Segun Awolowo
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Olusegun Awolowo Jr. (born 27 September 1963), is a
Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...
lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
, he was the executive director of
Nigerian Export Promotion Council The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) was established through the promulgation of the “Nigerian Export Promotion Council Decree No. 26 of 1976”, now an Act in line with the democratic governance of the Country. This Act was amended by ...
, from 2013 to 2021. He is the grandson of former Nigerian nationalist, socialist and statesman, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. In July 2021, he was unanimously elected as the President of National Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) from ECOWAS member States.


Early life

Awolowo was born on 27 September 1963, his father (Segun Awolowo Sr.) died in 1963 at age 25 by car accident at the old Ibadan-Lagos road. He was born two months after his father's death, he attended primary school in custody of his aunt, Mrs Tola Oyediran (nee Awolowo) and her husband Prof. Kayode Oyediran. Before then, he lived with his mother alongside his other siblings.


Education

Awolowo started his education at the Mayhill Convent School alongside
Dolapo Osinbajo Oludolapo Osinbajo, (''née'' Soyode, born 15 July 1967) is a Nigerian lawyer who served as the second lady of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023, as the wife of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.Yahaya BalogunDolapo Osinbajo: A cultural icon! ''The Guardian ...
, wife of Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo (born 8 March 1957) is a Nigerian lawyer, professor, and politician who served as the 14th vice president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he previously served as Attorney ...
, all in the custody of Prof and Mrs Oyediran. From there, he proceeded to
Igbobi College Igbobi College is a college established by the Methodism, Methodist and Anglican Church, Anglican Churches in 1932, in the Yaba (Lagos), Yaba suburb of Lagos, Lagos State, South-western Nigeria. It is still on its original site and most of the or ...
, Yaba,
Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...
for his secondary school education and completed his secondary school education at
Government College, Ibadan Government College Ibadan (founded 28 February 1929) is a boys' secondary school located on the hills of Apata Ganga in Ibadan, Nigeria. History The founding fathers of Government College Ibadan were Selwyn MacGregor Grier, Director of Education ...
. On completion of his secondary school education, he proceeded to the Ogun State University (now
Olabisi Onabanjo University Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye is a state-owned university located in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria. The university was founded on 7 July 1982 as Ogun State University (OSU) and was renamed Olabisi Onabanjo University on 29 May 2001, i ...
), Ago Iwoye and graduated with a
LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
degree.


Career

Awolowo worked with the law firm of Abayomi Sogbesan & Co. and also with the law firm of GOK Ajayi & Co. after his call to bar in December 1989. He served in President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration as a Special Assistant on Traditional Institutions, Legal Due Diligence and Legal Matters.
He was appointed by President
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (; 16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 until his death in May 2010. He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 M ...
as Special Assistant and worked with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA),
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
as Secretary for Social Development and Secretary of Transport from 2007 to 2011. After the election of a new government in 2011, he went back to his law practice until in November 2013 when President
Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...
appointed him as Executive Director/CEO of the
Nigerian Export Promotion Council The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) was established through the promulgation of the “Nigerian Export Promotion Council Decree No. 26 of 1976”, now an Act in line with the democratic governance of the Country. This Act was amended by ...
.
In July 2021, he was unanimously elected as the President of National Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) from ECOWAS member States.


NEPC

Awolowo was appointed the executive director of the
Nigerian Export Promotion Council The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) was established through the promulgation of the “Nigerian Export Promotion Council Decree No. 26 of 1976”, now an Act in line with the democratic governance of the Country. This Act was amended by ...
(NEPC) by President
Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...
in 2013 and his tenure expired in November 2017 but he was reappointed as executive director and chief executive officer by President
Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...
in February 2018 for another four year tenure.
In June 2019, the NEPC under his leadership planned a partnership with retail company,
Shoprite ShopRite is an American retailers' cooperative of supermarkets with stores in six states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York (state), New York and Pennsylvania. Based in Keasbey, New Jersey, ShopRite consists of 50 individua ...
for the latter to export Nigerian products to other African countries and beyond.


Zero Oil

Awolowo is driving the ''Zero Oil'' Plan, as an economic blueprint for
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. It was launched in 2016. He has engaged to promote the plan with the private sector, relevant government institutions and international development partners and businesses. Zero Oil is a part of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), a medium term plan developed by the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning. His Zero Oil plan is to increase the country's export by increasing production of home made goods, moving from the export of raw materials to value added products so as to increase the foreign exchange revenue, to promote the value of Nigerian made products and services abroad, and to create jobs. It aims at generating $30billion in foreign exchange earnings.


MOU between AFREXIM, NEPC and NEXIM

In 2018, he led NEPC signed a Memorandum of understanding worth $1 billion with AFREXIM Bank and
Nigerian Export-Import Bank The Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) is an export credit agency in Nigeria, established in 1991. In its function, NEXIM focuses on the development and expansion of the non-oil sectors of the Nigerian economy, with a view to reducing the co ...
(NEXIM) at the maiden edition of Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2018) in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, Egypt; which in aimed at promoting trade among African countries.


Personal life

Awolowo is married with children. His daughter, Seun is a motivational speaker and runs an NGO called Teach-A-Girl Nigeria, which focuses on Girl Child education in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. She is also the founder of Leads Africa and 3D Living Moments.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Awolowo, Olusegun Living people 1963 births Olabisi Onabanjo University alumni Igbobi College alumni Awolowo family Government College, Ibadan alumni 20th-century Nigerian lawyers Yoruba lawyers 21st-century Nigerian lawyers