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Ezekwesili joins Yale University as senior fellow
…to teach Democracy, Economy
Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili and five other global figures have joined the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs as senior fellows.
While welcoming the new fellows, in a statement on Sunday, the President of Yale University, Peter Salovey, used the opportunity to welcome its 19 returning fellows.
This year’s senior fellows include Obiageli Ezekwesili(Nigeria), Staffan de Mistura, Jessica Faieta(Ecuador), Anne W. Patterson, David Brooks, and Jessica Seddon(United States), the institute stated.
Jackson’s senior fellows are leading practitioners in various fields of international affairs, and will spend a year or semester at Yale teaching post-graduate courses and mentoring students.
Ezekwesili will teach two post-graduate courses on Democracy and Africa’s Economic Philosophy, respectively, during the 2021 fall semester.
Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs applies evidence-based scholarship to challenges of maximum global importance, such as climate change, war and peace, ethnic conflict, inequality, and migration.
According to Salovey, the world needs creative ideas and leadership to help end global conflicts and solve intractable problems.
“By establishing the Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs, we will create an intimate community of outstanding faculty, practitioners and students to conduct research of great relevance to the development and adoption of international policy.
“Yale will continue to fulfil its longstanding mission to educate passionate public servants, who confront the day’s most daunting challenges with wisdom, facts, insight and courage,” said Salovey.
The new fellows include economic experts, astute commentators, publishers, bestselling authors, ambassadors, and academics.
An economic policy expert, Ezekwesili is Senior Economic Adviser to the Africa Economic Development Policy Initiative.
She is a co-founder and pioneer director of Transparency International.
She is also the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Human Capital Africa, which is working in the education sector across Africa; Chairperson, School of Politics, Policy and Governance; and Chairperson of research-based citizens-led #FixPolitics Initiative.
Other notable positions she had occupied include Vice President of the World Bank; Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals, and of Education. She previously worked as Director of the Harvard-Nigeria Economic Strategy Project with Prof Jeffery Sachs at the Center for International Development, Kennedy School of Government, Massachusetts.
Obiageli and her colleagues will join a cast of global leaders who are returning as senior Jackson fellows.
Senior Jackson fellow have included global leaders like former US’ Secretary of State and current envoy on Climate Change to the President, John Kerry; former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton; former United Kingdom Secretary of State for International Development, Rory Stewart; former Minister of Finance for Canada, Bill Morneau; and six-term Governor of Massachusetts, Howard Dean.
Others are the founding Director of Yale’s International Leadership Center, Emma Sky; US Ambassador to Syria(2011-2014), Robert Ford; Senior Advisor at Coursera and former President of Yale University, Rick Levin; Chair of Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Campaign and Senior Counsellor to President Barack Obama, John Podesta; lead climate lawyer and climate negotiator for the US, Susan Biniaz; Director and Co-founder of the Institute for State Effectiveness, Clare Lockhart; and former Commander of the International Security Assistance Force and Commander of United States Forces Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal(retd.).
The rest are former US Deputy Secretary of State, Amb. David Negroponte; Senior Lecturer at Yale’s School of Management and former Chairman of Morgan Stanley, Asia, Stephen Roach; and the former Chief Executive Officer of Sub-Saharan Africa for Goldman Sachs, Colin Coleman.
Ezekwesili expressed appreciation and delight to accept the globally prestigious fellowship from Yale University and the opportunity to teach its distinguished post-graduate students.
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
The Guild of Private Broadcast Managers has extended its heartfelt congratulations to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as it celebrates its 70th Anniversary.
In a congratulatory message signed by the Guild’s National President, Ambassador Patrick Uzoyi-Peters, JP MNGRM, the guild described the milestone as a testament to the NUJ’s unwavering commitment to upholding press freedom, journalistic integrity, and the advancement of democracy in Nigeria.
“For seven decades, the NUJ has played a pivotal role in shaping the media landscape, advocating for the rights and welfare of journalists, and ensuring that the voice of the people remains strong and unyielding. Your resilience, professionalism, and dedication to ethical journalism have been instrumental in fostering transparency, accountability, and national development”.
Celebrating this historic achievement, the Guild’s President, Uzoyi-Peters recognized the sacrifices and contributions of journalists across the nation who work tirelessly to inform, educate, and empower society.
The Guild reiterated it commitment towards collaborating with the NUJ in promoting responsible journalism and strengthening the media industry for the greater good.
While wishing the NUJ continued success, growth, and greater impact in the years ahead, President Uzoyi-Peters prayed that the anniversary serve as a renewed call to uphold the principles of truth, fairness, and press freedom in our collective pursuit of a more informed and just society.
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