Ayisha Goes to Dakar

lthough I don’t know how they play the game called ‘Dominoes’, it was nonetheless fun a few weeks ago when I joined Jackie Farris and four other mutual friends at the residence of Ayisha Osori for the first in a series of send-forth ceremonies before she leaves for Dakar, Senegal. And while love may still not be enough to win elections in Nigeria, talented people will always be sought out for important positions on the global stage. Last week, the Open Society Foundations formally announced Ayisha’s appointment as the Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) with the office based in Dakar.

A lawyer, writer and development consultant whose engagements have traversed both the public and private sectors in Nigeria, Ayisha resumes her appointment with considerable experience and exposure. An Eisenhower Fellow who holds law degrees from both the University of Lagos and Harvard Law School, as well as a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, Ayisha has consulted for the World Bank, UNICEF and the Department of International Development on a wide range of issues, including projects on good governance, gender equality and women’s economic and political empowerment.

Meanwhile, OSIWA, which has helped to deepen the capacity of civil society, improve transparency and public service delivery while promoting good governance across the world, works in Benin Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Senegal within the sub-region that Ayisha will oversee. But she begins her new role with a deep knowledge of the organisation, having served as board chair for the past three years.

I wish Ayisha all the best in her new assignment.