Adebola Williams

Last updated

Adebola Williams
Debola Williams (cropped).png
Born (1986-03-07) 7 March 1986 (age 38)
Nigeria
OccupationJournalist/media entrepreneur
Alma mater London School of Journalism, Pan African University
Notable awardsMandela Washington Fellow; [1] 100 Most Influential People of African Descent under the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent; [2] Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellowship in South Africa [3]

Adebola Williams (born 1986) is a Nigerian media entrepreneur, journalist, political consultant, and motivational speaker. He is the Group CEO of RED | For Africa. He co-founded and runs Red Africa, Africa's largest portfolio of youth media brands which include Red Media Africa, Statecraft Inc., The Future Awards Africa, and YNaija. [4] [ third-party source needed ]

Contents

His career in media and television began at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) with advocacy for youth, and, eventually good governance. Described as "the man with the golden touch" by Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, he was profiled by Forbes as the man who helped elect a trifecta of presidents in Africa. [5] [ self-published source? ]

Early life

Williams was born on 7 March 1986 "to a wealthy family, but when he was 10, his family lost everything they had, so he had to struggle." [6] In his early teen years, Williams wanted to become an actor and was paid only 50 cents for his first acting role. [7]

"He started working as an assistant with a counselor and a psychologist as a freelancer without any relevant qualification by which time he had chalked up 3 years worthy experience with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)." [6]

Career

Williams and Chude Jideonwo started The Future Awards Africa and went on to co-found Red Media Africa. [8]

He co-founded EnoughisEnough (EiE), a Nigerian civic participation platform and a voice for young people in politics. [9] He resigned as the board chairman to steer the rebranding of the [10] former Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, [11] optimising media engagement to change longstanding perceptions and sway the elections. [12] A consequent success in Ghana helped the opposition candidate win the presidency on his third attempt, and Williams currently consults in other regions in the continent.

His 2017 cross-continental speaking tour included several conferences at ivy league schools Harvard, Columbia, and Oxford. [13] He gave a speech at the 2017 Obama summit in Chicago. [14]

His work in corporate marketing and communication in different decrypts from oil and gas to banking, technology to fast-moving consumer goods has earned him and Red Media Africa several awards on the continent from SABRE [15] Lapriga, [16] Marketing Edge, Young Cannes and the C4F Marketing awards in Davos. [17] He writes a monthly column on brands and communication in The Guardian (Nigeria). [18] Williams took part initialing massive collaboration art piece Remember To Rise . [19]

He gave a speech at the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Africa Summit on Wednesday, 9 January 2019, at the European Parliament on democracy and good governance. [20]

Recognition

Personal life

He married Kehinde Daniels, the daughter of former Ogun State Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniels, on 7 August 2021. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gbenga Daniel</span> Nigerian politician (born 1956)

Gbenga Daniel is a Nigerian politician who served as Senator for Ogun East since 2023. He previously served as governor of Ogun State from 2003 to 2011.

The Guardian is a Nigerian independent daily newspaper, established in 1983, published by Guardian Newspapers Limited in Lagos, Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Future Awards Africa</span> Annual awards in Nigeria

The Future Awards Africa are a set of awards given by The Future Project, a social enterprise communications firm affiliated to Red Africa. The awards are intended to celebrate young people between the ages of 18 and 31, who have made outstanding achievement in the year under consideration. Forbes has described the awards as "Nigeria’s most important awards for outstanding young Nigerians".

Chude Jideonwo is a Nigerian TV host, filmmaker and media entrepreneur.

<i>YNaija</i> Nigerian online magazine

YNaija is a Nigerian online content publishing platform, founded by Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams of RED Africa media group. YNaija launched in May 2010 with columnists and various news sources. It offers news, original content and covers politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy and healthy living.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercy Abang</span> Nigerian journalist

Mercy Banku Abang is a Nigerian journalist. She is known for her self-funded journalism focused on vulnerable populations. She is described as one of Nigeria's most syndicated freelance journalists and Nigeria's most syndicated storyteller. Mercy is the 2017 United Nations Journalism Fellow. She has gone on several election observation missions in West Africa. She has interviewed notable Nigerians in her program "Conversations with Abang Mercy", which has had guests such as Reno Omokri, Dele Momodu and Chude Jideonwo. In 2017, she was named Woman of the Year in Journalism. In 2012, she was named as one of 10 Young Nigerian Women to Watch.

Uche Pedro is a Nigerian entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of BellaNaija, a media tech brand known for entertainment and lifestyle content. Under her leadership, BellaNaija's social footprint has grown through its collective brands - BellaNaija.com, BellaNaija Weddings and BellaNaija Style - to be the largest on the African continent with more than 200 million impressions each month.

Tosin "OloriSuperGal" Ajibade is a Nigerian known for her lifestyle and entertainment website, OloriSuperGal.com and recently her personal website, TosinAjibade.com. She is also the organizer of the New Media Conference that is held annually in Nigeria.

RED | For Africa is an African media company based in Nigeria and Ghana. RED | For Africa is a content, consulting and data company. Its headquarters is in Lagos, Nigeria.

Mfon Ekpo is a Nigerian entrepreneur and author. In 2017, Ekpo was named one of the most inspiring and influential women in Nigeria by Leading Ladies Africa and shortlisted for the British Council Alumni Awards for Social Impact in Nigeria. Ekpo serves as an Executive Director with The John Maxwell Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Femi Leye</span> Musical artist

Oluwafemi Abolade Leye, known professionally as Femi Leye, is a Nigerian guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. His music is a hybrid of African ethnic sounds, Contemporary Soul, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Funk and Yoruba Music.

Osayi Alile is a Nigerian entrepreneur, an executive human development officer, a core professional and published columnist. In the course of her work in various roles, she has been active in entrepreneurship, education, youth development, and public leadership. She currently serves as the chief executive officer of the Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation, also known as ACT Foundation, and the co-administrator of CACOVID. Osayi is a member of the African Leadership Network, The Future Awards Africa, and was the CSR Consultant at Access Bank Plc.

NaijaHacks is a hackathon and tech invention competition in Nigerian, which aims to encourage youth to use technology to create solutions for their communities and the world using technologies including blockchain and artificial intelligence. Officially, NaijaHacks is described as an official national "Movement of Makers, Leaders, and Disruptors".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Etim Effiong</span> Nigerian actor, scriptwriter and film director

Daniel Etim Effiong, also Daniel Etim-Effiong is a Nigerian Nollywood actor and film director.

Emilia Asim-Ita was a Nigerian entrepreneur and co-founder of The Future Awards Africa.

Vincent Desmond is a Lagos-based Nigerian LGBTQ advocate, and writer. He is also the chief-editor and publisher of A Nasty Boy fashion magazine, founded by Richard Akuson, a Nigerian journalist and lawyer in February 2017.

Teni Zaccheaus JR. better known by his stage name Teezee is an English-Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is one-third of the musical group DRB LasGidi with BOJ and Fresh L. He currently serves as the co-president of NATIVE Records, and co-founder of The NATIVE Networks. He is best known as a pioneer of alté, and credited for the crossover success of Odumodublvck single "Declan Rice".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinwe Egwim</span> Nigerian economist

Chinwe Egwim is a Nigerian Economist, Banker, Corporate Executive, Technocrat, and author, who serves as the Chief economist, and Head of Economic Research and Intelligence of Coronation Merchant Bank. She formerly served as the lead economist at FBNQuest Merchant Bank, and was an executive member of WIMBIZ. In 2021, she was elected as an executive member of Association of Professional Women Bankers under the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and was appointed a member of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee in 2023.

Ebuka Emmanuel Hillary known professionally as Ebuka Songs is a Nigerian gospel artiste and songwriter. He came to recognition with the hit single “I will pray”. He was signed under the record label Spotlite Nation by Moses Bliss in 2023.

Orondaam Otto is a Nigerian social entrepreneur, education advocate and philanthropist.He is the founder of Slum2School Africa, a nonprofit organization and the first to build a Virtual Learning Classroom in Sub-Saharan Africa.He is also one of the founding members of The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.Otto is a two-time winner of The Future Awards Africa and a member of the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Board.

References

  1. 1 2 "Matilda Kerry, Adebola Williams, Otto Orondaam & other outstanding Young Nigerians selected for 2016 Mandela Washington Fellowship". BellaNaija . Retrieved 6 May 2016.[ dead link ]
  2. 1 2 "Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) unveils 2017 Global List". mipad.org.[ dead link ]
  3. 1 2 "Tutu Fellows". alinstitute.org.[ dead link ]
  4. "Adebola Williams". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  5. "Interview: Meet The 30 Year-Old Nigerian Entrepreneur Who Helped 3 African Presidents Get Elected". Forbes . 17 February 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Everything You Need To Know About Adebola Williams, 'The Man with the Golden Touch'". Nigerian Celebrity News + Latest Entertainment News. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  7. "I started working at age 15". Vanguard . 12 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  8. "The Young Moguls that built a Media Empire in Nigeria with zero capital". Tech Point. 31 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  9. "Profile: Adebola Williams' lens story" . Retrieved 26 May 2020.[ dead link ]
  10. "2023: Buhari Hands Over Transition Documents To Tinubu Ahead Of May 29".
  11. Citizen Truth, Alex Muiruri. "Adebola Williams – The Election Genius in Africa Every Politician Covets". citizentruth.org. Retrieved 22 January 2019.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. ideaslane (10 October 2018). "Adebola Williams: Interesting Facts About Him – Ideaslane.com" . Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  13. "Adebola Williams Speaks at Harvard, Columbia, Oxford and Yale University on the Business of Nation Building". BellaNaija .[ permanent dead link ]
  14. Amah, Munachim (3 November 2017). "The best moments from Adebola Williams' powerful speech at Obama summit". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  15. "Red Media Africa wins big at SABRE Awards 2018". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 April 2018.[ dead link ]
  16. "Red Media Africa wins big at LaPRIGA 2017". The Guardian . Retrieved 6 January 2018.[ dead link ]
  17. "Adebola Williams". The Future Awards Africa. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  18. "Adebola Williams". guardian.ng. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  19. "Innovative Painting: Remember To Rise a London Business School collabo endorsed by the noteworthy". Omenkaonline.com. 13 November 2018. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  20. "Our passion is bigger than our problem. 7 takeaways from Adebola Williams' speech at the ECRG Africa Summit". YNaija . Retrieved 11 January 2019.[ dead link ]
  21. "Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams win CNBC Africa Young Business Leaders awards (Photos)". Nigerian Entertainment Today. 24 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  22. "Dr. Kwabena Duffuor named 'Man of the Year' as distinguished gentlemen are honoured". pulse.com.gh. 25 June 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  23. Ugbodaga, Kazeem. "Jonathan, Osinbajo, others attend wedding of Gbenga Daniel's daughter (Photos) - P.M. News". PM News . Retrieved 8 August 2021.