Afolabi Adekaiyaoja

Global Shaper, Abuja Hub

I am a Nigerian writer, researcher and development adviser. I currently lead research at the Centre for Democracy and Development, a think tank that focuses on democracy and development in West Africa and I have been responsible for developing briefs, reports and research documents used by African and international governments and donors to inform policy in the region.

Before my work at CDD West Africa, I also worked on developing policy on Nigeria's COVID-19 response as a Technical Assistant to the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). In this position, I coordinated the intergovernmental data analysis group and the policy development unit which informed the government's easing of lockdown policy. Previous roles have also included assisting external clients in entering Nigeria's digital communications industry and also working as an advisor intern at the African Union Mission to the UN in New York where I actively led on political affairs and peace & security briefs.

I am a co-founder of Twenty-Seven Productions, an audio-visual production company that works on telling unique African stories. Among our podcasts are I Like Girls, a podcast that focuses on feminist narratives and seeks to provide a platform for such discourse and I Too Sabi, a podcast that looks at perspectives and life by Nigerian millennials. I am also chair of the Board of Trustees of the LIMUN Foundation, a charity that uses Model UN to bring together young leaders from around the world to learn valuable skills to ensure a more cosmopolitan future. LIMUN runs the largest university-based Model UN conference in Europe and has partnered with UNESCO and the UN office on Information on several projects.

I am an avid writer whose work has appeared in Foreign Policy, African Arguments, The Republic, Stears Business, Culture Custodian, Punch Newspapers and a short story in the Kalahari Review. I have also been invited to provide commentary and analysis on domestic and international media concerning West African politics.

I have a Bachelors in International Relations from Queen Mary, University of London and a Masters in African Politics from SOAS, University of London, where I also co-chaired the 2019 African Development Forum. Between these degrees, he was a Social Inequality Fellow with a program called YearHere.

When not working, he loves reading, travelling, watching movies and working on, as well playing, tabletop games.

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