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Early this year, the board of editors at BusinessDay decided to look back on the year 2017 and pick out the individuals, who through the position they hold or by their actions have had an influence on the country in different ways. Below is a list of people that we consider were influential in 2017. The list is in no specific order. It represents some very popular names and also the not so popular. However, we believe they all had some significant influence on how the country shaped out in 2017 and many of them are still influencing how it is shaping out in 2018. undergraduate degree in Law at the University of Lagos, where he was awarded a LLB Law degree, before proceeding to London School of Economics in United Kingdom for his Masters. He is married to Dolapo Osinbajo, a granddaughter of Obafemi Awolowo. They have three children together.
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MUHAMMADU BUHARI
The number one citizen of Nigeria had unsuccessfully run for the office of president in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 general elections. In December 2014, he emerged as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the March 2015 general elections. Buhari won the election, defeating the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. This marked the first time in the history of the country that an incumbent president lost to an opposition candidate in a general election. He was sworn in on 29 May 2015. He was named the African Union’s AntiCorruption Year champion at the 30th African Union summit of 2018 held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.
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ATIKU ABUBAKAR
Atiku Abubakar, is a Nigerian politician, businessman and philanthropist, who served as the second elected Vice-President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), with President Olusegun Obasanjo.
ONNI OF IFE
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OBA OF BENIN
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MUHAMMADU SANUSI II
the 51 st ooni of Ife is one of the youngest traditional rulers in the country. A successful entrepreneur before he was picked to succeed the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade, he has brought a lot of vibrancy and modernity to the traditional and ancient title of Ife. He is widely respected and revered in Yoruba land by Yorubas in and outside the country.
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Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s President is passionately loved by his supporters, spread across the country. He is a retired major general in the Nigerian Army and previously served as the nation’s head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985, after taking power in a military coup d’état.
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OLUSEGUN OBASANJO
Born in Abeokuta, ogun state, Nigeria on an unknown zdate in 1937, Obansanjo was once a former military head of state in Nigeria and second democratically elected president of the federal republic of Nigeria. This makes him the longest serving president in Nigeria’s history. Obasanjo is no known to hide his opinion on national issues and the stand he takes on national issues can usually sway public opinion in that direction. He remains the reference point in political commentary in the country and is highly influence across the African continent.
The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare Ogigigan II, is revered far and wide. As the head of the historic Eweka dynasty of the Benin Empire, he carries a tradition that stretches far back into pre-colonial Nigeria. His word is law in Edo land and those who defy the Oba, does so at their own peril. Traditionally known as Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku’ Akpolokpolo Ewuare 11, he became the 40th Oba of Benin Kingdom after his coronation on October 20, 2017.
He went into private business after his retirement, with interests in oil Services, agriculture, food and beverages, print media, insurance, pharmaceuticals, and education. His reported philanthropic activities have included building of schools and mosques across the country, sponsorship of local and foreign treatment of citizens with aggravated medical problems, as well as local and overseas scholarships to disadvantaged Nigerian students.
OLUYEMI OSINBAJO
Oluyemi Osinbajo is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who is the current Vice President of Nigeria. He is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor of Law and until his inauguration a Senior Partner with Simmons Cooper Partners, a commercial law practice. Even though, little was known about him before he was handpicked to be President Buhari’s running mate, he has quickly grown in statue and influence in his new position. As the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he oversees the economic management team as well as make recommendations, to the president who takes the final decision. He has served as acting president several occasions in the absence of Buhari and in each occasion has earned high commendations for the way he handled national affairs. He was highly influential in earning the peace in the Niger Delta in 2017 resulting in a significant pick up in the country’s oil production. Born on the 8th of March 1957, he had his
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Atiku’s defection to the opposition PDP was the high point of the 2017 political calendar. Currently, he is seen as the leading potential opposition presidential candidate to stand against President Buhari in 2017. He has strong followership across the country and social media looks forward to his tweets on national issues as it usually elicits response from the Presidency.
THE SULTAN OF SOKOTO
One of the most influential positions in the country, it is currently occupied by Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III. The Sultan of Sokoto is both a traditional and religious title. He is not only the ruler of Sokoto, he is also the head of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (Society for the Support of Islam - JNI), and president-general of the Nigerian National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). He is considered as the leader of Nigeria’s Muslim population and therefore wields a lot of influence.
The outspoken and controversial emir of Kano remains highly influential across the country. Sanusi II, despite his exalted position has remained outspoken against early child marriage in the North as well as the
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(IPOB), which advocates a sovereign state for the Igbo speaking people of Nigeria as well as those from the south-south region of Nigeria. He is also the director of a London-based radio station named Radio Biafra. Kanu’s influence reached its peak in 2017 before he vanished from the public view after a military raid on his house in October 2017. Even though he has not been seen in public since October 2017, Kanu still remains influential on the streets of the South East with several thousands of followers.
poverty and low literacy rate in the region. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and other prominent figures in the North had to intervene when the Kano State House of Assembly commenced a controversial investigation of the Emir for alleged corruption but which sources linked to his outspoken views on major issues in the North. Sanusi II remains an influential voice across the country.
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Otunba Ganiyu Adams is the leader of a faction of the Oodua Peoples Congress, a secessionist and nationalist organisation, which supports a sovereign state for the Yoruba people. He was born on 30th April, 1970 at Arigidi-Akoko in the present Akoko North-West Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. His low lying OPC has grown to become one of the most influential neighbourhood militia in the South West. Most neighbourhoods in the region now depend on the OPC for security and they all report to Gani Adams. In October 2017, Adams was named as the Aare Ona Kakanfo, a very revered and influential Yoruba supreme military title.
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THE OBI OF ONITSHA
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IBRAHIM MAGU
Ibrahim Magu fondly called “General”, assumed office on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 as the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In his position, he has become the arrowhead of President Buhari’s anti-corruption war. He has taken on high profile public officers in and outside government in this fight recovering billions of naira in allegedly stolen public funds. Magu, himself, has not been devoid of controversies. He remains unconfirmed in his position following a damning report on him by the Department of State Security (DSS). However, the President’s refusal to remove has resulted in a situation where the Senate has refused to confirm any more of the president’s nominees.
BUKOLA SARAKI
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NYESOM WIKE
Bukola Saraki, born December 19, 1962, is the Senate President that his party did not want. Despite the odds, Saraki has survived as Senate President and has marshalled the activities of Nigeria’s upper chamber into passing some of the most influential laws in the country, like the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) among others. It is a tribute to the strong influence of Saraki among his colleagues that he survived prosecution at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for false declaration of assets. He remains the most influential politician in his home state of Kwara, where his political machinery, which he inherited from his father determines who emerges governor in the state.
AYO FAYOSE
Peter Ayodele Fayose, born on 15 November in 1960 is a Nigerian politician and the current Governor of Ekiti State. Fayose has become the face of opposition politics in Nigeria. He is quick to challenge the ruling APC on political issues, a position that has made one him, perhaps, the country’s most controversial governor. Fayose, in 2017, was the first politician to declare his intentions to run for president in 2019 despite the fact that his party, the PDP has zoned the position to the North.
BOLA TINUBU
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was born in Lagos, Nigeria to the Tinubu Family of Lagos State. The former governor of Lagos State (1999-2007) is one of the most successful politicians in the country and remains the most influential politician in the South West
Igwe Nnanyelugo Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe is the the 21st Obi of Onitsha, the commercial hub of the South East. He is the head of dynasty that has thrived for more than 400 years and has grown in respect and stature over the period. Like many traditional rulers, the Obi is considered ‘semi divine’ and therefore quite influential in the affairs of men.
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GANIYU ADAMS
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Nicknamed “Giant” at the university because of his diminutive stature, Nasir el-Rufai the current Governor of Kaduna State, has proved he is not afraid of taking controversial positions on major national issues. Many view him as a man who can get difficult jobs done, especially after he ordered the demolition of the house of the Chairman of the ruling PDP during his time as FCT Minister. In late 2017, El Rufai sacked about 22,000 primary school teachers in Kaduna after they failed an assessment test, confirming his reputation as a man who can take difficult decisions even when it could impair his political future. He remains highly influential within the ruling APC and is seen in some quarters as a potential successor, if Buhari declines to go for a second term.
NNAMDI KANU
Nwannekaenyi Nnamdi Kenny Okwu Kanu, born in September 1967 is a British-Nigerian political activist. He is a leading member of one of several Biafran separatist organisations, the Indigenous People of Biafra
in the ruling APC. Despite earlier attempts to whittle down his influence in the ruling APC, Tinubu has continued to remain the politician to court in the South West. He has absolute control of Lagos politics and reputed to have the capacity to influence political outcomes in other states in the South West.
Nyesom Wike, born 13 December 1967, is a lawyer and politician who is also the sixth and current governor of River state. He is a member of the People’s Democratic Party and was educated at Rivers State University of Science and Technology. Wike is currently considered the most influential politician in the opposition PDP and is reputed to have played a highly influential role in the emergence of Uche Secondus as the Chairman of the PDP in December 2017. He is one of the key politicians to court for those seeking the PDP’s
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the plant will create an estimated 4,000 jobs and save the country about US$12 billion in import bill and generate about US$5.5 billion in export income. The plant will have the world’s largest single line refinery, petrochemical complex, and the world’s second largest Urea Fertiliser plant. The refinery will have the capacity to refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The Petrochemical Plant will produce 780 KTPA Polypropylene,
presidential ticket in 2019 and where he swings will likely determine whoever emerges finally.
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TONY ELUMELU
JIM OVIA
Jim Ovia is Chairman and the founder and pioneer Group Managing Director / CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, one of Africa’s most profitable financial institutions. He is also the founder Visafone, a CDMA telecom company, which he later sold to MTN. He is also widely invested in prime real estate across the country as well as in the education sector. He is deeply involved in promoting ICT education in the country.
Tony Elumelu, Chairman Heirs Holdings, Transcorp and UBA Plc has emerged the voice of entrepreneurship across the continent. He is increasingly becoming Nigeria’s most sort after speaker on the international circuit as he preaches entrepreneurship as a solution to high poverty rate on the continent. The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), US$100 million Entrepreneurship Development Programme has become the biggest direct intervention in building Africa’s future entrepreneurs. Already in its 4 th cycle, about 500 KTPA of Polyethylene, while the Fertiliser project will produce 3.0 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) of Urea. In addition, Dangote is also building the largest sub-sea pipeline infrastructure in any country in the world, with a length of 1,100 km, to handle 3 billion SCF of gas per day, enough to generate 12,000MW of electricity.
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AKINWUNMI AMBODE
Akinwunmi Ambode, born June 14 1963, was a civil servant and a financial consultant for 27 years before running for public office as Governor of Lagos State. In the last two and half years, he has emerged as, perhaps, the best performing governor in the country, completing several signposts projects that has earned him accolades. He has become the reference point in governance in the country and significant built on the achievements of previous governments in the state.
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YAKUBU DOGARA
Yakubu Dogara, born 26 December 1967, is a Nigerian politician who is serving the 14th and current Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives. Like Saraki, Dogara is also the Speaker that his party did not want. Despite emerging against the wishes of the ruling APC, Dogara has been able to hold onto his position and led the House of Representatives to pass several significant bills into law.
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3,000 African start-ups have benefited from the training and networking opportunities offered by the programme as well as the US$10,000 start-up capital.
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ABDULSAMAD RABIU
AbdulSamad Isyaku Rabiu is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture with revenue in excess of $2.5 billion. The group’s tentacles spread across all the key sectors of the economy and is one of the biggest employers of labour across the country.
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DICK KRAMER
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JOHN OBARO
Dick Kramer is a Non-Executive Director of Union Bank since 2012. Kramer is the Chairman of African Capital Alliance, an organization that has pioneered the management of private equity investments in high potential sectors of the Nigerian economy. Through ACA, Kramer has helped direct capital into critical sectors of the Nigerian economy. ACA has achieved aggregate capital commitments in excess of US$1 billion since 1997.
ALIKO DANGOTE
Aliko Dangote is Africa’s biggest entrepreneur and richest man with a net worth currently estimated at US$14.2 billion. The Dangote Group has business operations in about 16 countries on the continent and is still expanding. Dangote has invested billions of dollars in Nigeria and across the continent. Dangote is currently in completion stages of the Dangote Petrol Chemical and Refinery Plant located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos State. When completed next year, 2019,
John Obaro is the founder of SystemSpecs Nigeria Limited, a company he nurtured from a 5-man partner agent of Systems Union in 1991 to a financial technology company. Prominent among the solutions SystemSpecs has developed are Remita, HumanManager among others. The
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tion expert. Since starting Air Peace in 2013, the airline has grown very fast into having the largest air fleet in the country facilitating business and personal travel across the country. The airline currently has 24 aircrafts in its fleet flying both domestic and the West Africa destinations with plans to add routes outside West Africa this year.
from one of the smallest banks in the country when it was acquired in 2002. Despite retiring, Aig still remains highly involved in the financial sector through several strategic investments. He is the founder and Chairman of Coronation Capital Nigeria Limited, Coronation Merchant Bank and Wapic Insurance Plc. He is also founder of the Africa Initiative for Governance (“AIG”), through which he seeks to transform the quality of leadership on the African continent. He was president of the council of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) until he retired from the council in 2017.
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by assets. She is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Chair Centre Group. Awosika also chairs a number of corporate and not-for-profit boards amongst which are: House of Tara International and After School Graduate Development Centre (AGDC), a facility which she promoted to help address youth employability and enterprise issues in Nigeria. With high interest in social issues, including women, Ibukun is a co-founder and past chairperson of Women in Business, Management and Public Service (WIMBIZ). The multiple award-winning entrepreneur is one of the most visible and influential women in corporate board rooms in the country.
Remita software has emerged as, perhaps, the country’s most important software helping the federal government mop up trillions in revenue through the treasury single account (TSA).
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YEMI KALE
Yemi Kale is Chief Executive Officer at National Bureau of Statistics (Nigeria), a Member of Royal Economic Society and a Member at World Economics Federation. Since emerging as the CEO of the NBS, Kale has changed the face of national statistics in the country. The NBS now produces data on almost every aspect of the Nigerian economy helping to significantly improve informed decision making and debates on critical economic and national issues.
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JUMOKE ODUWOLE
Jumoke Oduwole is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade & Investment with a primary focus on improving the country’s ease of doing business parameters. She leads the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which led the reforms that helped the country move up 24 places in the 2017 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking. Nigeria was also ranked among the top 10 most improved countries in business reforms in the ranking for the first time. Key reforms, which she leads includes reforms around; Starting a Business; Dealing with Construction Permits; Registering Property; Getting Credit, and Paying Taxes. She is currently leading ongoing reforms that could significantly further improve the business environment in the country.
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Babatunde Fowler is largely credited with improving tax compliance in Lagos state and significantly improving the state’s revenues. It was under his leadership at the Lagos State Internal Revenue service that the state’s monthly internally revenues reported moved from an average of N3.5 billion in 2006 to about N23 billion monthly by the end of 2015. It was in line with this that he was tapped by the Buhari administration in August 2015 to come and lead the Federal Inland Revenue Service. In June 2017, he launched the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), an initiative that is expected to make a significant impact on the country’s tax revenue profile when it closes next month.
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ALLEN ONYEMA
BABATUNDE FOWLER
IBUKUN AWOSIKA
Ibukun Awosika is the Chairman, Board of Directors First Bank of Nigeria Limited, the country’s largest financial services group
Onyema is the Chairman of Air Peace currently Nigeria’s largest domestic airline. He is a lawyer, businessman and a Conflict resolu-
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AIGBOJE AIG-IMOUKHUEDE
Aig-Imoukhuede is the founding managing director of Access Bank Plc and retired from the bank in 2013 after growing it into one of Nigeria’s top five largest banks
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BENEDICT PETERS
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MUKUL MATHUR
Benedict Peters is the founder and CEO of the large-scale Nigerian energy conglomerate Aiteo Group. He is a successful businessman, innovative entrepreneur and oil and gas industry pioneer. Peters has played a significant role in enhancing Nigeria’s ability to take charge of its natural resources and independently develop its energy infrastructure. In honor of his pioneering contribution, Peters was named ‘CEO of the Year’ by Leadership News Nigeria. The Aiteo Group was also named Company of the Year by BuisnessDay. Peters, through Aiteo emerged the most influential corporate player in the Nigerian sports sector. Aiteo bankrolled the payments of Nigerian senior team coaches, ending the perennial concern by coaches that their salaries would not be paid, resulting in the easy qualification of the country for the World Cup.
Mukul Mathur is the country head of Olam Nigeria a global Business that is focused on the procurement of primary commodities like cashews, cocoa and sheanut. Olam has become the biggest significant player in the country’s agricultural value chain from direct farming to the processing of agricultural produce in the country.
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IYINOLUWA ABOYEJI
He is the CEO and Co-founder of Flutterwave, a payments technology company connecting Africa to the global economy with digital payments infrastructure that helps financial institutions and businesses build more seamless and secure payments experiences for their customers. Flutterwave has grown within a short period, since it was founded in 2016, to become one of the most reliable payments infrastructure in the country.
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and individuals communicate and share data across the country.
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NNAMDI EZEIGBO
Born on the 4th of August, 1966, in Delta state, Nigeria, Nnamdi Ezeigbo is the founder and CEO of Slot Systems Limited, and also the co-founder of the Tecno and Infinix phone brands, which are currently one of the fastest selling mobile phones in Nigeria. Both phone brands now dominate the Nigerian market slot stores serves as outlets for millions of Nigerians with phones.
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SEGUN ADEBUTU
Segun Adebutu is the Chairman/CEO of Petrolex Oil and Gas Limited. Petrolex recently launched the largest tank farm in sub-Saharan Africa valued at over $330million. The tank farm is only part of the company’s oil and gas mega city located in Ibefun, Ogun state. It has an ambition to change the oil and gas landscape in Nigeria with investments in a petrochemical plant and a refinery which will be completed in 2021. Mr Adebutu has investments in the Gaming Industry, Entertainment Industry, Mining and Infrastructure,Construction and Telecommunications across Africa.
FUNKE OPEKE
Olufunke Opeke is the founder and Chief Executive Officer at MainOne. West Africa’s leading communications services and network solutions provider. MainOne built West Africa’s first privately owned, open access 7,000 kilometer undersea high capacity cable submarine, a $240-million-dollar project that was completed in time and on budget in 2010. Mainone operates one of the most influential and connected network and data centres in the country and in West Africa.
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ENASE OKONEDO,
She is the Dean of Lagos Business School (LBS), the country’s most influential business school and one of the most influential business schools on the continent. On the FT’s Executive Education 2017 ranking, LBS is ranked among the most prestigious business schools globally in two categories: open enrollment and customs executive education. The Lagos Business School is one of only four schools in Africa that made the 2017 prestigious list. The 2017 ranking was LBS’s eleventh consecutive appearance in the annual ranking of top business and management education providers in the world done by the FT.
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FREDI MOOLMAN
Ferdi Moolman is Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecom services provider. MTN remains a dominant player in the country’s telecommunication sector with more than 50 million subscribers. The telecom giant has a significant influence on the ease with which businesses
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ADESHINA AKINWUMI
Adesina Akinwumi is the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the first Nigerian to be elected as the president of the bank. He previously served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Until his appointment as Minister in 2010, he was Vice President of Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). He is a strong voice for modern farm practices across the continent and several of his policies in the agricultural sector, when he was minister, has been continued by the current administration.
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WOLE SOYINKA
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ENOCH ADEBOYE
Oluwole Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright, poet and essayist. He was the first African to be awarded Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, the first African to be honoured in that category. Through his widely read writings and global recognition, Soyinka voice on major issues cannot be ignored in Nigeria and globally.
As the General overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), he is in charge of church branches in over 100 countries round the world including more than 14,000 in Nigeria. His religious messages are the point of reference for millions of people in the country and abroad. He is considered to be one of the most influential men in Nigeria and globally.
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newspaper. Vanguard has emerged as the leading source online news despite running a widely circulated print version. The paper has been around since 1983 and is one of the major leading sources of political and general news in the country.
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OBY EZEKWESILI
She co-founded the high influential Transparency International; an anti-corruption body based in Berlin, Germany where she served as one of its pioneer directors. Her social activism through the Bring Back Our Girls campaign (BBOG) and recently the Red Card movement (RCM) has changed national dialog on critical issues.
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DAVIDO
Popstar, David Adeleke, aka Davido, is another fast rising young music star whose music is followed millions of young Nigerians. Davido clinched a number of top awards in 2017, including the Music of Black Origin award for Best African Artiste and MTV Europe Music Award for Best African Act, among many others.
JOHN MOMOH
John Momoh is a Nigerian broadcast journalist and the Chairman and CEO of Channels TV, which is arguably the most influential television News Channel in the country. John Momoh is renowned broadcast journalist with vast industry experience spanning over three and half ng over three and half decades. He has had a distinguished career in news television broadcasting and is widely recognized in Nigeria as a transformative industry pioneer.
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ANTHONY JOSHUA
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SIJIBOMI OGUNDELE
Popularly called A.J, he is a 28 year Nigerian-British Boxer. In one of the most watched heavyweight fights in history, AJ defeated Ukrainian, Wladimir Klitschko in front of the 90,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium to win the WBA title in April 2017, writing his name in history and making many Nigerians proud.
Fondly called ‘Suji’, Olasijibomi Ogundele is a textbook definition of the ‘grass to grace’ success story.
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WIZKID
Wizkid, whose real names are Ayodeji Balogun is currently one of the fastest rising talented Nigerian entertainers in the music industry with numerous international awards. Whizkids music has gone beyond the shores of Nigeria through numerous international stage performances and collaboration with international artises such as Akon,Young Jezzy, and Kardinal official. In 2017, Wizkid beat international rivals such as Jay-Z, Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar and others to clinch the best international artist award at the MOBO Awards.
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BOLANLE AUSTEN-PETERS
Bolanle Peters is the founder and CEO of Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions, she is often described as a game changer who stormed the entertainment industry with a bang and has continued to stay at the top. She runs the popular terra culture, the country’s leading cultural melting spot for artistes and lovers of art. Terra Kulture is at the forefront of the promotion of Nigerian arts and culture, developing talents and creating employment in the sector.
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SAM AMUKA
Popularly called as Uncle Sam is a 82-year old Nigerian journalist, columnist and founder of the Vanguard, Nigeria’s leading
Suji evolved from a barely average social standing through hard work and perseverance, to emerge as an achiever in the Nigerian society. The 36-year old is the founder of Sujimoto Group, a real estate company that deliver classic properties across Lagos. Sijibomi has been described in Forbes Africa as a brave, young entrepreneur, set to revolutionize the luxury real estate market in Nigeria. Sijibomi has transacted over N45billion Naira in real estate transactions in his career. His foresight, resilience and ingenuity in project execution is evident in Sujimoto Construction Limited’s strategy of aiming for the best, through the delivery of premium housing units in Nigeria that can compete with its counterparts globally. His recent encounter with the Ruler of Dubai has propelled his goals and dreams to new heights.