Below is the profile of one of the speakers at the virtual summit of
Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM) themed : Migration: Remedies For Covid-19 And the Economy holding between June 5 and 6 on zoom.
Time: 11 am.
Contact: 2348111811225
The Man Adeleye
Adedeji Abiola Adeleye is from Lagos Nigeria. With two University degrees (BA 1982 and Msc 1985) and eleven other certificates in Journalism, International Human Rights and Computers.
He has over 37 years’ experience as a teacher, researcher, journalist, writer, editor, human rights activist, campaigner, and anti-corruption analyst. Adedeji had researched and written extensively on freedom of expression and access to information, transparency in HIV/AIDS funding, tax justice and illicit flow of funds and the corruption dimensions of human rights.
The civil activist has an understanding of international human rights standards including the UN System (UNCAC training) and African regional human rights mechanisms with substantial experience in developing policy and advocacy strategies, strong media facing and excellent communication skills.
Currently, he is the Independent Advocacy Project’s (IAP) Executive Director. IAP is a non-partisan, non-governmental independent organization that conducts policy research and advocacy in the areas of education, health, human rights, transparency and accountability.
Since 2004, through IAP, he had promoted democracy, development and good governance in Nigeria through research, surveys, advocacy and campaigns, working with and through partners to strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations whose activities impact on good governance in Nigeria and West Africa. IAP promotes the use of both international and regional instruments (such as the United Nations and African Union ant- corruption conventions) and domestic legal and administrative standards.
As Executive Director, Independent Advocacy Project (IAP), he has a mandate to empower rural community dwellers and equip them with the tools to demand political, social and economic change, in line with the Nigerian constitution and other international instruments which Nigeria subscribes to.
IAP’s focus on community-based activities is informed by the fact that over 60 per cent of the Nigerian population resides in rural communities.
He is a thoroughbred professional whose contributions at workshops and project execution within the civil society circle are exceptionally resourceful and result-oriented.
His two University degrees, and several certificates mainly on International Human Rights and Advocacy, and on Anti-corruption trainings by UNODC provided knowledge-based trainings which assisted me immensely in promoting intellectual development and growth, democracy and good governance, respect for human rights, and working to mitigate poverty and corruption through communications, research, documentation, advocacy and campaigns.
Adedeji had written direct advocacy reports (not projects-funded) for DFID, British Council and US Embassy in Nigeria on accounts of my versatile experience and grassroots linkages.
Under his leadership, IAP works with the rural, semi urban and urban communities which face myriad challenges and problems, principal among which are low level of literacy, marginalization from the decision making processes and its attendant effects of lack of voice and participation in deciding matters that affect them. Such matters include decisions on budgetary allocations on social amenities and infrastructures such as health and education.
These communities face these challenges for a variety of reasons, such as lack of education, inadequate information and awareness of their fundamental rights and the avenues available to claim such rights; the emphasis government places on urban centers to the detriment of rural communities in terms of resource allocation and supply of basic amenities, including those on health and education; in addition to local practices and customs which marginalize — and discriminate against – groups such as People Living with HIV/AIDS, children, women and the disabled.
IAP organization under him has implemented projects in rural communities in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Ekiti and Rivers state. The project on the Cost of Democracy was piloted through Focus Group Discussions, empirical survey and review conferences in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Kano; The Bench and the Challenge of Corruption (Nigeria Judicial Watch) was carried out in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja; The Nigerian Corruption Index 2005, 2007 & 2013 were implemented with sufficient data and survey materials from across the country notably Lagos, Benin, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Ekiti, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and Jos.
He is a top rated Journalist and civil society management professional with an impressive problem solving ability, outstanding qualities and competence and veritable knowledge of public policy – formulation, implementation, analysis and assessment – and how it impacts on the ordinary Nigerians.
Pastor, Adedeji is a workaholic and a strategic thinker, and detail oriented with a passion for use of reliable data and information in policy analysis and advocacy. As an advocate for change, I have advocated (and still advocating) for change in the way the CSOs engage governments from talking to government to talking with government.
In 2009-2010, his organization (IAP) worked with the World Bank and Results for Development Institute, Washington DC on Public Expenditure Tracking and Absenteeism Surveys under the Transparency and Accountability Project. Through this project, they were able to trace how the late Head of State General Sani Abacha’s returned loot was spent, with useful recommendations to government, civil society groups and Nigerians generally.
He has led IAP to conduct series of rigorous research on corruption in Nigeria lasting over 16 years now culminating into the world acclaimed publications ‘Nigerian Corruption Index’ 2005, 2007 & 2013.
As a result, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) gave IAP a special consultative status in 2011. Further to this, I was selected for an international training on Anti-corruption by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2013. On the basis of this training, my organization (IAP) was given a project grant by UNODC on how to mainstream the Nigerian private sector into the anti-corruption program that has been largely skewed in favour of the Nigerian public sector.
The outcome of that project (Promoting Anti-corruption Policy-program in Nigeria’s private sector Small- Medium Business Enterprises) was the creation of e-desk established to integrate and coordinate all the Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) into the anti-corruption policies and programs, while also partnering with the government agency – Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), to adopt the project’s recommendations. Also, IAP is a member of UNCAC-coalition of more than 1,850 NGOs worldwide and had attended the UNCAC’s Conference of States’ Parties (CoSP) in Jordan 2006 and Panama 2013.
The Executive Director of IAP has consistently participated in general election observation in Nigeria since 1999 under the Transition Monitoring Group (coalition of over 450 NGOs) in partnership with the US based National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI). Under my watch, IAP is a member of EFCC-CSO partners, INEC-CSO partners, Journalists against Corruption (67 media houses – print, TV, Radio & social media), Coalition for Budget Transparency (17 CSOs), National Anti-Corruption Volunteer Corps (375 members), National Integrity Outreach (35 CSOs & CBOs), The Integrity First Initiative (6 NGOs & 5 Media houses), Fix Nigeria Initiative (71 members)
Through these CSO-networks, the Nigerian citizens are being mobilized against corruption in the critical sectors
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