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The Custodians of African Literature COAL is pleased to announce the appointment of six new board members as an addition to our goal of diversifying our leadership team. COAL is rounding out our organization’s leadership and advisory team with three new female and three male professionals. We recently developed a new strategic plan, which includes a commitment to expansion that ensures a diversified leadership that reflects both the population served and the goal of building new frontier partnerships with people and organizations from around the world.
MEET OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Donna Obaseki-Ogunnaike is an Energy Law expert, poet, writer and a Partner of ACAS-Law (1st tier Nigerian law firm) possessing over 17 years of experience in Energy and Corporate Commercial Law practices. She consults extensively on a wide range of investment issues for international exploration, oil service, and multinational trading companies. She advises on strategy, planning and development solutions to project specific ventures within the oil and gas industry.
Her contributions to the youth and society has earned her the honour of the Children’s Playground at the Yitzhak Rabin International School, Port Harcourt Rivers State being named the “DONNA OBASEKI-OGUNNAIKE CHILDREN PLAYGROUND”. She is also currently the youngest recipient of the Yitzhak Rabin International Award for Excellence in Leadership (2014).
Apart from law practice, Donna is a well recognized poet and theatre practitioner.
Nigerian writer and journalist, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim is most recently the winner of the 2018 Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling for his creative non-fiction piece, All That Was Familiar, (Granta, 2017), reporting on the hardships faced by women in Northeast Nigeria displaced by the violence of Boko Haram.
Abubakar is the author of the award-winning novel Season of Crimson Blossoms (published by Cassava Republic Press, London in 2016 and Parresia Publishers, Lagos, 2015), which won the 2016 Nigeria Prize for Literature. The novel has been translated into French, German and Tamil among others. He has been invited to speak at every major literature and journalism festival around the world. He lives in Abuja, Nigeria, where he is the Features Editor for the Daily Trust newspaper.
Hannatu Onogu is a passionate humanitarian and an environmentalist working in various communities in Nigeria. She is currently the Business Developer/Coach with Solar Sister Nigeria, serving as the Northern Manager where she mentors and network with women in clean and renewable energy. She has been involved in diverse Developmental initiatives and Social Projects; she garners experience and professional skills in Strategic planning, Grant resourcing, Management, and administration.
Dollin graduated from the Universities of East London and Bedfordshire with post-graduate degrees in Forced Migration and Refugee Studies (MA), International Human Rights Law (LLM) and Media Representation (MA by Research)
He is widely travelled and lives in Luton in the United Kingdom, where he currently works as an Adviser/Work-Coach for the Department of Works and Pension. Dollin is also the founder of Caprecon Foundation and a fellow of the following bodies: the Royal Society of Arts, Tom Lantos Institute in Budapest, Institute of Training and Occupational Learning and was a member of the Management Committee, Network for Peace, England and currently a member of the Advisory Board of the West African Academy of Public Health.
Alyssa Freda has 11 years of experience in managing youth after-school programs and athletics in the United States. She has experience in growing programs in both size and scope. Alyssa has a passion for travelling and International volunteering, she recently received a Fellowship Grant from her organization to teach children in Tanzania.
Dr. Charles Bassey has over two decades of leadership and mentoring experience and currently works full time with the Central Bank of Nigeria as Head, Security Research and Development. He studied MSc in Psychology at the University of Roehampton, further specializing in Organizational Psychology (MSc) at the University of London after completing the undergraduate level certificate course in Psychology at the University of Derby.
COAL is glad to have these professional additions to our organization as we hope for expansion and serve youth in our community. You can read more about our team here.