Adebola Williams (born 1986) 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 ...

media entrepreneur, journalist, political consultant, and motivational speaker. He was the Group CEO of RED , For Africa. He passed the leadership baton to Ayodeji Razaq in 2022. He co-founded and ran

Red Africa RED , For Africa (written RED) is an African media company based in Nigeria and Ghana. RED , For Africa is a content, consulting and data company. Its headquarters is in Lagos, Nigeria. RED , For Africa owns the brands ''YNaija,'' '' Red Medi ...

, Africa's largest portfolio of youth media brands which include Red Media Africa, Statecraft Inc., The Future Awards Africa, and YNaija. His career in media and television began at the

Nigerian Television Authority The Nigerian Television Authority or NTA is a Nigerian government-owned and partly commercial broadcast station. Originally known as Nigerian Television (NTV), it was inaugurated in 1977 with a monopoly on national television broadcasting, after ...

(NTA) with advocacy for youth, and, eventually good governance. Described as "the man with the golden touch" by Ghanaian President

Nana Akufo-Addo William Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ( ; born 29 March 1944) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the 13th president of Ghana from January 2017 to January 2025. He previously served as Attorney General of Ghana, Attorney General from 2001 to 20 ...

, he was profiled by ''Forbes'' as the man who helped elect a trifecta of presidents in Africa.

Early life

Williams was born on 7 March 1986 "to a wealthy family, but when he was 10, his family lost everything they had, so he had to struggle." In his early teen years, Williams wanted to become an actor and was paid only 50 cents for his first acting role. "He started working as an assistant with a counselor and a psychologist as a freelancer without any relevant qualification by which time he had chalked up 3 years worthy experience with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)."

Career

Williams and Chude Jideonwo started The Future Awards Africa, and went on to co-found Red Media Africa. He co-founded EnoughisEnough (EiE), a Nigerian civic participation platform and a voice for young people in politics. He resigned as the board chairman to steer the rebranding of the former Nigerian 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 ...

, optimising media engagement to change longstanding perceptions and sway the elections. A consequent success in Ghana helped the opposition candidate win the presidency on his third attempt, and Williams currently consults in other regions in the continent. His 2017 cross-continental speaking tour included several conferences at ivy league schools: Harvard, Columbia, and Oxford. He gave a speech at the 2017 Obama summit in Chicago. His work in corporate marketing and communication in different decrypts from oil and gas to banking, technology to

fast-moving consumer goods Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG) or convenience goods, are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beve ...

has earned him and Red Media Africa several awards on the continent from SABRE Lapriga, Marketing Edge, Young Cannes and the C4F Marketing awards in Davos. He writes a monthly column on brands and communication in ''The Guardian'' (Nigeria). Williams took part initialing massive collaboration art piece ''

Remember To Rise ''Remember To Rise'' () subtitled ''Black's Dream'' is a derivative work of the ''Iyasile Naa'', a massive art collaboration. Observing innovation in developing countries, technologist of '' Ijebu'' descent Ade Abayomi Olufeko, known for his co ...

''. He gave a speech at the

European Conservatives and Reformists European Conservatives and Reformists may refer to: *European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), a soft Eurosceptic European political party *European Conservatives and Reformists Group The European Conservatives and Reformists ...

(ECR) Africa Summit on Wednesday, 9 January 2019, at the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

on democracy and

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for t ...

Recognition

*Mandela Washington Fellowship,

Young African Leaders Initiative The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) is an initiative of the United States Department of State. It was started by President Barack Obama in 2010. YALI is a programme aimed at educating and networking young African leaders with activities i ...

, a fellowship to study in the United States for six weeks *2014: Co-winner with Chude Jideonwo, Young Business Leader of the Year, West Africa, CNBC Africa All Africa Business Leaders Awards 2014 *2017: Named The African Young Achiever by EMY Ghana *2017: Named one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent under the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

International Decade for People of African Descent The International Decade for People of African Descent, 2015–2024, was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in a Resolution (68/237) adopted on 23 December 2013. The theme of the International Decade was "People of African descent: recognition ...

*2018: Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellowship in South Africa

Personal life

He married Kehinde Daniels, the daughter of former Ogun State Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniels, on 7 August 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Adebola 1987 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Journalism Nigerian activists Nigerian chief executives Nigerian journalists