- Chief Mrs. Amina Temitope Ajayi and Justice George Adesola Oguntade, Retired Nigerian Jurist, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK
By Ann Acka’a, Contributing Editor & Victor Gotevbe, Editor-in-Chief,
New York: Chief Amina Temitope Ajayi, a Nigerian Born American Entrepreneur and devoted Community Activist was at the African Union- Nigerian High Level Dialogue on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 held at the African Union Conference Room, African Union Observer Mission, New York, to support the fight against corruption. The meeting was themed: “Winning the War Against Corruption: Leveraging International Cooperation to achieve sustainable development in Africa” and it was graced with the presence of H.E. President Muhammadu Buhari; The AU Commission, Chairperson, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat; representative of the African Union Chairman (President Paul Kagame), Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Edo State Governor, diplomats, business people and the Media.
Chief Ajayi, popularly known as “Mama Diaspora” because of her giant stride on issues bothering on Nigerians living in the Diaspora, spoke to Diplomatic Watch -one of the Media partners invited to cover the event- about her zero tolerance for corruption. She expressed vehemently that “Nigeria and Africa as a whole can be free of corruption once we begin to understand its endemic dreadful effects; how it stifles socio-economic growth and eventually bring about poverty.”
She added that “it is about having a greater mind which focuses on ideas as lesser minds focus on talking about people. And as they say, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. That way corruption creeps in. Hence, there is a need to begin from our circle of influence in the way we do business and live generally.”
In the early 90s, she served as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria. She equally played an active role in the Better Life for Rural Women project sponsored by the then First Lady of Nigeria, Maryam Babangida. She has attended several women’s events across the globe.
Mama Diaspora is the former President of All Nigerian American Congress (ANAC). She is the Founder/CEO of the Nigerian American Agricultural Empowerment Program (NAAEP), which engages in the Agricultural empowerment of farmers, women and young Adults in Nigeria in order to increase foods sufficiency and sustainable employment for women and youths in the agricultural sector.
Her efforts and credibility have attracted a good number of US investors in the agri-business to Nigeria. Chief Ajayi is an Ambassador of Goodwill for the State of Arkansas and Maryland, USA.
She is also regarded by many as the beauty and the brain since she is the woman that started Agricultural revolution in Nigeria. As a matter of fact, she is the Nigerian success story in the Agricultural sector.
Chief Ajayi is a recipient of several high-profile international honours and awards. For her service to African communities in the US, Chief Ajayi was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award issued by President George W. Bush, which is a national prize under the patronage of the President of the United States recognizing voluntary engagement.
Chief Ajayi is the Honorable Chair at the Global Connections for Women foundation (GC4W), an approved US non-profit organization that believes in all women and youth and their right to create new opportunities for themselves and their communities.
Temitope Ajayi also serves as the Chairman/CEO Silicon Valley Nigerian Economic Development (SV-NED Inc); a company, to establish a strategic, bilateral economic relationship between Silicon Valley and Nigeria creating opportunities for Nigeria and Nigerian companies to do business with America and American companies, especially in information Technology sector. It’s dedicated to creating a bridge between Technology Hub in Silicon Valley – San Jose CA, and Nigeria, serving as an Incubator for Entrepreneurs and Startup’s.
Come October 18, 2018, SV-NED Inc/ GC4 Women will host the 21st Century Women in Innovation and Technology meeting with the theme: Turning Promises into Action, at the United Nations Headquarters, New York during the 2018 General Assembly.
