The Octagon Guests
Titilope Sonuga
Titilope Sonuga is a civil engineer turned award-winning poet based in Lagos, Nigeria.
She renders, both in verse and in performance, a remarkable elegance of craft, a quality of rootedness and an unflinching womanhood that makes her one of Nigeria’s leading performance poets.
Titilope Sonuga is a civil engineer turned award-winning poet based in Lagos, Nigeria.
She renders, both in verse and in performance, a remarkable elegance of craft, a quality of rootedness and an unflinching womanhood that makes her one of Nigeria’s leading performance poets.
She has graced stages across the country and internationally, and in May 2015, she was the first poet to appear at a Nigerian presidential inauguration.
Titilope plays the role of Eki in the NdaniTV hit series Gidi Up and is currently Intel’s ambassador for its She Will Connect Program across Nigeria.
Jake Okechukwu Effoduh
Jake Okechukwu Effoduh is the Assistant Director of the Council on African Security and Development: a non-profit research-driven collectivity of experts.
Jake Okechukwu Effoduh is the Assistant Director of the Council on African Security and Development: a non-profit research-driven collectivity of experts.
He is also a consultant with Synceritas; the world’s premier human rights based intelligence profiling for business enterprises globally.
Okechukwu has been a media practitioner for 11 years and also serves as the Assistant Editor of the Transitional Human Rights Review. He also is a freelance radio presenter with BBC Media action presenting and anchoring Nigeria’s foremost radio magazine on governance, human rights and accountability. This radio show aired On 105 Radio Stations In Nigeria.
Ven Lannap
Ven Lannap is a social enrepreneur. She is the CEO of two organisations: Bo Sita MADE, a youth-developmental nonprofit organisation that is active in the fight against human trafficking, specifically, sex trifficking and Before & After School Academy, a three in one school: Creche, Preschool and school of performing arts that nurtures the strengths and talents and exists to contribute to the holistic development of children, from infants – adolescents. Apart from her social work, Ven is also an actress, having starred in the sex-trafficking movie, Europe In My Heart, alongside Ramsey Nouah and the late Sam Loco Efe and Salt, a short film on Ebola and the salt catastrophe happened in Jos.
Ven is driven by passion to fight injustice wherever she encounters it and has a penchant for taking over-sized risks, which occasionally lead her into trouble but eventually pay off.
Blessing Oyeleye
Blessing Oyeleye was born and raised in Nigeria. She attended Girls High School, Agege, Lagos and went on to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida – Gainesville, FL where she interned for Fortune 100 companies including PepsiCo, Cargill, HP, and Microsoft. She founded Advocate for the Revolution of Science and Technology (ARSTA) her freshman year in college to help young Africans explore science and technological opportunities in their own local communities. She graduated UF and went on to work for DuPont in various capacities as Global Energy Consultant where she delivered consulting solutions to companies like OCP – Morocco, Dangote – Nigeria and YASREF – Saudi Arabia; as Project Team Leader for large capital projects; and as a Process Engineer for a High Hazard Operations manufacturing unit.
She is currently the Lead Project Engineer for BASF, a German company and the largest chemical company in the world, where she leads high-growth infrastructure projects. She recently graduated from the New York Institute of Technology with a M.Sc in Energy and Environmental Management. With her passion, ambition and relentless pursuit for excellence and sustainability for Africa in tech, consulting and commerce,
Blessing founded Fove Consulting Group to help businesses in Africa solve their toughest challenges and Fove Capital, a seed-stage funding company, to back brilliant and exceptional founders who are building products that challenges the status quo in leading and growing markets across Africa. Blessing is an active member of the Society of Women Engineers and National Society of Black Engineers. She lives in Houston, TX with her amazing 7-year old daughter who keeps her on her toes. Blessing is an avid traveler, a reader and enjoys crossfit, yoga and running in her spare time.
Blessing Oyeleye was born and raised in Nigeria. She attended Girls High School, Agege, Lagos and went on to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida – Gainesville, FL where she interned for Fortune 100 companies including PepsiCo, Cargill, HP, and Microsoft. She founded Advocate for the Revolution of Science and Technology (ARSTA) her freshman year in college to help young Africans explore science and technological opportunities in their own local communities. She graduated UF and went on to work for DuPont in various capacities as Global Energy Consultant where she delivered consulting solutions to companies like OCP – Morocco, Dangote – Nigeria and YASREF – Saudi Arabia; as Project Team Leader for large capital projects; and as a Process Engineer for a High Hazard Operations manufacturing unit.
She is currently the Lead Project Engineer for BASF, a German company and the largest chemical company in the world, where she leads high-growth infrastructure projects. She recently graduated from the New York Institute of Technology with a M.Sc in Energy and Environmental Management. With her passion, ambition and relentless pursuit for excellence and sustainability for Africa in tech, consulting and commerce,
Blessing founded Fove Consulting Group to help businesses in Africa solve their toughest challenges and Fove Capital, a seed-stage funding company, to back brilliant and exceptional founders who are building products that challenges the status quo in leading and growing markets across Africa. Blessing is an active member of the Society of Women Engineers and National Society of Black Engineers. She lives in Houston, TX with her amazing 7-year old daughter who keeps her on her toes. Blessing is an avid traveler, a reader and enjoys crossfit, yoga and running in her spare time.
Ihotu Joy Amuta
Ihotu Joy Amuta is an enterprise educator, a strategist and a project launcher. She is the lead strategist/facilitator of THE SCRATCH BOARD an enterprise education consultancy she founded. She also volunteers with GEMSTONE Nation Builders Foundation (GNBF) for the actualization of the organizations specified goals. She also founded JEWELS NETWORK; a non profit focused on women enhancement.
Clients of THE SCRATCH BOARD include; Pristine Developers, Passion8 Communications, Fynom Brands Ltd, The Osarz Company, Iroko Interiors, Enterprise Hill Consulting and Lakeshore Integrated Services among others as well as the alumni of their entrepreneurship class called THE ART OF THE START. Ihotu coaches enterprise developers, ladies and students.
Ihotu is a writer, compere, public speaker and ladies champion. She loves to dance, try new recipes, meet new people and enjoys a good joke.
Ihotu is a writer, compere, public speaker and ladies champion. She loves to dance, try new recipes, meet new people and enjoys a good joke.
Mary Wakeji Gani
Mary Wakeji Gani is a lawyer, academic and creative writer. She holds a PhD in copyright law from Queen Mary University of London, and has published her research in international journals. She is currently on a foray into communications- managing the communications desk for New Wine International, a faith- based charity in southeast London. She previously worked as an associate lecturer in Brunel University, teaching intellectual property law seminars; and she continues to provide legal, strategic and academic consultation for entertainment start ups, performing artists, and university students respectively.