Olugbenga Ogunmefun: A Consummate Researcher Dedicated to Positive Change in Nigeria
Rebecca Ejifoma
Olugbenga Ogunmefun is a remarkable individual who embodies passion and resilience in his work. As the Director of Research and Institutional Strengthening at Africa Polling Institute (API), Nigeria’s leading opinion research think-tank, he has dedicated over 25 years to interfacing with policymakers, stakeholders, and scholars in both the public and private sectors. Ogunmefun has established himself as a consummate market and social researcher. His expertise covers quantitative and qualitative research, field, and data collection, and more. He has moderated over 6,000 studies across different qualitative research designs and has consulted for reputable firms such as Ford Foundation, UNDP, UNICEF, Multichoice, Shell Plc, MTN, BAT, BAT Foundation, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Coca-Cola, Guinness, Cadbury, and Unilever and others with tangible impacts. He currently sits on the Boards of DBI Analytics Consulting, and SMYLE Africa Ltd, where he continues to share his knowledge and experience with others.
Ogunmefun’s expertise and unwavering commitment to research and institutional strengthening have made him a trailblazer in the development sector, and his impact continues to be felt by policymakers, stakeholders, and communities across Nigeria and beyond.
What has your career path been like over the past 25 years in the development sector? Can you share the key milestones and pivotal moments that shaped your journey?
My career path in social and marketing research has been an exciting journey. I started at Research and Marketing Services (RMS), a renowned institution that has been a benchmark for marketing research in Nigeria. RMS has been the bedrock from which many research agencies in the country have emerged, with its influence felt across the industry.
I began my career as a Quality Control Officer and gradually grew my research expertise. I had the opportunity to work in various departments, including operations and management, which has allowed my career to flourish.
In the social research domain, which focuses a lot on the development sector, I have found a deep sense of purpose. This area of research has a strong humanitarian aspect, as people are eager to see the tangible impacts of government initiatives and policies, particularly through the work of non-governmental organisations.
My areas of interest in social research include health, education, social development, politics, governance, and policy development. I have a particular passion for the disability sector, where I have witnessed the challenges faced by members of the community and the efforts to address these issues.
The disability sector has been a focus of my work, as I believe it is crucial to advocate for the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities in our society. The recent incident involving the son of a former Ogun State governor being denied service at a reputable establishment due to his disability has highlighted the need for greater awareness and sensitivity.
Fortunately, organisations like Ford Foundation have been at the forefront of bringing the issues faced by the disability community to the forefront. Additionally, the Nigerian government has taken steps to address these concerns, such as the establishment of a commission for persons with disabilities and the signing of the Disability Act in 2018.
Could you share with us what initially drew you to the development sector and what continues to motivate you in this work after all these years?
In 2009, I did a project called Water Sanitation and Hygiene (W.A.S.H) for UNICEF. I went to a community in Anambra State called Ekwulobia. I saw that people there had major challenges with water access. They dug pits and waited for the rainy season to collect water. I also visited a remote area of Kwara State for the same project. People there had a dire need for water that they could not access. When we asked for water to drink, they dug a cup into an open tank and presented us with brown, murky water – the same water they drank. I saw beautiful buildings but no toilets or clean water sources. Open defecation was common in these communities. These situations brought home the reality of the immense basic challenges these communities faced.
Before this, I had read about these issues, but witnessing them firsthand was deeply motivating. We need to raise awareness and advocate for policy changes to address water, sanitation, health, and education needs. Assumptions are not enough – we must find out the real experiences of people and ensure the government is truly committed to their welfare, not just responding to crises. The time to move from being reactionary to proactiveness is now, taking the bull by the horns to ensure not only movement but compliance with the direction of sustainable developmental goals.
My continued motivation is seeing the fallout of some of the projects we’ve done being used by others as a reference for their work, to inform policies by the government, and also scholarly projects by scholars. We have been able to develop an Assessment and Diagnostic Tool for use by the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) to assess both the public and private sector’s preparedness for and compliance with the letter of the Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018. This has been tested by the NCPWD and the Joint Action for Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) in the data gathering exercise we recently concluded, also for Ford Foundation, the report of which will be launched soon. Furthermore, my interactions with key government officials also show a high level of commitment to issues that affect Nigerians and the desire for change. I recently joined a team of scholars, senior government officials, and key stakeholders in reviewing the policy on Inclusive Education in Nigeria, and the seriousness of the tasks all done shows that there is a high level of commitment to changing the narratives across the board. This high level of commitment gives me the encouragement I need and though the results may not be immediate, the fact that adequate steps are being taken by all concerned, including the not-for-profit organisations, is enough motivation for me.
As one who has worked with several reputable brands in the country, can you describe a typical week in your current role as director of research? What does your day-to-day work entail?
Upon my arrival at the office, the welfare of staff is primary, from the young man who mans the gate, enquiring about his health, family, and state of mind because as the first contact, if he’s not well synced in his mind and body, it may reflect on his activities and by extension on the organisation, we wouldn’t want your good self to come and is met by a grumpy, tired or dirty looking security man who responds grudgingly to your enquiries or worse, he snaps at you. That takes me to my rounds which are steeled in staff welfare, their state of mind, and families, and if I am lucky, I get invited to take a bite of some breakfast here and there. After my rounds, I settle down in my office with prayers to start off and if time and occasion permit, I have a quick breakfast or coffee. Calls and messages often come in before I settle down at my desk, especially if we’ve ongoing projects and I steer towards these after I have responded to emails.
Depending on what we have going on, I may call for a meeting of the technical team, and the operations department and get updates on projects, staff welfare, and collaborative engagements with other key stakeholders. I assign tasks to staff across the board, monitor ongoing projects in the field, liaise often with my Senior Research Manager, and review reports including those that come in from our scholars. In the midst of all these, meetings, some impromptu within and outside the office may come up that I need to attend to and this can stretch till late in the evening. Before I set out for home from the office, I go on another round to see staff who are working late and, in some cases to ensure that all appliances have been turned off in offices where the staff have left, nothing must be left to chance.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the development sector today, and how is your organisation working to address them?
Funding is a major challenge for the development sector. NGOs like UNICEF, UNDP, Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and the rest of them spend a lot of money on different projects. However, funding can be unpredictable because economic changes may disrupt a project’s financial plan, like fluctuations in the naira-dollar exchange rate. This makes it difficult to manage projects without compromising quality.
Government policy is also an issue. The government has a responsibility to protect the interests of Nigerians, however, when the development sector tries to assist, there is sometimes a lack of collaboration between the government and other stakeholders. Some government policies and bureaucratic processes hinder some of these development projects. The issue of counterpart funding also rears its head when the government is unable in some instances to do the needful given the paucity of funds, and this invariably affects the project that is supposed to take off with the partners offering to collaborate with the government.
Staffing is also a challenge, qualified, competent, and passionate staff have to be employed and deployed to work in different categories of projects in the sector. It takes a lot of effort and commitment to see through projects from the beginning to the end because a lot of processes are involved. Moreover, the nature of the projects makes it mandatory to ride along with the same enthusiasm from the beginning if the desired result is to be achieved.
Unfortunately, we cannot help with funding, we are a not-for-profit organisation, thus the issue of funding is an area we cannot help with directly. However, we have put measures in place to ensure that clients get the best of our expertise in delivering on the mandate given to us by putting in our best effort, from planning, operations, analysis, and reporting, nothing is left to chance, no matter what it takes. If you are not sure of the data you collect from us, then there is no sense in coming back to us, we thus ensure that we give you value for money. We have also made some inroads where we can leverage government officials to ensure that things move faster and in the right direction without the bureaucracy of government that often slows things down, of course without compromising on quality, professionalism, and the law. We also offer and train some staff of some organisations in capacity building either directly through workshops or collaborative efforts where we help with questionnaire design, methodology, analysis or through a guide and walk-through during data gathering by putting the staff of the client through the process while in the field or during briefing exercises.
Can you share an example of a research project or initiative you are particularly proud of and the impact it had?
I am particularly proud of the inroads we have made in the disability space through the two-year Disability Research Project commissioned by the Ford Foundation to conduct research and generate data on Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in Nigeria; and monitor progress on the domestication of ‘The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018’ in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT. The overall objectives of the project are: to engender compliance of public institutions with disability laws and policies that expressly seek to ensure equal access of all Nigerians to public buildings through the availability of ramps, escalators, lifts, etc; ensure state governments adopt evidence-informed policies that address the challenges of PWDs, and to advance a better understanding of the challenges of women with disability, particularly as it relates to gender-based violence. We were also able to work with the NBS to facilitate the integration of disability indicators and measures of disability to gather disaggregated data on persons with disabilities. This was done through the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) survey carried out by the NBS in 2022 and it was indeed an eye-opener.
One of our major consultants, Dr Israel Balogun is a scholar and medical person of many parts, vastly experienced and connected in the world and space of disability. My association with him and others has had a great impact on my perception of interpersonal relationships with different categories of people. Nobody is incapable of anything once the mind is set on it, and ability is not in physical strength but intellectual strength, what you have upstairs. At all times and in all places, we should have a high threshold of tolerance, patience, and perseverance while dealing with others. The book cover is sometimes deceitful, like using catchy headlines to rivet attention and being a persuasive tool on emotions to form an opinion, you can buy the newspaper or click to read or not, based on the headlines. Nature and society have dealt these Nigerians a cruel hand, they do not need pity from anyone, save for the beggars, but rather demand the same treatment and opportunities as able-bodied Nigerians in all spheres of life. The encounter that the son of the former governor of Ogun state experienced shows how far we still need to go. The outlet incidentally has a ramp which ideally should be for persons with disabilities but that experience has now led me to believe that it may probably have been made for trolleys and boxes instead, roll in and make a purchase and chase away those we don’t want to make a purchase.
This project was significant as it shed light on the issues faced by the disability community, including the abuse and mistreatment they often experience, even from their caregivers, especially the females who are targeted for sexual assault. The project was the beginning of my association with the disability community and has led to increased awareness and engagement with different organisations of persons with disabilities and government agencies. It also highlights how indeed beautiful at heart these categories of Nigerians are.
We were also able to work with the NBS to facilitate the integration of indicators and measures of disability to gather disaggregated data on persons with disabilities. This was done through the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) carried out by the NBS in 2022 and it was indeed an eye-opener.
What skills and qualities do you believe are most essential for success in a research or development role?
Technical skills are essential for all categories of research, and the different research techniques whether it’s qualitative, quantitative, or data analysis are mandatory. You need the technical know-how to handle all aspects of a project, from planning to execution, analysis, and reporting. In tandem with these skills is the irreplaceable role of technology which has made research more fun and undeniably necessary in all that we do because without data, and accurate data that is, we’ll only be groping in darkness hoping to make unguaranteed contact
Besides technical skills, however, the need for passion for your work is crucial, especially in Social Research where humanity is the main target, not just the different genders or specific needs. It’s not about making your project the best or being in the face of people. It’s about making a genuine connection and understanding the humanity in your work. When you’re intervening in people’s lives, you must interact with them and feel what they feel. This is not just a marketing research exercise – it’s about having a direct impact on people’s lives.
For example, if you’re working in the health sector, you need to understand why people use a particular primary healthcare centre, their needs, the availability of supplies, the competence of the medical team, the proximity and accessibility of secondary facilities, and more. We’ve seen how some pregnant women have to be transported in wheelbarrows or motorcycles to the hospital or Primary Health Centres. You must be passionate about how your work will impact people’s lives. Engage with the community, show empathy, and be involved in the planning and execution. That final report you get can turn the most rigid wheel and also shape government policies.
What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing a career in development research or the nonprofit sector more broadly?
As I’ve mentioned, technical skill is a must, that is what will give you a headstart and keep you in the game, it is non-negotiable. Personal development is crucial to this, look out for those experienced, tap off them, and read wide, the internet has brought knowledge closer and information is only a click away now.
You must be interested in what you’re doing, it goes beyond just doing a job, it’s what will drive changes, policies, and critical decisions and serve as a pedestal for others to grow their passion and career. When you’re working to improve lives, an emotional connection with the people and their situations is essential but that must be restrained such that it does not lean on any element of bias in the final analysis. That emotional connection is to help you see from their viewpoint, understand their situation, and help shape your planning, questioning approach, and data-gathering exercise. In as much as you must be clothed in the garment of the moment, no report worth its salt must be based on emotions and their influences, data, and the right data is a must, and this helps in the long term of actionable intervention
Is there any other thing you would like to add?
The development sector is open to assistance, interest, and input from anyone willing to help Nigeria. The government cannot do it alone. The development sector, both foreign and local, should not feel intimidated by government bureaucracies and challenges. Their interest in helping should drive them forward.
Government officials are willing to listen. Thus, individuals and organisations should put in their voices, time, resources, and expertise to help Nigeria improve.
Government agencies and MDAs should be more receptive, tolerant, accommodating, and open-minded. They should provide requirements while guiding organisations in the right direction.
