HAFSAT ABIOLA-COSTELLO APPOINTED FIRST AFRICAN TO HEAD WOMEN IN AFRICA INITIATIVE

 In her response as the new President, Abiola-Costello said she accepted the post because she believes in the vision of the organization, adding that on her goals as President, her primary goal is to learn in the first year of her tenure.

“Women are the greatest untapped resource the continent has. So I want to help lead the organisation that is working to harness their potential. It could very well be the game-changer that unleashes the long-anticipated rise of the continent.”

“My goals for 2018 are understandably modest. It is primarily to learn. To learn how the organisation currently operates, to meet our partners and listen to their vision and interests, to engage with our members across the continent and learn what they see as the biggest opportunities and the toughest challenges’.

‘In the coming year, my focus will be on building out the structure for the future and beginning to tie that structure to performance. I’ll be focusing on ensuring that we have ambassadors in all the countries of Africa, that we have active councils in at least a third of these, and that we expand the network of partners that we engage on behalf of our members”, she said.

She also said her background in advocacy for democracy in Nigeria at the time of military rule, women and youth empowerment, and service as a member of cabinet in Ogun State, Nigeria has practically prepared her for the role of WIA President.

“As a result of these experiences, I have built quite a broad network of relationships with global and local leaders, organisations, foundations, and governments from Washington DC to Ouagadougou that will be useful to WIA Initiative now as it seeks to expand its footprint and impact,” she said.

Penpushing reports that Mrs Abiola-Costello is the daughter of late Moshood and Kudirat Abiola, who were killed in the struggle to restore democracy in Nigeria. The late father of Hafsat is believed to have won the 1993 presidential election, but was imprisoned by the then Military Dictator Sanni Abacha.