Who we are

Lydia Umar is a teacher by training and a development worker by passion and practice. She is the Executive Director of Gender Awareness Trust, an NGO she co-founded in 2000. She is a gender and women’s rights expert, trainer, researcher, consultant and project adviser both within and outside Nigeria. She has served as a Board member of some International, Regional and National organizations, including Chairperson Steering Committee of Global Crisis Preventive Mechanism for West Africa, a Swisspeace project; Board Vice-Chair of the Regional West Africa Network for Peace and Nigeria’s Network on Police Reforms in Nigeria. She has represented Nigeria at International (UN) & Regional (UNOWA) fora. She is the Country Representative of the Working Group on WYPS- WAS Nigeria. Dr Lydia Umar leads a team of visionary board members that provide policy direction to DDI.

Hajiya Aisha Abubakar holds a B.Sc in Nursing and is a Development professional with training and vast experience in reproductive health and family planning. She had previously served as the Primary Resource Person, Advisor and Advocate for USAID Nigeria Implementing Partner Programs that enhanced the sustainability of Nigerian NGOs working on Integrated Health Care Delivery and Women’s participation. Aisha had previously worked in Pathfinder International, USAID Nigeria FHS Project, USAID Nigeria, CEDPA and more recently as the Maternal Newborn and Child Health Advisor at Save the Children International.

Prof. Abdullahi Bala holds a First Class degree in Agriculture from ABU Zaria, a Master’s degree in Soil Chemistry from the University of Reading, United Kingdom and a PhD in Soil Microbiology from the University of London. He is a professor of Soil Science and currently serves as the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna. Prof. Bala has worked at a number of institutions including the Independent Policy Group, Abuja (2004-2007), and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), (2010-2012).

Princess Oladunni obtained a B.Sc. in Business Administration in 1977 from Ohio State University, Columbus, United States of America and specialized in International Business. She also obtained a Master’s Degree in Economics in 1989 from the University of Lagos. She began her career in banking with the Central Bank of Nigeria in 1978 where she also retired as a Deputy Director in the International Finance Division. She is currently the Managing Director/CEO of Starcrest Investment Nigeria Limited - an investment consulting firm.

Adamu's earlier career was spent as an auditor from 1993 to 1999 - first at Ernst & Young and later at Olawale Coker & Co. He served as Regional Finance Officer in the USAID Nigeria Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) Project from 1999 to 2001. His role involved conducting pre-award visits to potential grantees, managing disbursements of grants, and monitoring, training and providing technical assistance to grantees. Adamu served as Team Leader for the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) program during its very first year of operating in Nigeria from 2001 to 2002. He has been serving as the head of USADF’s implementing partner organization in Nigeria – Diamond Development Initiatives – from 2002 to date. Adamu has 18 years experience in community development work.

Adamu is a recipient of the prestigious British Chevening Award – a scheme of Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office that seeks to identify "high-calibre graduates with the personal, intellectual and interpersonal qualities necessary for leadership." He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Technology from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, Nigeria; a Masters degree in Development Studies from Bayero University Kano, Nigeria; a Postgraduate Certificate in Development Education and Training from the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, and an MSc in Project Management from the University of East London, United Kingdom.

Bashir currently serves as an Assistant Director and Head, Quality Assurance Unit of Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). He had previously served as Head, Legal Section, Special Enforcement Unit of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Company Secretary at Dangote Flour Mill Plc, Assistant Legal Adviser at Dangote Group, State Counsel at the Kano State Ministry of Justice, and Chairman of the Kano State Rent Tribunal. A lawyer, he holds an LLB (Hons.) degree from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a BL from the Nigerian Law School, Lagos.

Halima is an Environmental Scientist with experience in Biodiversity including Biosafety, Coastal and Marine conservation and management, Nature Conservation, Wildlife management, Industrial Compliance Monitoring, Coastal Resilience, Lake Chad Basin Climate Change Resilience and Climate Finance issues including the Green Climate Fund and the Green Bonds. She is the Acting Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment and was the Deputy Director (Vulnerability and Adaptation) - a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She is the National Focal Point, Climate Change Gender Negotiator for Nigeria and National Focal Point for several Global Climate Finance Organisations. She has been the National Focal Point for: the Abidjan Convention on Coastal and Marine Conservation and Management, Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Coastal and Marine Biodiversity, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI). She also coordinated the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem Project (GCLME) for Nigeria. Halima holds an MSc. in Zoology from the University of Ibadan and a B.Tech. in Applied Zoology from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria.

Adamu's earlier career was spent as an auditor from 1993 to 1999 - first at Ernst & Young and later at Olawale Coker & Co. He served as Regional Finance Officer in the USAID Nigeria Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) Project from 1999 to 2001. His role involved conducting pre-award visits to potential grantees, managing disbursements of grants, and monitoring, training and providing technical assistance to grantees. Adamu served as Team Leader for the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) program during its very first year of operating in Nigeria from 2001 to 2002. He has been serving as the head of USADF’s implementing partner organization in Nigeria – Diamond Development Initiatives – from 2002 to date. Adamu has 18 years of experience in community development work.

Adamu is a recipient of the prestigious British Chevening Award – a scheme of Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office that seeks to identify "high-calibre graduates with the personal, intellectual and interpersonal qualities necessary for leadership." He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Technology from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, Nigeria; a Master's degree in Development Studies from Bayero University Kano, Nigeria; a Postgraduate Certificate in Development Education and Training from the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, and an MSc in Project Management from the University of East London, United Kingdom.

Afis has over 13 years of experience managing donor funds as the Financial Officer of DDI. He is a Chartered accountant and an experienced financial analyst. He holds an HND in Business Administration, a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting and Finance, a Master's Degree in Treasury Management and another Master's Degree in Business Administration. He is highly experienced in budget formulation, budgetary control and cash flow management. He has sound knowledge of various accounting software.

Afis has practical skills in the area of project monitoring and evaluation including financial management. He has vast experience in developing financial projections and managing multiple portfolios. He has facilitated various training in accounting and grants management and is familiar with reporting requirements of international donor organizations.

Bello is an experienced Monitoring and Evaluation Officer. He obtained a BSc in Agricultural Economics from ABU Zaria and an MSc in International Development from the University of Manchester. Bello was a recipient of the British Chevening Award. He has a wealth of experience in the coordination and development of networks of partnerships with government agencies, NGOs, CBOs and other self-help groups and associations. He is well-grounded in the theory and practice of project cycle management with particular emphasis on participatory approaches. Bello is a team player with cross-cultural experience and personal commitment to activities that would engender socio-economic development of the society and empowerment of less privileged groups.

In the course of work and academic pursuit, he has also developed a range of transferrable skills in projects and people management, effective communication and teamwork. He is very conversant with participatory approaches and their effectiveness in pro-poor and grassroots development. He is also conversant with project monitoring and evaluation tools such as Outcome Mapping (OM) and Most Significant Change (MSC).

David Arinze is a multi-competency professional who is passionate about increasing electricity access to deprived climes through relevant energy sources. His Industry experience revolves around Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Off-Grid Energy.

As the Program Officer, Off-Grid Energy, he works closely with local energy entrepreneurs, regulatory authorities, vendors, and other stakeholders to manage the deployment and sustainability of off-grid energy solutions in both unserved and underserved communities across Nigeria. He does this through the provision of technical assistance, grants management, project monitoring, remediation support and the facilitation of access to follow-on financing.

David believes that increasing electricity access through clean energy sources is a path worth threading because of its environmental and health benefits and the swift deployment involved in its technology.

Oluwasayo Atetedaye is an experienced Project Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the Banking, Administration, and Finance Industry. As a strong Program and Project Management Professional, she is well-skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Business Development, Administration, Financial Accounting, Audit & Reconciliation, and Research.

She is a Chartered Accountant; and holds a B.A.(Hons) International Accounting from The University of Northampton, UK and M.Sc. Computer Systems Auditing from London Metropolitan University, UK. She is an alumni of European Energy Centre (EEC) and The George Washington University with a Galileo Master's Certification in Renewable Energy Market Trends and Finance.

'Sayo is currently involved in the management of The United States Government Power Africa Program where she conducts pre-award due diligence, supports the implementation of milestones, provides remediation assistance, assist grantees in budgets and procurements as well as the facilitation of follow-on financing.

As Project Coordinator on the USAID Water for Agriculture Activity currently being implemented by DDI in selected communities in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, Francis provides leadership and direction to ensure timely and effective delivery of the strategic objectives of the project within the scope and budget. Francis is an Agronomist and Agricultural Extension service delivery professional with many years of committed service in the public, private and developmental sectors, working with smallholder farmers in different capacities, facilitating the transfer of appropriate, demand-driven, adaptable, ecologically sustainable, innovative technologies and practices. He is very passionate about improving the status of smallholder farmers through mentoring and coaching, building their capacity, and facilitating their access to the right information, knowledge and institutional supports. Francis served as the Project Coordinator on the USAID Feed the Future Nigeria Livelihoods Project – Northeast expansion project, a multisectoral intervention which DDI implemented in FCT, Sokoto, Kebbi, Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. He has also managed and coordinated several other projects successfully. As an Agronomist/Extension specialist, he led the execution of ECOWAS-RAAF/ Spanish International Development agency's project on the empowerment of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) through agriculture and improved livelihoods and income generation. Francis also provided oversight responsibility as Lead Coordinator/Agronomist on the USAID Markets II Cassava Value Chain project in FCT. Some of his other professional areas of interest include Sustainable Agricultural Land Management, Agribusiness development and Management, Value Chain Development and Project Proposal development. A certified Project management professional and Crop Protection Products' specialist, Francis attended the University of Ibadan where he obtained a BSc (with Honors) in Agriculture (Crop Science option) and an MSc in Agronomy, specializing in farming systems. Francis holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Theology from the Redeemers Bible College.

Mary Akpa joined DDI in 2015, as Program Assistant, where she provides programmatic support for project planning, implementation, and general administration. She also acts as a liaison between grantees and DDI management for the dissemination of information. Her first stint in the development sector – prior to joining DDI, was with the UNDP as a National Youth Advocate under the UN My World survey of 2014. Mary who acquired her legal training from Kogi State University and Nigerian Law School – Enugu Campus, started legal practice in Lokoja with the firm of Salisu Umar & Co, before joining O.J. Onoja SAN & Co and thereafter J.J. Usman & Co in Abuja. While in legal practice, Mary was actively involved in litigation (civil and criminal), corporate practice, property law, legal drafting/conveyance and other ADR processes. She is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) and has a professional Master’s degree in Conflict, Security and Development (MCSD) from the Nigerian Defence Academy Postgraduate School.

Philip Aworinde has over 4 years of working experience on the USADF Nigeria core portfolio program. He is experienced in project implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Vast in the use of participatory development methodologies, Philip has co-facilitated several participatory monitoring and evaluation sessions for farmers’ cooperative groups in Nigeria. He is well experienced in managing donor funds and USADF reporting requirements. He currently assists rural farmers in underserved communities to access financial support and capacity building.

He obtained a Bachelor of Agriculture degree from the University of Ilorin and a Post Graduate Diploma in Beef & Dairy Cattle Production from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. Philip is a member of the YALI Network and Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD). He is also a certified facilitator on Household Strengthening Systems by USAID MARKETS II/MakingCents International.

 

Tosin Adeoti is an experienced PRINCE2-certified Project Manager and Master Trainer with a demonstrated history of working in the Skills Development, Sustainable Livelihood, Educational Management and Construction sectors. With a strong background in project development and execution, he's well-skilled in project planning for skills acquisition and employability for the vulnerable and marginalised in the society, as well as in business development, housing projects, conflict resolution and stakeholder management. 

He is a certified Civil Engineer from the Council for the Registration of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), as well as a certified project management professional from the UK government-developed PRINCE2. He is also certified as a Master Trainer from the Australian Vocational and Technical Education Group, Australia (AVTEG) and also has HSE (Level 1, 2, 3) certification from Prime International Risk and Safety Management, Member of the British Safety Council, United Kingdom.

Tosin has been involved in several projects including the EU-sponsored provision of micro-project infrastructure in the Niger Delta where local youths are trained for and on these projects, as well as the UNDP-sponsored program which trained 5046 youths on employability skills and placed 3079 of them in paid employment in Lagos State. 

Tosin is currently involved in the program management of the employability training and job placement program initiated by the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) in partnership with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). The USADF-LSETF Employability Program is a five-year, $10 million commitment tasked with creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for 15,000 Lagos State residents. 

Lucky Ihanza holds a Post-Graduate Degree in Journalism from Nigeria's premier school of communications and media studies - Nigerian Institute of Journalism. He’s an editor, a writer, graphics designer, photographer, videographer, speechwriter, digital marketer, proposal development, grants-writing, & content development expert, WordPress website designer, ghostwriter, and blogger.

With over 7 years of consistent experience spanning marketing, public relations, and journalism, he has a deep knowledge of the workings of the media and creative industry and maintains a network of contacts and friends across all media platforms. He also has appreciable years of experience in marketing and the downstream sector of the oil & gas industry. 

Lucky’s career covers stints in Vanguard Newspaper (2009-2009); Energy Group (2009-2011); Exquisite Magazine (2012-2013); City People Magazine (2013-2015) and Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative (2015-2020). Lucky is an avid reader, a patient listener, and a teacher at heart.

John is a seasoned Accountant with over 10 years of experience in implementing donor-funded projects (including USAID/DFID), financial management services, accountancy, auditing and taxation for Non-Governmental Organizations, small and medium-sized companies in the financial, civil engineering, transportation and geology/mining sectors. An Associate Chartered Accountant, John who holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Ahmadu Bello University, started his professional career in Audit and Assurance service at Olaniyi Odunaiya & Co (Chartered Accountants). As the Finance and Administrative Assistant (KFW STaR Project), he is responsible for the financials of the project while also serving as the logistics assistant.

Farida Oji Joined DDI in 2019, as the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for the Feed the Future Water for Agriculture (WFA) Activity funded by USAID in Adamawa State, ensuring quality assurance in the project that focuses on strengthening the agricultural productivity and capacity building of smallholder farmers thereby improving their livelihoods. Prior to joining DDI, she worked with Society for Family Health (SFH) as a Program Officer on a Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation-funded maternal and child health project in Gombe State and also worked as a state Coordinator for SFH on a World Bank NACA PMTCT project on Expansion of Access to HIV Testing Services in Sokoto State. Farida has co-facilitated several participatory training sessions on HIV testing services (HTS) Referral for ANC services. Farida obtained her First Degree in Medical Biochemistry from Caritas University Enugu State and a master’s in Medical Biochemistry from Bayero University Kano, Kano State.

Yohanna Joel who is a certified trainer on Nigerian Agricultural Enterprise Curriculum (NAEC) by USAID MARKETS, obtained a Bachelor of Engineering (Agricultural) degree from the University of Maiduguri. A core environmentalist, he has 4 years of co-facilitating Monitoring and Evaluation activities for MARKETS II Project & the USAID Feed the Future Nigerian Livelihood Project. He is well experienced in facilitating smallholder farmers to improve their Livelihood. He has also facilitated the preparation of communities Local Development Plans (LDP) under the World Bank Assisted Project. He is currently assisting rural farmers in Adamawa State with capacity building to increase their agricultural productivity.

Abdulmalik Saidu is an experienced Food Security and Livelihoods specialist with comprehensive expertise in developing and implementing projects and solutions in the humanitarian sector. He currently oversees and coordinates project activities in Borno and Yobe States as the Project Officer for the Stabilization and Reconciliation in the Lake Chad Region (STaR) Project

Mamun Jahun is an experienced Process Manager with over 10 years’ experience in project design, implementation, and assessment. A graduate of Economics, a Master’s in Development Studies, and MBA, as well as having his core competency areas as research, monitoring, and evaluation, Mamun has a special interest in gender-specific M&E. He has supported a wide variety of partners and stakeholders to develop and strengthen their capacity in the area of project monitoring and assessment including progress documentation and reporting, Data Quality Assessment (DQA), and tracking performance and improvement plans. He has experience deploying mobile data collection tools, database, and analysis software for effective and efficient harvest of high-quality data. Mamun is a trained Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) standards specialist and a certified Business Development Support Practitioner. He has successfully managed several economic growth projects and Private Sector Development (PSD) projects using market systems approach/M4P. Mamun has worked on projects funded by FCDO (formerly DFID), Global Alliance Canada, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He worked for DDI under the USADF programme from 2004 to 2012 and is back on the team as the Project Development Officer in Kebbi State.

An innovative and experienced Agriculture/extension officer, Alex Nambe is the project Assistant, Water for Agriculture Activity, Yobe. Alex is an Agricultural Development, Community Programming, and Project Management specialist with experience spanning livelihoods empowerment, monitoring & evaluation, household economic strengthening programming, project implementation and management, and community engagement. Alex has a proven track record of working with civil societies and development partners across several project portfolios including out-grower schemes, and livelihood/agricultural activities in communities. As project assistant, he is saddled with the responsibility of coordinating, and monitoring, evaluating, and supporting the implementation of the USAID Water for Agriculture Activity in Yobe State, Northern Nigeria.

Malas Mafindi is a passionate development professional with over six years of experience in project monitoring and evaluation, management, community mobilization, and resource mobilization. He is also an independent consultant supporting grassroots agencies in project development, project implementation and capacity building. As a Project Assistant for the Stabilization and Reconciliation (STaR) Project in the Lake Chad Region (Adamawa), he functions in supporting monitoring and evaluation of the effects and impact of the project and also assists in project coordination across the available components of the project to ensure effective implementation.

Taofeeq Akinola is a graduate of Crop Production and Protection, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. An innovative and experienced career Agriculture Extension Officer, Taofeeq has worked in various capacities in the public and organized private sector including Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Before his recent role as Project Coordinator, Stabilization and Reconciliation in the Lake Chad Region (STaR) Project, Taofeeq had served for five years as the Federal Capital City (FCT) Program Manager for Feed the Future Nigeria Livelihoods project (FtFNLP). He was later promoted to the post of Zonal Coordinator for the North-East expansion of the project. As a SMART Skills Facilitator for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) he was engaged as Trainer of Trainers for CRS’ BASICS and Tomato Jos projects. Taofeeq is adept at overseeing the progress of project implementations, monitoring cross-cutting activities, and strategically guiding teams to reach project targets and deliverables in a timely manner.