Japheth J. Omojuwa

Japheth Omojuwa

Omojuwa delivering a paper at the Free University, Berlin
Born Japheth Joshua Omojuwa
3 October 1984
Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Residence Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Education Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB)
Occupation Blogger, social media expert, mentor

Japheth Omojuwa (born Japheth Joshua Omojuwa on 3 October 1984) is a Nigerian blogger, international public speaker, socio-economic and political commentator and social media expert. A columnist with The Punch newspaper, Leadership newspaper and Naij.com, Omojuwa's articles have appeared on CNN,[1] ThisDay newspaper amongst other platforms across the continent and beyond. His text have been repeatedly translated into several languages and he has been featured on German,[2] French,[3] Portuguese and Greek platforms. The leadership of the African Union invited him in 2014 to be part of the Africa Re-imagination Creative Hub (ARCH) to fashion an agenda for Africa 2063 project. He participated as a panelist at a side event during the 2013 United Nations General Assembly in New York where he spoke on the need to use data and facts as tools in activism and policy making.

Career

In the course of his work, Omojuwa has spoken on economic platforms in Washington, London, Addis Ababa, Lagos, Accra, Cape Town, Abuja, Rio de Janeiro, Berlin, New York, Cologne, Dakar, among other cities around the world and across Nigeria. He has spoken in universities such as New York University, United States, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany, Catholic University of East Africa, Nairobi, Technical University, Dortmund, and several in Nigeria.

He was a delegate at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+ 20 in Brazil. He attended the Open Forum Conference at Cape Town's International Convention Centre on the invitation of the Open Society in South Africa and has led panels organised by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ, Heinrich-Boell-Stiftung, the African-German Foundation, the Association of African Ambassadors in Germany, West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI), ONE Campaign, among other local and international organisations.

In March 2012, he spoke at the Youth Marketer Converge Conference (YMC 2.0) in Lagos. His pieces have appeared on several online and print mediums including Metropole Magazine, Sahara Reporters,[4] BBC, The Financial Times, ThisDay and Naij.

He is the creator of Naija Teenz, a platform of engagement and value orientation for Nigerian teenagers, and the curator of Omojuwa, which has since become a tool of expression for many Nigerians. He was one of the outspoken voices during the #OccupyNigeria revolution of 2012, along with other key activists and coalitions, such as Eggheader Odewale, Tolu Ogunlesi, Abang Mercy and Enough is Enough Nigeria.

In July 2015, Omojuwa together with Pai Gamde were the guest speakers at the Father's House Abeokuta, Nigeria program (tagged De-Facto: The Real Deal After school). There he emphasized on the benefits of good time management, he mentioned poor time management as the backbone of Nigeria's poor economic status. His lecture inspired a lot of people present.

On 28 March 2015 ex-president Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria was voted out and a new president Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in on 29 May 2015. Japheth J Omojuwa was for a long time a thorn in the flesh of the Jonathan government and actively campaigned to have him voted out and Buhari voted in.[5][6] Many believe that one of the reasons Goodluck Jonathan lost the elections was because of the activities of the likes of Omojuwa, especially online[7]

Controversies

Omojuwa was involved in a protracted battle[8] with Arik Air after losing an iPad while onboard one of its domestic flights. This culminated in a breakdown of agreement between the two parties, with him claiming Arik was high-handed and careless while Arik maintained that the matter be settled as quietly as possible. Soon, himself and 26 others were banned from flying on Arik Air aircraft[9][10] in September of that year, a decision that was later rescinded when, about twenty-four hours after the list was released, the airline's website was hacked, with rumours flying around that pro-Omojuwa techies were the perpetrators or that he was personally involved, an allegation he denied.[11] In addition, a new iPad was purchased for Omojuwa.[12][13]

Awards and nominations

In 2012, YNaija named him one of the most influential young Nigerians under 35 in Business, Fashion, Media, Entertainment, Technology and Politics, with writer Ifreke Inyang describing him in particular as "king of the click."[14] Omojuwa was named by Credit Suisse Bulletin as one of the 50 Movers and Shakers of Africa in 2015.[15]

References

  1. ↑ 1755 GMT (0055 HKT) 27 May 2015 (27 May 2015). "How Nigeria Landed Itself In #FuelScarcity Mess - CNN.com". Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Berlin-Institut für Bevölkerung und Entwicklung: Interviews". Berlin-institut.org. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Le rédacteur Libre | Culture – Sport – Société – Education – Environnement – Politique". Leredacteurlibre.info. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Omojuwa, Japheth J. "Nigeria: Before The Sweeping Sword Of Anger By Japheth J Omojuwa". Sahara Reporters. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Category: encounter (13 June 2015). "Social media helped bring about change of govt – Omojuwa – Weekly Trust". Dailytrust.com.ng. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Social media will keep Buhari on his toes – Omojuwa | BusinessDay". Businessdayonline.com. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  7. ↑ "Nigeria election: What are presidential priorities?". Al Jazeera English. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Social media activist, Omojuwa, tackles Nigeria's Arik Air over missing iPad – Premium Times Nigeria". Premium Times. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Arik Air Bars 27 People including Japheth Omojuwa & FAAN MD from Flying on its Aircrafts [sic]". Bella Naija. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  10. ↑ OMG Reporter · 26 September 2012 (26 September 2012). "Arik Air bans social critic, Japhet Omojuwa & 26 others from flying with airline – OMG Nigeria – Celeb Gists, Nollywood News". Omg.com.ng. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "– Social Media Activist Omojuwa Denies Hacking ARIK AIRLINE Website Over Lost Ipad. Airline Replaces Lost Ipad". 234pulse.com. 22 February 1999. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "To whom it may concern: Arik presents iPad to Japheth Omojuwa, "Full details soon," he says". YNaija. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  13. ↑ Eta, Phillip (2 October 2012). "End of a saga: Omojuwa receives new iPad from Arik Air –". DailyPost Nigeria. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "New Media is where the future is at". YNaija. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "Japheth Omojuwa, Nigeria, blogger". Credit Suisse Bulletin: 75. March 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.