Emmanuel Ishie Etim ( Im·man·u·el \i-ˈman-yə-wəl, -yəl\, born April 6, 1980) is a clergyman and

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 ...

politician who was a presidential candidate in the

2019 Nigerian general election General elections were held in Nigeria on 23 February 2019 to elect the President of Nigeria, President, Vice President of Nigeria, Vice President, House of Representatives (Nigeria), House of Representatives and the Senate of Nigeria, Senate. ...

. A member of the Change Nigeria Party (CNP), Etim decided to contest the presidential election after the

Not Too Young To Run Not Too Young To Run is a constitutional amendment bill passed by the Nigerian legislature, which reduced the age limit of running for elective offices in Nigeria. The campaign started in support of bills and motions in Nigeria's National Ass ...

Act was signed into law. On July 5, 2018, Etim declared his

candidacy A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

and picked up his nomination form on the New Progressive Movement (NPM)

party platform A political party platform (American English), party program, or party manifesto (preferential term in British and often Commonwealth English) is a formal set of principal goals which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, t ...

, but hours to the party primaries, the party leadership called off the presidential primaries. Etim decided to run on the Change Nigeria Party platform and on October 5, 2018, after the party primaries was conducted, he emerged the winner and was announced as the Presidential Candidate for Change Nigeria Party (CNP).

Career

Etim first rose to National prominence when he delivered a poignant speech at the 1995 National Youth forum in preparatory for the Beijing Women's Conference. In 2010, Etim was listed among the 50 most influential young people who will change Nigeria due to Etim's significant contributions on the implementation of people centered domestic policy in

universal human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, accessible and affordable universal health care coverage, meaningful

employment creation Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

, profitable

entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entrepreneu ...

, business growth, fighting

inequality Inequality may refer to: * Inequality (mathematics), a relation between two quantities when they are different. * Economic inequality, difference in economic well-being between population groups ** Income inequality, an unequal distribution of i ...

and ensuring political inclusion for women and youth. Etim worked for five years at the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

as Senior Technical Adviser, Global partnerships and Program implementation(2008–2013), during which he conceptualized, established and resourced the African Union Young Professionals Program and Youth Volunteer Corps (AUYVC). In 2013 the office of the

President of Nigeria The president of Nigeria, officially the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the Federal Government an ...

endowed him with the Guardian of the Future of Africa award. Etim is a multiple time winner of the Future Africa Awards for Best Use of Advocacy and Best Use of Public Office. Between 2012 and 2015 he was part of the key non-state leaders from African supporting the group of G77 negotiators advancing Africa's common position towards the adoption of the

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

(SDG's). In 2016, Etim was invited to serve as a Member of the Commonwealth Advisory Panel for the Youth Development Index.

Personal life

Emmanuel Etim was born to Chief Ishie Henry Etim and late Mrs Veronica Afakhame Etim on

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

, April 6, 1980, in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

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, ...

. In his childhood years from 1990 to 1993 following his love for singing, Etim joined and was an active member of the choir at the

Festac Town Festac Town is a federal housing estate located at Lagos Nigeria. Its name is derived from the acronym FESTAC, which stands for Second World African Festival of Arts and Culture that was held there in 1977.Presbyterian Church of Nigeria The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria is a church in Nigeria and subscribes to the Westminster Confession of Faith. The denomination had ten synods, more than 50–90 presbyteries and over 7,000 congregations, and almost 5,000 ministers and 6,806 690 ...

. It was during 1994 to 1997 while in

senior secondary school The senior secondary years are the years of later adolescence corresponding to the later part of secondary education. Although definitions vary, the senior secondary years are sometimes defined as being from approximately age 15 to age 18. The ...

when he got exposed to the Nigerian Youth AIDS Programme (NYAP) through which he engaged as a peer health educator. Etim then set up an NGO called Adolescents in Nigeria (AIN) which was registered with the

Cross River State Cross River State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named for the Cross River, the state was formed from the eastern part of the Eastern Region on 27 May 1967. The state has its capital as Calabar and is bordered to ...

Ministry of Youth and Sports A ministry of sports or ministry of youth and sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. It is led by the minister of s ...

. A few years later, he renamed Adolescents in Nigeria (AIN) into the Center for Development Action, an Institute for Youth Studies and Development Research, which has now been reformed into the Pan African Centre for Social Development and Accountability (PACSDA).

Bibliography

* Deep Conversations with the Holy Spirit, 2018 * What Next?After you become a Christian(Born Again), 2018 * God Punish the Poor?!; 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Etim, Emmanuel 1980 births Living people