Our Board

Born on 10th May 1952, he is a Nigerian from Zuru in the northern Kebbi State of the country..

He was educated in Catholic Schools in Minna, Nigeria and at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he graduated in 1977 with a First Class Honours degree in Business Administration. In 1979, he graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with an M.Sc degree in Economics with emphasis on Human Resource Management. He is a member of the National Institute (mni) having attended the one year Strategic Management Course at the Nigerian Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos in 1998. He is also a Chartered Management Consultant. A retired career diplomat, he started as an Academic with the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and set up the School of Business Studies at the then Sokoto State Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi. He has served in some Nigerian Missions abroad including London, United Kingdom; Pretoria, South Africa where he was Deputy Head of Mission. He was Nigeria’s pioneer Ambassador and Coordinator of Programmes at the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Secretariat, Midrand, South Africa from January 2002 to March 2004 and was responsible for creating most documents on NEPAD. He was Nigeria’s Ambassador to Sao Tome & Principe between 2007 & 2010. He holds the Nigerian National Honour of Officer of the Order of Niger, (OON) having been decorated by the Nigerian President in 2002 for outstanding contributions to Nigerian Foreign Service. He has articles published in Administrative and Management Journals and Chapters in books on NEPAD and has delivered papers at international meetings including at the Russian Institute for International Affairs, Moscow in May 2005. He is currently on the Boards of Guinness Nigeria, Tom Hawksworth Ltd, Family Ministries (Africa) International, Abuja and Faith Revival for the Nations (FReN) based in Livingstone, Zambia and Australia. He has served previously on the Boards of the Commonwealth Foundation, London (1989-91), Swazi Sugar Company, Swaziland (1999-2001) and Centre for African International Relations (CAIR) of the University of Witts, Johannesburg, S Africa (2002-2004). To give back to society and especially Nigeria for the opportunities given to him, he co-founded the African Policy Research (Katampe Hill) Institute, Abuja where he is the Executive Director. The Institute aims to bridge the development gap through informed policies. Married to Hannah Jedidah (nee Ango), he is blessed with 3 children, Daniel, Elizabeth & John.

Engr. Adekola Isaiah Ogundayo, was born into the Ogundayo family of Igboho in OrelopeLGA of Oyo State on the 23rd of August 1964. He had his early education in Ghana, returning home to attend the University of Ibadan where he graduated with a 2nd Class Honours “Upper Division degree in Civil Engineering in 1987.

Engr. Ogundayo also obtained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA), from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1998; and became a Corporate Member of Nigeria Society of Engineers in 1992, a COREN Registered Engineer in 1993 and a Member, Institute of Construction Industry Arbitrators in 1997. He is a Fellow, Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria (2007) and a Fellow, Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria (2008). Engr. Ogundayo has over twenty-eight (28) years of experience in the practice of Civil/Structural Engineering. He has had a stint as a Consultant/Designer in Engineering Projects at OSOT Associates – Bauchi office and Spick Associates - Kaduna, where he rose to become an associate Partner. Engr. Ogundayo served as a member of the professional team for ACCREDITATION of some Federal Colleges of Education (FCE) and has also served with other allied professionals on the team that prepared the documents “CAPITAL PROJECTS IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE FOR COLLEGES OF EDUCATION” AND “MASTER PLANNING GUIDES FOR COLLEGES” for use by Colleges of Education nationwide. He was also involved in the review, analysis and recommendations on Capital Projects proposals for FCE’s nationwide and the monitoring and evaluation of the utilization of funds on approved capital projects. He has served as member of Governing Councils in two tertiary institutions (FCEs). As a professional engineer, he has been involved in the Design and Supervision of several projects nationwide, some of which include Construction of the NCCE Headquarters buildings complex and Multi-Storey Carpark located in the Centre of Abuja, Political Party Offices nationwide(SDP/NRC era), Student’s Centre Complex at University of Maiduguri, Federal High Court Judges Quarters at Port Harcourt and Yola, Aircraft Maintenance Hangar for Seba Holdings at Kaduna Airport, Hospital Complex for Alpha Dental Centre, Abuja, the Digital Centre at CMD, Lagos for the National Planning Commission, CBN Centre of Excellence at UNIMAID, several road and other civil engineering projects nationwide, and the Multipurpose complex for First Baptist Church, Garki, Abuja, FCT. He is currently a national EXCO member of the Water Division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a Fellow of the society. Engr. Ogundayo’s hobbies are Reading and Travelling. He is happily married and the marriage is blessed with children.

Ambassador John Kayode Shinkaiye was a career diplomat, with a wealth of experience in and knowledge of the private and public sectors across Africa, Europe and Asia spanning over four decades.

He studied Sociology at the University of Lagos where he obtained a B.Sc. Hons 2nd Class Upper Division degree in 1972. He attended Government Secondary, School in Dekina in Kogi State before proceeding to the famous Kings College, Lagos for his Higher School Certificate. He learnt French in the University of Dakar. He served in many Nigerian missions in Africa and in Britain as follows: Lome, Togo (1973 to 1977); London, Britain (1978 to 1982) Dakar, Senegal (1984 to 1987) and London again (1987 to 1989). He was appointed Nigeria’s Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea in 1989 at a time the relations between the two countries were at their lowest ebb. His main mandate was to work towards restoring normalcy in the relations between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. He achieved that objective. At Headquarters, he occupied very strategic positions and played important roles in his country’s diplomatic, security and political structures. He was the Assistant to the Special Assistant to the Permanent Secretary (1977 to 1978) becoming himself the Special Assistant to the Permanent Secretary (1982 to 1984) and Director, Office of Permanent Secretary from 1998 to 2000. In these positions, Ambassador Shinkaiye was the liaison for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the Ministry of Defence, the Special Services Department of the Cabinet Office, Defence Headquarters, the Army, Navy and Air Force and the Security Services. He was also the point of contact for the Defence/Military Advisers/Attaches of Foreign Missions in Nigeria. A consummate negotiator and brave envoy, Ambassador Shinkaiye led the Nigerian 3-man delegation to the Lome Peace Talk on Sierra Leone in 1999 where the Nigerian delegation, made substantial contributions to the Lome Peace Agreement. Before the RUF accepted the agreement, Ambassador Shinkaiye alongside Ambassador Joe Keshi had to go to the RUF headquarters to meet the Field Commanders before any cease fire agreement was in place. In recognition of his bravery and good faith, Ambassador Shinkaiye, after persuading the rebels to accept the agreement, asked for and was given ten (10) Nigerian Prisoners of War being held by the rebels who travelled with him to Abuja. He was appointed the Ambassador of Nigeria to Ethiopia from January 2000 to August 2003. He was concurrently accredited to the Republic of Djibouti as well as being Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation of African Unity/African Union (OAU/AU) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). As Nigeria’s Ambassador in Addis Ababa, Ambassador Shinkaiye was intimately involved in the transformation of the OAU to the AU and was one of the lead African Ambassadors that developed all the instruments of the new continental body. He chaired many, or served on many OAU/AU Committees, Sub-Committees and Working Groups. He served as the Chief of Staff of two African Union Commission Chairpersons, in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, namely former President Alpha Omar Konare of Mali, from January 2006 to April 2008, and Dr. Jean Ping of Gabon from May 2008 to October 2012. The duties of the Chief of Staff are multifarious and complex, including the coordination of the activities of the various Departments/Units in the Office of the Chairperson. He also had responsibility for coordinating the various partnerships Africa and the African Union had with several countries and organisations, including the EU, US, China, South America, India, Turkey and the Republic of Korea. He participated in many conferences including ECOWAS Summits, the Commonwealth, the OAU/AU, CEN-SAD, and SADC. He has visited almost all African countries and many European, Asian, American and South American countries as well Australia. He has authored several reports and contributed many articles in several publications and has given lectures in many conferences of Nigerian Defence Advisers; at the Immigration Staff College in Sokoto, NIPSS, the NATO Defence College in Rome, Italy the National Defence College, Abuja, the Foreign Service Academy and NIIA, Lagos. In recognition of his contributions to the strengthening of relations between Nigeria and Britain, he was honoured in May 1989 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the award of Lieutenant of the Royal Victoria Order (LVO) and for the same reason as given above, he was awarded the Medal of the Grand Cross of the Order of Independence (GCOI) by President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of the Equatorial Guinea in December 1993. He is an Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) which he was honoured with in 2001 and a Member of the National Institute (mni). An avid sportsman in his younger days, he represented his schools in football, volleyball and Athletics and was Captain or Vice-Captain including being the Captain of the Unilag Football team in 1970/71. He played for Nigeria’s Junior National Team in 1968 and also for a Lagos First Division Football Club- Flour Mills- from 1970-73. He was a delegate in the 2014 Nigerian National Conference which made several important recommendations for the restructuring of the country. He is married to his wife of almost forty-one (41) years, Mrs Agnes Oluwakemipe Shinkaiye and they are blessed with five children Mr Adebayo Shinkaiye, Mrs Naomi Foluwake Arimoro, Ms Foluwaso Shinkaiye, Mrs Titilayo Anegbe and Adeniyi Shinkaiye. He is currently, Chairman of JKS and Associates Ltd. and a Non-Executive Director of United Capital Plc.   .

Born in Odosimadegun, in Ogun State, South Western Nigeria, Ambassador Otukoya who is also known as Omo Ekun Pagoloju Wolu is a 1978 Bachelor of the Arts, graduate of English from the University of Lagos, Akoka. He obtained additional Masters Degrees International Relations from the University of Ile-Ife (1984), as well as an M.A. in Government (Counter-Terrorism and Homeland Security (2010)). He is multilingual, a veritable tool in his belt as a counter terrorism expert with spoken and written proficiency in English and Yoruba languages, speaking proficiency in Nihongo (from Japan), a working knowledge of the French language and oral proficiency in Portuguese..

He has certificates in Advanced Management Course - ASCON, Badagry (1992), in Japanese from the Institute for Translation & Interpretation Meguro, Tokyo (2002), in Executive Counter Terrorism Course Herzliyya, Israel (2008) and in Diplomacy and Strategy from the Laude School of Government, also Herzliyya in 2010. He also did his National Youth Service in Umuahia, present day Abia State between 1978 and 1979. In his storied career, he has been deployed severally across the world to represent Nigeria in different capacities. Some of these are as the Ambassador of Nigeria to the Republic of Angola (from July 2011), as the Minister, Political Affairs, Embassy of Nigeria, Israel between June 2007 to October 2010. He was the Charge d’Affaires a-i., Embassy of Nigeria, Tokyo from March till December 1999 and functioned as the Minister/Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Nigeria, Tokyo, Japan from October 1998 till June 2003. He has also previously served as the First Secretary/Head of Chancery Embassy of Nigeria, Washington DC from October 1987 – June 1991. His other deployments include but are not limited to Director, Office of the Director-General, Deputy Director Research and Intelligence Headquarters, Abuja, Controller, East and Central Africa Region, Assistant Director, (Research) Headquarters, Abuja, the Head, Americas Region, Headquarters, Abuja and Counsellor, ECSA Region, Headquarters, Abuja among many others spanning the years between 1981 and 2007. He was selected to be part of the Nigerian delegations to various fora like the 1982 Nigeria- Romania Joint Negotiation Team for Avoidance of Double Taxation; the 1985 – Nigeria/Zaire Team on Bilateral Air Services Agreement; the 1988 – Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Negotiation Team to Chevron/Philip Oil Company, California and Oklahoma, USA; the September 1989 IBRD/IMF Fall Meeting, Washington DC; October 1989 Nigeria/US Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty; the October 1998 Second Tokyo International Conference on Africa’s Development (TICAD II) Tokyo; the May 1999 International Tropical Timber Organization Council Meeting, Chiangma, Thailand; the June 2000 G7 Kyushu- Okinawa Summit, Japan; the June 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea / Japan, Oiso, Japan, the April 2003 Nigeria-Japan Special Partnership Forum, Tokyo and as a Member of the Drafting Committee of Constitutive Act for in 2006. He is a prolific thinker and speaker, who has attended several workshops such as the Conference on Agreeable Timber Quotas between Timber producing and Timber consuming countries, Chiangma, Thailand 1999 and several international conferences on counter terrorism. He has also delivered papers on various topics such as Coping With Terrorism: The Israeli Model For Dissuading Future Attacks – Paper Presented At Seminar in Herzliyya, 2008; the Psychological Aspects of Terrorism, The Factors that Drive People To Carry Out Suicide Attacks – Herzliyya, 2010; The Philosophy of Jihad According To Bin Baz: Grand Mufti of Mecca, Herzliyya, 2009; The Arab – Israeli Conflict: Implications for Global Security at the Foreign Service Academy in 2011. He is also an award winning scholar, with achievements such as the 1st Prize Winner – Professor Adeboye Babalola Prize for Oratory in Yoruba. (1970). He was a Federal Scholar between 1975 – 1978 at the University of Lagos. He received the Vice Chancellor’s Certificate of Commendation for Exemplary Leadership, at the University of Lagos, Nigeria in 1976. He is a 2008 National Award Recipient, Officer of the Order of the Niger, [OON]. He was until recently, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Angola starting July 2011. His hobbies are Reading, playing Soccer, Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, Chess, Scrabble and Mastermind. He is married with children. .

Born in Gashala, in Hong Local Government Area of the present Adamawa State Nigeria, Ambassador Ayuba H. M. Kadafa (fdc) is a consummate and award winning professional who served in the Nigerian diplomatic service until his retirement. He attended Government Secondary School Ganye between January 1970 and June 1974, and the North East College of Arts and Science Maiduguri between October 1974 and June 1976. He obtained his first degree in Political & Administrative Studies from the University of Maiduguri in June 1979 and a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the University of Bath, the United Kingdom, in 1983. He is also a graduate of the National Defence College Abuja and also obtained a Certificate in Peace Support Operations Course for Senior Leaders there in August 2010. .

Ambassador Kadafa is a Member of the Institute of Directors; an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, holds Certificate of Fellowship from the National Defence College Abuja, and has undergone much training both locally and internationally, to add to his vast repertoire of knowledge. Some of these are Advanced Management Course, ASCON (1994), Management Development Course on Government Strategic Public Relations (1994), United Nations Institute for Training and Research Certificates in Conference Diplomacy and Rules of Procedure (2003), on Negotiation Skills (2004), Fellowship Programme in Peacemaking and Preventive Diplomacy (2005), on Chairing of Multilateral Conferences (2006), and on Performing Effectively in Multilateral Conferences and Diplomacy (2006). .

A retired career diplomat, he did his National Youth Service with the 1979/80 batch and worked as an Administrative Officer in the then Gongola State Civil Service from September 1980 before joining the Mambilla Agricultural Development Project in September 1986. He transferred to the Nigerian Foreign Service as First Secretary in January 1987 and rose through the ranks of the Foreign Service to become a Director on 1st January 2007. He retired on 31st March 2015. .

Some of the major positions of responsibilities he held include Head of Chancery, Embassy of Nigeria Washington DC between 1991 and 1993; Special Assistant to the Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1994; Head of Programmes, Technical Aid Corps Scheme, Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 1995 and 1999; and Assistant Director, Regions/West Africa HQ between 2000 and 2002. He was a Minister at the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office, Geneva between 2002 and 2006, after which he was seconded by the Nigerian Government to the Global Digital Solidarity Fund as the Regional Director for Africa, between 2006 and 2009. He was a Director in Regions Directorate HQ 2010 to 2011 and Minister, Embassy of Nigeria Egypt from 2011 to January 2014. His last post was Ambassador/Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Nigeria Egypt February 2014 to 29th January 2015. During his career, he represented Nigeria in several international Conferences and meetings. He also received a total of 12 honours / awards / commendations for outstanding performances during his 35 years of public service. He is married with children.

Sir Paul Obi (Lt. Col. Rtd) is the Chairman/CEO of Pauliza Limited, an Oil and Gas service company. He has over 23 years of Military service and while in the military, he attended various Professional and Management Courses. He is a graduate of the prestigious US Army Aviation School Fort Rucker Alabama and holds a Higher Diploma in Aviation Technology and Commercial Pilot license (Rotary Wing). He is also a graduate of the Command Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna, where he obtained the Psc and he was awarded the Force Service Star (FSS) for meritorious service. He served with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and also under the ECOWAS Monitoring and Observer Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia while in service. He also served as the Military Administrator of Bayelsa State and this position exposed him to the complexities of the Niger Delta.

Since retirement in 1999, he has been involved in private business with emphasis on Oil and Gas, Corporate/Maritime Security, among others. He has attended various workshops and seminars worldwide, such as, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston Texas USA, World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in Brazil and South Africa amongst others. He is on the board of other companies such as Concert Alliance Ltd, United Mortgage Bank Ltd, Rode & Roke Ltd, Lagos Business School Alumni Board, ATA Technologies Ltd and Van Oord Nigeria Ltd, American Hospitals - Nigeria, Bonavista Oil, Petrodev Oil & Gas, Dreamworld Leisures Ltd and International Erosion Construction Solution (IECS) Nigeria Ltd. He is a keen golf player and also takes interest in photography and reading. He is married with four children.