By Anthony Isibor

FIVE distinguished guests were on Tuesday inducted into the prestigious Realnews Hall of Fame during the 12th anniversary lecture of Realnews in Lagos.

The Hall of Fame is exclusively reserved for Realnews guest lecturers and discussants for their services to the organisation.

The five new inductees, included three Nigerians, one Cameroonian and a Moroccan, who have made immerse contributions in their fields of endeavor and they joined 46 others who had been inducted since 2015.

The new inductees were Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, Dr. Karim El Ayanoui, Mrs. Hadiza Bala Usman, and Engr. Shehu Tijjani

Prof. Gambari, who was the Guest lecturer at the event, is a Nigerian academic and diplomat. He had served as Cchief of Staff to former President of Nigeria from 2020 to 2023. Before the appointment, Prof, Gambari was the longest serving Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations from 1990 to 1999, under five Heads of State and Presidents, and he was also a Minister of External Affairs from 1984 to 1985. While at the UN, Gambari was the President of UNICEF in 1999 and became Under-Secretary-General and the first Special Adviser on Africa to Secretary- General, Kofi Annan from 1999 to 2005. He was the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs from 2005 to 2007 Under Secretary-Generals to Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon. His last appointment in the UN was from January 2010 to July 2012, when he was appointed by Ban Ki-moon as the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and the Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur.

Ms. Beatrice Eyong, Chairperson of the Lecture, is a Country Representative of the UN WOMEN, Nigeria, a Cameroonian national and an experienced gender specialist with over 39 years of professional working experience in promoting gender equality and women empowerment in different countries in Africa.

She has a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Extension from the University of Reading, UK specializing in Gender analysis and planning, Production of media for extension and training, Microfinance for rural development and the management of extension staff.

She is the UN Women’s Resident Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS. Before coming to Nigeria, she was the Resident Representative of UN Women, Mali, and has also worked in countries like Niger and Democratic Republic of Congo. She has over 15 years of experience as an agronomist, microfinance officer, and gender specialist for the Cameroonian government in different development programmes.

Dr. Karim El Ayanoui, who was the Keynote speaker at the event, is the Executive President, Policy Center for the New South, Rabat, Morocco. He is also the Executive Vice-President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and Dean of its Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences Cluster. El Ayanoui is an economist. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco where he held the position of Director of Economics, Statistics, and International Relations. At the Central Bank of Morocco, he was in charge of the Research Department and equally a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at the World Bank as an Economist for its regional units in the Middle East, North Africa, and Africa.

El Ayanoui has published books and journal articles on macroeconomic issues in developing countries. His recent research has been focused on growth and the labour market in Morocco, as well as on reforming the international development economy. He holds scientific and advisory positions at various institutions. He is currently a member of the Malabo Montpellier Panel, the Scientific Committee of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, the Scientific Council of the Moroccan Capital Market.

Engr. Tijjani, who was a discussant at the event, is a technologist, innovator, visionary entrepreneur, dedicated to transforming Nigeria’s technological landscape.

He is a First-Class graduate in Information Technology and Business Information Systems from Middlesex University. With a background in embedded engineering (hardware & firmware), he founded Amal Technologies Nigeria Ltd an end-to-end electronics manufacturing company in 2018. He is deeply passionate about the semiconductor industry and its transformative potential for Nigeria. He recognizes that semiconductors are the foundation of modern technology and has made it a core focus of Amal Technologies. Under his leadership, Amal Technologies has become a leader in innovation, driving research and development in Nigeria.

Beyond entrepreneurship, Tijjani has completed numerous professional courses that enhance his expertise. He is passionate about empowering Nigeria’s next generation, leading training programmes that equip Nigerians with skills in hardware, firmware, material science, and fabrication. His efforts contribute to Nigeria’s growth, ensuring the country becomes a key player in the global technology industry. Through his leadership, Amal Technologies is driving Nigeria toward a more self-reliant and prosperous future.

Mrs. Bala Usman, a special guest and a discussant, who joined the event virtually, is the Former managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, (2016-2021) was appointed special adviser on policy coordination to President Bola Tinubu in June 2023.  She previously served as the chief of staff to the governor of Kaduna State from 2015 to 2016. She is one of the co-founders of The Bring Back Our Girls campaign in 2014, and she is also a founding member of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Bala Usman grew up on the campus of Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, where she had her education at the university staff school and went ahead to complete secondary education. In 1996, she rolled at the university and bagged a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 2000. She later got a Master’s Degree in Development Studies