Olasubomi Iginla-Aina: Her Tale, Trials and Triumph

She is an amazon whose leadership trait first shone when she emerged as students’ leader at the Obafemi Awolowo University. She was instrumental to the reinstatement of over ten rusticated students. Later, she pushed past borders, carrying her advocacy abroad while gaining recognition for her commitment to humanity. Olasubomi Iginla-Aina MBE, recently won a worldwide election to become a Director of the Global NGO Executive Committee (GNEC)- the representative organ for all NGOs associated with the United Nations Department for Global Communication (UNDGC). In a rare encounter with Funke Olaode, Iginla-Aina unveils her plans for the new

office – how she hopes to upscale her advocacy work to the rostrum of the global empowerment.
She walked majestically into the prestigious Buckingham Palace, home to the British Monarchy. Impeccably dressed from head-to-toe in red aso-oke matched with a golden pair of high-heeled shoes, she was in high spirits. She was the cynosure of all eyes as she was among a few good ones to be honoured for their works. She beamed with smiles. Proudly Nigerian, she was aglow with the African spirit. A once-in-lifetime experience comes with a huge responsibility which she had inadvertently be groomed for.

Welcome to the world of Ambassador Olasubomi Iginla-Aina, Member of the British Empire (MBE), an honour bestowed on her by the British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in recognition of her contribution to humanity. While she was still basking in the euphoria of being an MBE, next came a global recognition from the United Nations.

With almost 30 years of active engagement in international development projects, it’s no surprise that she won a worldwide election to become a Director of the Global NGO Executive Committee (GNEC)-the representative organ for all NGOs associated with the United Nations Department for Global Communication (UNDGC). Alongside 17 other individuals who form the GNEC, they act as the liaison between the NGO community and the UN through the Department of Global Communication. With her current position, Iginla-Aina will liaise with the UN on behalf of the global NGO community to achieve sustainable development goals.

Prior to her present position, she has been the CEO and Executive Director for Lightup Foundation, where she works with other Lightup directors to identify, plan and execute projects – promote collaboration, identify opportunities and share best practices to achieve the objectives of Lightup Foundation. Iginla-Aina founded Lightup Foundation while she was acting Students’ Union President of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (O.A.U) in 2000. “I had a strong passion for youth development, so I decided to contribute my own quota towards the fight against child abuse and the welfare of the less-privileged people in the society.”

Iginla-Aina has been a flagbearer in humanitarian causes, creditably representing Nigeria on the world stage and making Nigeria proud by her selfless, focused social work through the Lightup Foundation.
This ageless philanthropist and humanitarian activist peeled the layers on her childhood during this encounter.
“I am from Lagos State. My dad, Alade Iginla, was from Isale-Eko and my mother from Ikorodu. For me, growing up was quite a challenge. I was born into a polygamous family. I lived with my mom. I am the last of four children,” she began.
Iginla-Aina may be commanding national and international attention in her adult life, but as a child, she had her share of high and low moments.

“I was always coming last in my class. Mum knew I loved to play a lot, so she spoke to one Mr. Mensa, a Ghanaian teacher who provided extra tutorials for me after school hours. Mr. Mensa himself was playful and soon discovered my passion for play and restlessness, so he would introduce every topic to me playfully.
“I learnt so much from him within a short time, and in the next exams, I took the fifth position. When we got home, my mum was surprised. She later called me and told me that she would take me anywhere around the world if I eventually took the first position. I was excited about my mom’s promise. Sadly, mom died a few months later. I continued to live with my grandmother who also died a year after my mom’s death.”

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Iginla-Aina spirit wasn’t dampened. Instead, it was fired up. From that moment, the leadership quality in her began to manifest. Her leadership trait began at Anglican Girls Grammar School (LAGGS), where she was the head girl. Igunla-Aina’s intellectual prowess continued as she shone brilliantly and was among the top ten selected for scholarship in Lagos State for ‘Intelligence and good conduct’.

“There are times that I would attend prize-giving day at school and I would be in front, collecting prizes for different subjects. After this, I would also be the recipient of the prize for the most talented student, with no parent there to cheer me up. I would go home on days like these with my hands full and my heart empty. Sometimes, I received cheers from a few neighbors who saw me walking home with gifts.”
Having come out with flying colours, Iginla-Aina proceeded to the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University (O.A.U), Ile-Ife where she studied Architecture in 1996. Apart from her academic pursuit at Ife, Iginla-Aina also desired to test the murky water of politics.

“The political traits in me didn’t start today. While I was in secondary school, I kept telling my friends that I was going to study Architecture at the Obafemi Awolowo University (O.A.U.) and that I was going to become the President of the Students’ Union. They listened to me and watched me with great amazement but they never for once understood me.
“Now, from my part one at the university, I would mention to my roommates that I was going to become the President of the Students’ Union. They would look at me and laugh. They told me that, “Females don’t become presidents here”. But I continued to tell them that I would one day become the SUG President.”
“I remember one day we all woke up to hear the news that some Students’ Union Executives and some students had been killed during a cult attack. There was pandemonium on campus on that very day. I decided to visit the hospital to confirm what was going on.

“I got there and I was told that the students had been moved to the mortuary. I insisted I wanted to confirm what I was hearing for a strange reason, so I got to the mortuary and the attendant showed me the bodies of the dead students.
“I came out of the mortuary angry and right behind the mortuary building, reaffirmed within me that such injustice must not be allowed to continue and I must become the president of the SUG.”
Ordinarily such a scene should discourage anyone from getting involved, but on the contrary, it only made her reaffirm her dedication to the cause. The student’s unrest at the O.A.U became a launching pad for her ambition of becoming the SUG president.

“I did not have money for a single poster but the strategies were mind-blowing. I had no money to campaign. After many challenges, I was denied funds from home because they didn’t want me to contest. Lecturers and popular people were campaigning for me without knowing me.
“I was a faceless candidate, I had no money for posters, and I used chalk to write my surname, “IGINLA” (which literally means, “big tree” in strategic places on campus and on trees. I later appealed to one of the business centers on campus to please write ‘IGINLA’ with landscape orientation on A4 paper and they produced black and white photocopies of this.
“The total amount for this was N100 which I agreed to pay after the election. No one knew whether I was a male or female except my close friends.”

She narrated that, while she wrote with chalk, a particular lecturer who teaches one of the special elective courses with thousands of students attending his lecture appealed to his students.
“He specifically said, ‘This guy is environmentally-friendly, instead of defacing the campus, he is writing with chalk, and when rain comes, it will be washed away’.

According to her, the lecturer said others made expensive posters, and that they would steal the students’ money when they got into the office. This was the basis for his plea.’’
She eventually won the election to become the Vice President of the Students’ Union and later the President. During the period she emerged as president, the longstanding problem of reinstating over ten rusticated students, including the SUG President became resolved.

“It has been close to 20 years since Iginla-Aina left O.A.U but the impact of her brief reign as president vibrated in 2018 when the UN Ambassador requested for character reference from her Vice Chancellor.
“My VC did not hesitate in sending pages of his book to the secretary. He had actually written a book about his time as the VC of O.A.U., titled: “Water Must Flow Up Hill”. He had mentioned my name in two different pages (pages 187 and 188) that he reinstated the over ten rusticated students due to the way I was able to manage the situation.

“He mentioned the peaceful rally which was rather remarkable. When my VC spoke to me on the phone, I wept within me. He told me that despite the fact that I was always on his case, he saw sincerity in my entire advocacy, and he appreciated my honesty and charismatic leadership and told me, ‘Subomi, I re-instated Anthony Fashayo and others because of you’.
“The reinstatement of over ten rusticated students of O.A.U. was as a result of the cumulative efforts of so many students’ union officers/leaders before and during my tenure as well as the entire students’ body, Professor Rogers Makanjuola, some members of the school authority and many other people within the school and even other external influencers.”

Iginla-Aina moved to England in 2006 to join her husband. There, she continued with her social work as her desire to do the much she can for the youths and the disadvantaged people around her remains unquenchable.
Iginla-Aina also revealed that her driving force rests on helping midwives to have a better and brighter tomorrow, especially for those who thought that such hope is far-fetched.

“As I continue in my mission, I also saw the need to have many more people do what I do so that the impact can be widespread. This has led me to raise many more visionaries and volunteers to do social and humanitarian works.
“I have thus seen the need for us to be properly organised in order to bring efficiency into the things that we do. I have begun that with LightUp Foundation, and we are doing quite a lot to brush up other NGOS on having structures and accountability systems.

“I took a Masters’ degree in Law (LLM) in order to understand the legal framework within which NGOs operate and ensure that our enterprises are conducted in accordance with the laws and regulations of the countries where we operate.
“I am currently pursuing a PhD in the topic: ‘Africa Moving from Aid to Trade: United Nations and How the Body has assisted African Youth Entrepreneurial Development to Achieve the SDG Goals 8 and 9. What More Can Be Done with Nigeria as a Case Study’.

“This topic is focused on how the UN can achieve some of the Sustainable Development Goals. I believe my research knowledge will definitely be used to boost the global work of the Executive Committee as well as the youths of not only Nigeria but the continent of Africa.”

With her foot firmly rooted in helping humanity, she revealed why she contested for the membership of the Global NGO Executive Committee. “I sought a higher office with the intent of doing on a larger scale the things I have been doing for close to thirty years. I believe in working with the GNEC in a star-studded team of fellow visionaries.
“I hope that we should be able to push the frontiers of development agenda across the world in meeting up with the expectations of the electorate. I believe my strong organisational skills, experience and creative capacities will no doubt be a good resource for the work of the GNEC.

“This will also be of immense benefit to organisations across the globe. I am happy to share my knowledge and expertise, to the benefit and empowerment of civil societies across the globe. I also hope to bring to the table ground-breaking ideas and solutions to help the Executive team.”

Enumerating her plans, she said “The first few months are critical for the work we have to do. Firstly, we need to understand what the current status of our world is in terms of civil society work especially with the impact of COVID-19. This sets the tune for our programme direction. Secondly, I will work hand-in-hand with the officers and other directors of GNEC to actualize the visions and goals of the Executive Committee for this dispensation.

“Without losing sight of my primary assignments in my personal capacity, we will push the Bag of Hope initiative a little further. We have toured seven out of 30 countries but we will do more in the next few months of my assumption of office. I am also consciously looking forward to working with UNDGC organisations on the global BOH tour. I see more things happening soon.”

Any benefit for the motherland in her capacity as a Nigerian and a member of the Global NGO Executive Committee? She responded: “I was elected as a member of the Global NGO Executive Committee to represent global interests. However, because I am passionate about Nigeria, I would be glad to contribute my quota towards the development of Nigeria in any way that I can, beginning with the empowerment of the third sector.
“I will basically work with NGOs in Nigeria to organise trainings and seminars that would generally empower beneficiaries, especially in areas pertaining to youth development, child abuse, and the empowerment of less-privileged members of the society. With my high level involvement at a global stage, by the grace of God, I will ensure that decision-making is truly representative of the interests of the people. Therefore, I intend to work hand-in-hand with the relevant authorities to see this actualised,” she stated.