The Penpushing Media anniversary lecture has grown into an important platform for deep intellectual engagement on national issues.
This year’s edition is expected to spotlight conversations around fiscal federalism and restructuring issues currently dominating national discourse.
