Iheoma Kennaya Obibi is a British-Nigerian feminist writer, women and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

, and

entrepreneur 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 entreprene ...

. Obibi established Nigeria's first online intimacy shop, Intimate Pleasure.

Biography

Iheoma Kennaya Obibi, was born at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London on August 7, 1965, to Nigerian parents, George Chikezie Obibi and Love Celine Obibi. George was a management consultant from Umuoba, Uratta,

Imo State Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

, while his wife was from Okwu, Uratta, Imo State. In 2010, Obibi established Nigeria's first online intimacy shop. She also appears on radio shows such as ''Madam Butterfly''. Obibi attended Clissold Park Secondary School in London, N16. She later studied at the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

and obtained her MA in Communications Policy Studies from

City University, London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

. She lectured at

North East London Polytechnic University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford and Docklands, following the opening of University Square Stratford in September 2013. The ...

between 1992 and 1993. Obibi is the author of "''Pastor Saul Bottomsup''" and a contributor for "''African Women Writing Resistance: An Anthology of Contemporary Voices''."

Activism

Obibi has been active in gender and human rights activism since 1996, serving as the director of Alliances for Africa (AFA), an African-led feminist

Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

based in Nigeria. She works in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

, and

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, ...

to emancipate African women, developing feminist leadership and building the

feminist movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and wom ...

. She has served as a consultant for local and international organizations, including

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

DfID The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

and the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of ...

. Obibi was elected as an

Ashoka Fellow Ashoka (formerly branded Ashoka: Innovators for the Public) is an American-based nonprofit organization that promotes social entrepreneurship by connecting and supporting individual social entrepreneurs. Ashoka invests in over 3,800 social entre ...

in 2005 for her work "challenging the patriarchal nature of Nigerian politics by encouraging and preparing women to seek positions of authority at all levels of governance and bringing women to the forefront of decision-making bodies". During the

Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 2007 ...

tenure, Obibi and her son, Dilim Odinkalu, were twice detained by the Nigerian SSS in relation to their Alliance for Africa activities, as well as the work of Obibi's partner Chidi Anselm Odinkalu with

Open Society Justice Initiative Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the st ...

. They were released following intervention from the UK.

Recognition

In 2015, Obibi was listed by

YNaija ''YNaija'' is a Nigerian online content publishing platform, founded by Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams of RED Africa media group. ''YNaija'' launched in May 2010 with columnists and various news sources. It offers news, original content ...

among the 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obibi, Iheoma Living people 1965 births 21st-century British businesswomen 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Activists from London Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of the University of East London Black British activists Black British businesspeople British diaspora in Nigeria British feminist writers Businesspeople from the City of Westminster English people of Nigerian descent Nigerian feminists Nigerian human rights activists People from Paddington People from Stoke Newington Nigerian social entrepreneurs