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Three Nigerians, Other Africans Among PMI’s 50 Standout Professional Global Leaders

Published

2 years ago

October 8, 2023

Three Nigerians are among the six Africans honoured by Project Management Institute (PMI), the leading professional organisation for project management and the authority for a growing global community of millions of project professionals with a place on the prestigious Future50 list. The list features 50 outstanding Rising Leaders transforming the world and represents a new cohort of project professionals driving transformation across all PMI regions and industries.

Aisha Garba, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank; Tosin Oshinowo, Director and Principal Architect, cmDesign Atelier, and John Ndubuisi, Senior Project Manager, IT Programs and Portfolio Management, Union Bank of Nigeria, have been recognised by PMI for their efforts at reshaping the future through projects. The list also features three other Africans Kathleen Siminyu from Kenya, Manuel Praia from Angola, and Abdalah Maiguizo from Niger

In the world today, global megatrends such as digital disruption, demographic shifts, and the climate crisis are driving the future of business and society. At the same time, the global economy needs 25 million new project professionals by 2030. The 2023 Future 50 honourees collectively set an example and lead the charge in problem-solving while creating a better world through projects.

Congratulating the F50s, George Asamani, MD, Sub Saharan Africa, PMI, said, “We remain committed to equipping the youth with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to not only embrace change but also to be the drivers of it. Your achievements today are a testament to Africa’s incredible talent and potential.”

“You are the architects of the future, and your vision and determination will undoubtedly lead us to new heights and amplify the community’s impact.”

Adolescent girls in Nigeria face myriad obstacles to completing secondary education, from pervasive poverty to poor infrastructure to forced early marriage. Aisha Garba is helping to eradicate such barriers and paving the way to increased economic opportunities that would benefit all of Nigeria. A senior education officer at the World Bank, Garba leads the 10-person team behind the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project, a five-year program launched in 2020.

The programme’s ambitious portfolio includes projects to build and rehabilitate schools, improve safety conditions in and around schools, deliver health and nutrition information (including reproductive and menstrual hygiene), and create cash-transfer programs to incentivise households to send girls to school.

Ms. Oshinowo’s latest project, designing a new village for Nigerians displaced by violent insurgents, earned her a place on the coveted list. After Boko Haram launched a brutal attack on Ngarannam, Nigeria, in 2015, many of the residents who fled spent years in refugee camps. Oshinowo worked to provide a new path forward, delivering on the studio’s mission to “create contemporary solutions that constantly push the boundaries of architecture in Nigeria and the African continent.”

Over the past decade, John Ndubuisi has had a front-row seat to Nigeria’s booming fintech revolution. In a time of such staggering change, he knows the value of being ready to pivot and clearly communicating the rationale for the shift. After startup Titan Trust Bank acquired century-old Union Bank in 2022, Ndubuisi was tapped to lead a project to merge capabilities and help ensure the company doesn’t get left behind as the industry hurtles toward its fintech future. One standout effort: building a team that could iterate its way to a shared banking app.

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Australian Govt Official Declares ‘Red Wednesday’ Over Attack On Kwara Church

Published

3 hours ago

November 19, 2025

Editor

Chairman of the Australian Committee for NATO enlargement, Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn, has declared a ‘Red Wednesday’ as part of a global awareness campaign against alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Gunther made this known in a post on X while reacting to the recent attack on Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, in Kwara State.

Recall that terrorists on Tuesday invaded the church located in Eruku town, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, and opened fire on worshipers.

According to reports, the resident pastor and some persons were killed while majority of the worshipers were taken away to unknown destinations.

Reacting, Gunther in his X post said the incessant attacks on Nigerian Christians “is unacceptable”.

He wrote, “I got this video sent of an Islamist attack on a church in Nigeria. Today is #RedWednesday the global awareness day against prosecution of Christians.”

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Pope Decries Lack Of Political Will On Climate Change

Published

1 day ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Pope Leo XIV on Monday urged “concrete actions” on climate change and complained that some leaders lacked the will to act, as he addressed religious dignitaries on the sidelines of the COP30 summit.

The Vatican released the American pope’s address to churches of the southern hemisphere assembled on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Belem, Brazil, in which he called the Amazon region “a living symbol of creation with an urgent need for care”.

“Creation is crying out in floods, droughts, storms and relentless heat,” the pope said.

“One in three people live in great vulnerability because of these climate changes. To them, climate change is not a distant threat, and to ignore these people is to deny our shared humanity,” he added.

“What is failing is the political will of some.”

The UN climate negotiations enter their final stretch this week, with nations split on key issues as government ministers began arriving Monday to take over negotiations.

“There is still time to keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5C, but the window is closing,” warned Leo, who called for “concrete actions” while championing the landmark Paris Agreement.

– Pope defends Paris Agreement –

The historic 2015 accord, from which US President Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the United States for the second time, aims to keep temperature rises “well below” 2C compared to pre-industrial levels and, if possible, to 1.5C.

The Paris Agreement was the “strongest tool for protecting people and the planet”, Leo said, decrying a lack of effort by some leaders, whom he did not name.

“True leadership means service and support on a scale that will truly make a difference,” he said, urging firmer climate action to bring about “stronger and fairer economic systems”.

“Let us send a clear global signal together: nations standing in unwavering solidarity behind the Paris Agreement and climate cooperation,” he said.

Since being made pope in May, the Chicago-born pontiff — who spent about 20 years as a missionary in Peru — has urged more pressure on governments to stop climate change.

Last month, during a climate conference near Rome, he called for an “ecological conversion” to help vulnerable communities.

October marked the 10-year anniversary of the late Pope Francis’s landmark climate manifesto “Laudato Si”, which appealed for action on human-caused global warming.

COP30, without the presence of the US government, is scheduled to end in five days, but groups of countries still disagree on many issues, including climate ambition, unilateral trade measures, and finance.

Some countries also want a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell welcomed what he called Pope Leo’s “strong message”.

“His words urge us to continue to choose hope and action,” he said.

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Genocide: U.S. Lawmaker Alleges Tinubu Lying, Protecting Own Interest

Published

2 days ago

November 18, 2025

Editor

Riley Moore

…Congress to debate ‘Christian Persecution’ in Nigeria on Thursday

United States (U.S.) lawmaker, Riley Moore, has dismissed President Bola Tinubu’s denial of the targeted killing of Christians as “completely false”.

Moore said Tinubu’s denial was to “protect his interests,” adding that Nigeria’s political leaders were “complicit” in the killing of Christians.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Moore noted Tinubu’s statement, claiming that the “characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality” as incorrect.

Meanwhile, the Congress will, on Thursday, debate the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

This was as International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule (Intersociety) raised fresh claims 99 Christians were, again, killed in Nigeria in 14 days.

“Unfortunately, that is completely false. There are states in Nigeria that have blasphemy laws. People are facing the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam,” the U.S. lawmaker said. “I know President Tinubu is in a difficult position, and trying to protect his interests there in the country. But they are complicit in this to some degree or another for a statement like this.”

Moore cited the case of an Adamawa Christian farmer, Sunday Jackson, who was sentenced to death for defending himself against a killer herdsman.

“There is serious persecution in Nigeria,” Moore said.
CONGRESS is set to convene a hearing on Thursday to examine allegations of widespread persecution of Christians in Nigeria, following President Donald Trump’s recent decision to redesignate the country as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

The session will be led by Congressman Chris Smith, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, and a vocal advocate for stronger U.S. action on reported religious violence in Nigeria.

Smith previously introduced a congressional resolution naming the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore as responsible actors in several attacks. The resolution recommends visa bans and asset freezes against members of the groups.

It also called on White House to classify “Fulani-Ethnic Militias” operating in states such as Benue and Plateau under the Entities of Particular Concern (EPC) framework established by the International Religious Freedom Act.

Witnesses scheduled to testify include Jonathan Pratt, senior bureau official at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, and Jacob McGee, deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.

A second panel is expected to feature Nina Shea, senior fellow and director at the Centre for Religious Freedom; Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of the Makurdi Catholic Diocese; and Oge Onubogu, director and senior fellow for the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
INTERSOCIETY alleged in a statement yesterday that 99 Christians were killed within the last 14 days.

It stated that the killing occurred between October 28 and November 11, adding that 114 others were kidnapped by the group that carried out the action, called Jihadist militants.

The report was signed by the Head, Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and two human rights lawyers, Joy Igboeli and Ogochukwu Obi.