Funmi Olotu: How African Civic Engagement Academy is shaping my leadership skills

Funmi Olotu, senior special assistant (SSA) on state lotteries to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state governor, says her participation at the ongoing African Civic Engagement Academy at the University of Georgia, United States, has shaped her leadership skills.

In March, Olotu was selected for the civic leadership programme for mid-career civil society and public leaders across sub-Saharan Africa.

In an interview with TheCable, on Friday, Olotu said she was excited to be selected for the academy because it has offered her a unique opportunity to hone lifelong skills in good governance and democracy.

The 38-year-old aide said she hopes to transfer the skills learnt to her work in quality public service delivery in Lagos.

“Participation in the live sessions and the practice group discussions in every module for each course. The practice group discussions created a platform for applicable and practical topics to be analyzed and shared with the facilitators and other members of the academy,” Olotu said.

“The Africa Civic Engagement Academy program teaches leadership development, strategic planning models and networking for every topic. These are necessary skills for effective civic engagement, especially in a country with civic engagement challenges.

“Apart from these benefits, the Civic Engagement Action Plan practicalized the program by helping me pick a current pressing issue in Nigeria, as well as giving me the opportunity and guidance to provide sustainable plans and lasting solutions for the issue. These are the ways I plan to transfer the skills and opportunities acquired from the Africa Civil Engagement Academy.”

OLOTU: A RISING STAR

Youthful, focused and highly energetic, Olotu has consistently exhibited a high spirit of resourcefulness which has propelled her personality to an enviable height.

After her bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Ibadan in 2005, she proceeded to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) for a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with a speciality in strategic management. Olotu is a strong believer in the “Greater Nigeria Dream”.

After she completed the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Cross River state, in 2006, Olufunmilagos, as she is often called, took a plunge into the corporate world, deploying only her talent and certificate to launch herself.

In 2018, Funmi braced the odds and picked up the gauntlet to contest a position in Lagos politics. She aspired to represent Ikeja Constituency II in the Lagos state house of assembly on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but the ticket was won by an opponent during the primaries.

A believer in team-playing and sportsmanship, Olotu canvassed support for the party governorship candidate in the 2019 general election, leveraging her robust relationship with the millennials to mobilise voters for the party’s victory in her constituency and in the state at large. Funmi has worked with top party leaders contributing her quota towards the development of the party. She is, no doubt, one of the young women to watch out for in the Nigerian political space.

As SSA on state lotteries, she helps the government in solving key regulatory issues challenging the gaming sector and works with the Lotteries Authority management to reposition the agency in improving revenue generation for the state.

An unrepentant social entrepreneur, Olotu is certified in social sector management from the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) of the Lagos Business School (LBS) – a programme funded through a scholarship from the African-American Institute and Coca-Cola Foundation.

She is the founder of Focus Initiative Concern, a social enterprise focused on youth development and education and has sponsored several projects across Lagos state.