Timi Olagunju | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Other names | Timithelaw |
| Education | |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, policy expert, writer |
| Years active | 2010s–present |
| Mother | Olubunmi Dada |
| Relatives | Timi Abibu Lagunju, ladigbolu I |
| Awards |
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Timi Olagunju (also known as Timithelaw) is a lawyer, technology policy expert, and writer. [1]
Olagunju was raised in Lagos and Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. He graduated in 2009 from the University of Ibadan with a Bachelor of Laws degree, attended the Nigerian Law School at the Agbani campus in Enugu, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2011. [2]
He later studied at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he completed a Master of Public Administration degree as an Edward S. Mason Fellow. [1] Olagunju also attended a programme on strategic leadership at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business in 2015, and an AI and Society programme at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2024. [2]
As a writer, his work has appeared in YourCommonwealth, [3] HKS Student Policy Review, [4] The Punch , TheCable, Irish Tech News, [5] The Africa Report , and BusinessDay, among others. [6] His commentary on internet governance includes the 2025 article "Who controls Nigeria's internet?" for TheCable. [7]
Beyond his writing, Olagunju is the founder of the AI Literacy Foundation and Youths in Motion, and has served on the boards of organisations such as Feed to Grow Africa and the Slum and Rural Health Initiative. [2]
In 2018, he was profiled in The Guardian in an article titled "Advocates for Positive Change". [8] Olagunju is a recipient of several awards and fellowships, including the Mandela Washington Fellowship and a fellowship at the Presidential Precinct (2015), where he was recognised by U.S. president Barack Obama; the Friend of Lead City University Award for education and youth development in Ibadan (2015); and selection as one of 100 global young leaders to participate in the design and launch of the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago (2019). [9] [10] [11] He was later listed on YNaija's Power List in 2020, [12] received the Ooni of Ife Royal Award for Impact as part of the Royal African Young Leadership Forum (2020), [13] and was selected as an Internet Society Early Career Fellow in 2024. [14] In 2025, he was named a Public Voices Fellow on Technology in the Public Interest, a programme of The OpEd Project supported by the MacArthur Foundation. [15]
His work has been cited by the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, [16] and highlighted by the U.S. embassy in Nigeria and BellaNaija . [17] [18]
In 2016, he was interviewed by Macon Phillips, then White House Director of New Media under President Barack Obama, for the YALI Voices podcast. [19] He has since been interviewed by platforms including Wazobia TV, Channels TV, TVC News Nigeria, and in conversation with Big Brother Naija host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu. [20]
In 2021, he was appointed global vice president and Africa’s representative of Generation Democracy, a youth initiative organised by the International Republican Institute. [2] The same year, he served as a research contributor at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School on a project on digital self-determination. [21] As a speaker, Olagunju has appeared at the Nigerian Internet Governance Forum, MKAI in the United Kingdom, the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, and TEDx events, among others. [2]
Olagunju’s writing focuses on technology policy, digital rights, and governance, including issues of internet access, data protection, blockchain regulation, online courts and artificial intelligence. His essays and commentary have addressed topics such as Free Basics and net neutrality in Nigeria, [22] biometric databases and privacy, [23] blockchain and cryptocurrency regulation, [24] [25] court digitisation and virtual hearings, [26] Africa’s position in global digital trade, [27] and competition and content moderation policy in the Nigerian technology sector. [28] [7]