Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji

Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji (born Oluwatoyosi Akerele, 8 November 1983) is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and human development expert whose work cuts across entrepreneurship, education, youth development, and public leadership. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Rise Networks, a Nigeria-based private and public sector-funded Youth Interest social enterprise.

2014

 * “A woman who does not mentor another young woman or does not hold the hand of another woman up is working to diminish her own continued relevance within the public space.”
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 * A Quote from her speech at the Sun Women leadership Summit 2014.


 * “Everywhere one turns, the Older Men have a retinue of younger Men in their kitty to whom they owe their continued relevance. They mentor, support, teach and create opportunities for the next generation of Men and thereby lives their dreams in these young Men.”
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 * A Quote extracted from The Premium Times Opinion column titled Pervasive Godfathers and Absent Godmothers.


 * “There are so many God Fathers in Nigeria, where are the God Mothers? The Men are making the Boys, Dear Nigerian Women, where are your Girls?”
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 * A Quote extracted from The Premium Times Opinion column titled Pervasive Godfathers and Absent Godmothers.


 * “You are in your 40s or 50s today, Minister for ABC or D, MD of that Company or the other, Wife of the Governor of State A, General Manager or HOD of Department Q, one day, you’ll be just a memory for some people so please do your best to be a good one because there is a place called TOMORROW when the younger woman you despised few years ago will now be the one occupying the position you currently have.”
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 * A Quote extracted from The Premium Times Opinion column titled Pervasive Godfathers and Absent Godmothers.


 * “You can build a Legacy. An Army, a circle of young, strong women into whom you pour yourself often, to whom you make yourself accessible; sometimes it’s not your money we want, a simple line of encouragement or guide on ways to run a business or advice on how to deal with sexual harassment at work or a word of prayer can change the world. You may give a book sometimes. You can also give money to those who need it if you have some extra cash.”
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 * A Quote extracted from The Premium Times Opinion column titled Pervasive Godfathers and Absent Godmothers.


 * “Not all the young woman are ready to learn and give honour and I believe in service and respecting my elders. Please don’t give up on them and don’t use them as a yardstick to judge all of us.”
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 * A Quote extracted from The Premium Times Opinion column titled Pervasive Godfathers and Absent Godmothers.

2019

 * “Everything will come. Nigeria has the promise of a bright future.”
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 * A Quote extracted from an online learning and social platform that grafts technological innovations into education founded by her.

2020

 * “I just want a Nation that works. I've run out of fancy speeches and motivational quotes about Nigeria.”
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 * Extracted from her Facebook page.


 * “I don’t like to be given any special treatment because I’m a woman; don’t put me in a box and stereotype me. I am a complete human and a legitimate member of society before being a woman.”
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 * A Quote from an interview on her perception of gender equality as a young female leader.


 * “In my marriage, there’s no lopsided leadership; it’s not a master-servant leadership.”
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 * A Quote in response to successful women arguing that it is condescending to perform domestic duties.


 * “Those are men with low self-esteem.”
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 * A Quote in response to men being uncomfortable with women who are high-flyers.


 * “Boys are not special and girls are not special. All children are legitimate members of society; treat them as such. Give them equal opportunity and support. That way, we will raise perfectly-balanced human beings and build a perfectly-balanced society.”
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 * A Quote in response to what should be borne in mind when bringing up boys and girls.


 * “Humility is one of the greatest things that I’ve learned about leadership. The second is inclusivity; don’t discriminate against anybody. The third is equity; what you cannot take, don’t do to people.”
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 * A Quote in response to what leadership secrets have worked for her over the years.


 * “We cannot face today’s challenge with yesterday’s knowledge.”
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 * A Quote in response to the need to transition from social entrepreneurship to the digital technology space.


 * “It is important that young people are prepared for the future of work in this 4th Industrial Revolution that is upon us. If we don’t fix our education, what we’re going to have is a generation of university graduates who will not be able to compete with High School students in other countries.”
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 * A Quote in response to making the transition happen.


 * “One of the greatest challenges of Nigeria in this 4th Industrial Revolution is that we don’t have a central data mining system that provides information that guides policy-making on the side of government and guides decision-making for the private sector. If you don’t have data, how can you do national planning? We are not a data-driven country, so, it’s difficult. All of the data that Nigeria is using to innovate are foreign data.”
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 * A Quote in response to what the 4th Industrial Revolution holds for a nation like Nigeria.


 * “With technology, there will be a few job losses; but I always say that it is the lazy people that will lose their jobs. If you grow with the trend as the trend evolves, you will be constantly relevant.”
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 * A Quote in response to the majority being afraid that the 4th Industrial Revolution will lead to more job losses.


 * “If you can read, unlearn and relearn, you will always be relevant.”
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 * A Quote on the need for al and sundry to constantly update their knowledge.


 * “I strongly believe that in my lifetime, I will see Nigeria become the country of our dreams. I will see a prosperous Nigeria that works for everyone irrespective of who you are or where you come from.”
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 * From her Twitter status.