Unjust Societies: The Urgent Need for Collective Action
Governance and leadership in the 21st century should assure every citizen of equal access to meaningful opportunities and a decent life. As the world grapples with the challenges of democracy – socio-economic inequalities, the rise in protests, “movement societies” and a fight for transparency and good governance, there’s a resounding call from young people for authentic role models and exemplary leadership. The Fierce Urgency of Now calls for moral leadership that is both effective and responsive.
Join us as we bring together three leaders in the Africa Leadership Initiative – West Africa network who will draw from their leadership roles in private sector, civil society and government, to engage participants in a call to action for youth, leadership and most crucially the middle class – about Africa’s changing youth culture and the assurance that their call for a bright Africa is being heard. NOW is the time to inspire and shine the beacon for a better future.
Panelists:
- Soji Apampa, Co-Founder & CEO, Integrity Organisation and The Convention on Business Integrity
- Kofi Bentil, Lawyer, Lecturer, Policy Analyst, and Consultant
- Ifeoma Fafunwa, Director and Playwright
- Moderated by: Bernard Avle, General Manager, Citi FM & Citi TV
Soji Apampa is a co-founder & CEO of the Integrity Organisation Ltd. (Gte.) 1995, and The Convention on Business Integrity Ltd. (Gte.) 1997, that together seek to get Nigerians “choosing Integrity over Corruption” as means of access to markets, finance, know-how and public service delivery. He is fully committed to using improvements in private, public and personal governance to achieve a better society for Nigerians. Mr. Apampa recently founded CBi Innovations Ltd. 2017, that seeks to be an “effective and efficient aggregator of smallholder producers that gives predictability and traceability to volumes and quality of production, whilst being modular and scalable.” It pays particular attention to how this can be used to leverage Nigeria’s huge female and youth talent pool in the marketplace, targeting a network of some 50,000 smallholder producers and the creation of over 5,000 digitally enabled jobs for women and youth in its first 5 years.
Kofi Bentil is Senior Vice President and Policy Analyst with Imani Ghana, voted among the top think tanks in Africa and one of the leading Think Tanks in Ghana. Kofi currently runs Lex Praxis Inc. A law firm he founded. He continues to be a consultant with Bentil Consulting Limited. In 2005 he was honored by the World Bank with the Global Development Marketplace Award. In 2009 he was inducted into the Africa Leadership Network, part of the Aspen Institute’s Global Leadership Network. Previously Kofi Managed Marketing and Business Strategy for I.T. Companies and was Business Development Manager for Enterprise Insurance, one of Ghana’s Largest Insurers. His professional interests range across Leadership, Policy and Governance, Law, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Business Strategy, I.CT. Project Management. He holds a B.A. in Geography and Resources Development, an MBA in Marketing and a second MBA in Think Tank Management, a Post Graduate LLB, and the QCL from the Ghana Law School.
Ifeoma Fafunwa is a Nigerian director and playwright who uses the power of storytelling through provocative theater, workshops, and street storms to challenge societal norms that limit gender equality and human rights. Her company iOpenEye has reached a live audience of over 100,000 with the flagship production Hear Word!, and is expanding to reach a broader regional and global audience through new online platforms. As a woman, wife, and mother in Lagos, Nigeria, she uses her voice and writing to confront and navigate daily the matrix of barriers we call patriarchy, and she is committed to breaking through those barriers.
Bernard Avle is the General Manager of Citi FM & Citi TV and the host of Citi FM’s morning show – The Citi Breakfast Show, and The Point of View on Citi TV. Bernard holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Ghana and an MBA from Warwick University in the UK. Bernard, as he is usually called, has done pioneering work in using a commercial radio and TV platform to champion good governance and social accountability. The Citi Breakfast Show was adjudged the Interactive/Talk Show of the year at the BBC’s Africa Radio Awards in 2007, in Nairobi Kenya and Radio Program of the year 2013, 2015 & 2016 by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG). He is an Edward R Murrow Fellow of Journalism and a Chevening Scholar. Bernard is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Africa Leadership Initiative (ALI) – West Africa and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Bernard was adjudged Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Journalist of the year for the year 2017. He spends some of his time in visiting campuses nationwide and addressing student audiences on media, career, and citizenship.
