The Executive Secretary of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy (LJLA), Mrs. Ayisat Agbaje-Okunade, is a law graduate of the University of Westminster, United Kingdom (UK).

She also holds a master’s degree in International Relations and Democratic Politics from the same university. Before her latest appointment, she had served as Senior Special Assistant to governors Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

In this interview, Agbaje-Okunade, who is 30 years old, shared with GBENGA SALAU her interest in governance, change, youth development and why she returned to Nigeria from UK, revealing it is not true that connection is needed to get into public service.
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How did you come into public service?
From a young age, I have love for government, public service, social change, social awareness, inclusivity and gender advocacy. In my studies, I specialised in human rights with interest in United Nations (UN) human rights laws and the European Convention human rights laws. I am interested in rights of people, inclusivity, social entrepreneurship, social awareness, social welfare and young people.

I believe that a lot of the social challenges we have, if we are able to catch people young, we then have a better chance of tackling  the challenges. Rather than wanting to change a 50-year old man, why not start from a young age?

Furthermore, countries that have been successful, it is because they built strong structures and cultures in which their people live by. They do not necessarily need to strongly impose rules or laws because the people have been built to understand the fundamentals and values of the society.

I also asked myself why drive the change from the outside when you can do it from the inside. And I wanted to work with that theory of how can we bring that activism on the inside of our institutions rather than knocking the door from the outside, advocating for those beliefs from the inside. Those were my change ideas and those were what pushed me into public service.
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I started my career in public service a few years back in the United Kingdom (UK) working with young people through DFID, the CSR arm of the UK government, as an outreach associate. We integrate young people, especially those that have been marginalised back into the system through government programmes. I have also been a peer educator in Tanzania. Having moved back to Nigeria, I started working with Mallam Nasir El-rufai. I was one of the alumuna of the Kashim Ibrahim Fellowship, and that was how I met El-rufai and was his special assistant working with the Kaduna State government on a number of projects.

Along the way came Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu and I was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Economic Planning and Development Partnership in 2020, due to my background in Non-governmental Organisation (NGO).

What has been the experience since you came into the system to drive change?
It has been great. The human mind and the human relation is a completely different thing. And I always say that nothing teaches you about human relations than Nigerians.

To carry out a social engineering on people is pretty tough and I always feel for our leaders. I have been involved in government and diplomacy in some places including Tanzania, and I think Nigerians are one of the hardest to govern. Though it has been an interesting challenge, but there are success stories.

And Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy is one of those success stories. I also think that Nigeria is not as hard as we always say it is, because you will always find someone that can tap into your gift or talent. If you get rejected in one place, there will be someone that will appreciate you. A common knowledge is that Nigerians are going through a lot and a lot of people want to make change, including those in power.

Our leaders, especially the two leaders I have served under in my short career, are really hungry for changes. Nobody is pleased with where we are as a country and if anybody is pleased with it, it will really be scandalous.

Insight about Lateef Jakande Academy
The governor believes that one of our biggest challenges in Nigeria is leadership. And a lot of the generation in leadership now may not be there in the next 30 years, so who prepares the next set of leaders? When we talk about public service, people say, you must know somebody to get in. But this is not usually the case. We are now inviting young people to come in through the Lateef Jakande Academy. It is going to be a great bridge between young people and the government. We would mentor them through the process of what leadership is.
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Come in, get to know and understand resource allocation, civil service and keeping people employed. And what a better way to learn by shadowing leaders in government – cabinet members, heads of agencies and permanent secretaries – to gain insight and ultimately understand the country’s and Lagos’ problems and then proffer solutions.

The fellows are mentees of the governor and are actually his special assistants during the period. You can imagine being a young person and being a special assistant to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. It is a big deal and this is how they are opened up to a new world completely.

How do we make leadership skills common?
There are lots of books that can be read; young people should be open minded, ready to learn, relearn and unlearn. Leadership is everywhere; even the person selling akara next door can provide leadership insights. Be ready to network, sell yourself and prepare yourself for opportunities. As a nation, I believe we have not got it right as a collective, because we have not got it right as individuals.

Also, we only pick 30 people every year for the LJLA and that is a drop in a mighty ocean. As a result, we are opening up our content to the public, especially young people. We have different programmes coming up and whoever is interested should just follow the academy online to get updated. We do not believe in keeping knowledge, but in sharing it as much as possible.

Do you think women are well represented in public service? If no, how can more women come in?
I do not think women are well represented in public service. In Lagos, we have a fair share, though we can have more, especially as the governor is ‘he for she’ and that is why I am an executive secretary. And I like to think that if a lot of other states can replicate that, we would go a long way.
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It is a work in progress and a long journey ahead because Nigeria has not met the 35 per cent affirmation for women in governance as advised. It is a tough one because it is one thing to be a woman and to be young, which is why LJLA is really interesting. Fifteen of the 30 fellows must be women and the process is purely meritocratic. So, we are letting women know that there is opportunity to come in and the governor said though the age limit is 35 to get admitted as a fellow, the age limit for women with children should be 37, just to give them that extra push. I do not know what is more progressive than that, which is something I am very, very proud of.

However, that we have not had a woman elected president or governor is an embarrassment for Nigeria. And I hope the change is not long away anymore, because Nigerian women are very enterprising.

Why should the youths be interested in public service?
I like to think that life is about the ability to serve. Someone asked me what does success look like to me and I said success is when your cup runs over. And when your cup runs over means spreading your acts of service and you cannot say you want to spread your acts of service and not get into government or policy making and public service because government is one of the easiest ways to reach as much people as you can.

Young Nigerians are already gaining interest, though we might not agree with the form and how they do it but the interest is growing. I like that the president has appointed quite a few young people. As a result, I feel young people can aspire for more key leadership roles. I am just 30 years old and I am already being given a key leadership role, which is encouraging.
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What do we need for the change we are clamouring for to occur?
We definitely need a change of mindset. We need to look as if we are starting afresh. We have Nigerians abroad making changes. We just need a change of mindset and that would foster our growth. Let us be solution focused.

How do you stay inspired?
If you ask anybody that knows me, they say this; I have two quotes. One – ‘If you think you are too small to have an impact, trying going to bed with mosquitoes because as tinny as mosquitoes are, once they bite you, malaria has come and people die from malaria. Secondly, Maya Angelou’s quote – ‘I come as one, I stand as 10,000’. So, there are people that I am in this journey of life with; people that have come before me, my ancestors and people that will come after me. I represent them. Therefore, when I walk into a room, everything I say must be so precise. As Yorubas, we say, Omo Agbaje ni yen, (that is Agbaje’s child), you are a representation of something. When I go into a room as a young person in government, if I did not do well, I could jeopardise the chances of other young people and women. So, I am not representing my interest alone. I am here to represent the interest of Nigerians, black women, women and young people. I am here to represent these interests including my unborn children. That is my motivation currently, not living for myself.
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