Goodwill Messages for DDI @ the 20th Anniversary
“I am particularly excited by the fact that DDI is not into the usual stereotype but certainly in the right spaces; agriculture, renewable energy, business development, supporting women and youths on employability, and it is working with partnerships, which is critical because of the really vast nature of Nigeria. One thing I find really commendable is the work at the community level depicting a bottom-top approach and participatory governance by which impact can really be made in the areas that are underserved and unserved…We certainly look forward to seeing the growth of DDI and hope that soon we will be able to consolidate all of these activities so that there's a concerted effort in a comprehensive manner and a much greater impact…So I congratulate DDI, the board of directors, the management and staff, and all of those whose lives have been touched by DDI and I will like to thank you for the invitation because it has introduced a new dimension of activity through the office if the vice president and we hope that in the future we will be able to work together to achieve the impact and the objective of this government reducing poverty.”
Professor Yemi Osinbanjo, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, represented by Haj. Mariam Uwais,
Special Adviser to the Vice President on Social Investment
“Over the past forty years, The United States African Development Foundation (USADF), has been committed to providing support to grassroots enterprises with the aim of promoting economic growth across the continent. This has been achieved through provision of financial support in the form of grant capital and catalytic funding to enable entrepreneurs to seize opportunities that were unavailable to them before and the services provided by the USADF’s network of Local Technical Partners…As our local technical partner in Nigeria, Diamond Development Initiatives (DDI) is integral to our success at the grassroots level. I want to recognize the role your hardwork and local knowledge play in USADF’s ability to create pathways to prosperity in Nigeria…Congratulations on 20 years of providing development services to underserved communities in Nigeria and thank you all so much for your hard work in ensuring that USADF grantees receive the highest quality of support to obtain the skills and expertise necessary to grow their enterprises, stimulate local economics, and bring innovative solutions to the continent’s most pressing challenges.”
Travis Adkins,
President and CEO of the United States African Development Foundation (USADF)
“I work as the Chief of Party for the Rural Resilience Activity (RRA), a five-year activity funded by USAID to support farmers, micro-enterprise owners and livestock producers to lift themselves out of vulnerability and poverty. DDI became our partners in Nigeria beginning in January, 2022. And in just a short 10 months that we have been working together, they have achieved some significant results. They have reached over 20,000 people by conducting training in good Agronomic Practices (GAP), smart skills development, helping to strengthen producer organizations, working with Village Extension Agents, working in the agro insurance space which I’m sure everybody will know how important it is right now that we face severe flooding in Nigeria. And through this hard work, they have also, put in their own investments, they have invested more than 20,000 dollars alongside our investment in Rural Resilience Activity. They have created a network of empowered individuals across the Northeast and for me personally, I just want to say that I am grateful to DDI for all the hard work that they have done and I wish DDI continued success in the future. Thank you.”
Margarita Aswani
Chief of Party for the Rural Resilience Activity (RRA), Mercy Corps Nigeria
“I congratulate Diamond Development Initiatives (DDI) as an organization for the impactful journey so far. DDI has harnessed a multi-sectoral ecosystem of government and social service in layering development, growth, and strengthening of small and medium-scale grassroots businesses, especially in agriculture, Off-grid energy solutions, youth-led entrepreneurship development, and economic empowerment…I wish to use this opportunity to assure you of the Ministry of Agriculture’s readiness and willingness to foster a closer working relationship with DDI along its mandate’s line towards ensuring that every Nigerian has equitable access to affordable food and nutrition. I hope that going forward, the relationship between the Ministry of Agriculture and DDI will be strengthened in collaboration and partnership to ensure food and nutrition security, the development of rural communities, the promotion of government policies for socio-economic development, and the full realization of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for Nigeria. Thank you.”
Dr. Mohamed Mahmud Abubakar, Honorable Minister Of Agriculture and Rural Development, represented by Alhaji Bashiru Arieoye,
Deputy Director, Research and Statistics Planning, and Policy Coordination Department
“On behalf of the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, FCTA, I will like to congratulate the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) team for achieving this important milestone of 20 years which is a hallmark that not only indicates how far the organization has come but how well you have been able to successfully key in and add value to Nigeria’s developmental process, particularly through the agricultural sector…The Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the FCTA Administration is in no doubt very proud to associate with the laudable objectives of your organization. I encourage you not to relent in the good works that you have been doing, especially in the area of providing equitable opportunity for self-actualization through economic empowerment and sustainable livelihood…I wish you a very happy celebration. God bless you all.”
Alh. Ibrahim Abubakar, Mandate Secretary for Agriculture in the FCTA, represented by Mr. Adeyemi Adetayo
“I am so impressed with how over the last twenty years, DDI has grown into such a great organization. I was blessed to work with them for the last five years in my role at shells All-On, where we collaborated with USADF on an amazing initiative for Renewable Energy in Nigeria that DDI did a lot of the back stopping and oversight for…Adamu and your team, you’ve built an amazing institution, it was a pleasure working with you. I know that you are still going to be doing amazing work in the next twenty, thirty or forty years. So thank you very much and greetings from us again.”
Dr. Wieber Boer,
President of Calvin University
“Happy 20th anniversary to the whole DDI team. A big congratulations, Mr. Adamu Garba and the entire team for your continuous impact in the programmes you have done in Nigeria. We want to say a big thank you for everything you are doing in Lagos State, with so much quality, integrity and excellence. We just want to say thank you and we wish you another 20 years of more impact across Africa. Have a wonderful Celebration.”
Teju Abisoye,
Executive Secretary, Lagos State Employability Trust Fund (LSETF)
“I want to acknowledge the Board of Trustees of DDI for your work, support and for being with DDI over all the years. To the Executive Director, Adamu Garba, the success of DDI has really been on your shoulders and you’ve done a fantastic job. You are one of the greatest leaders I have met and worked with in Africa. I can’t forget Afis Olaoye, Mohamed Bello Haruna, Atetedaye Oluwasayo, Amos Paul, Mahmun and others. You are not only a team of smart, talented, mature, great and strategic leaders, but also great friends with a great sense of humor. In working with groups, the DDI team is one of the best I have worked with. I want to thank and congratulate the clients, grantees, and grassroots groups too. Your success has demonstrated what a great organization DDI is, to be able to work with you, help and support you to implement those projects. To DDI, I must say that I’m one of your biggest fans, I’m proud to be associated with you and all of Nigeria should be proud of you as well. Congratulations to you all.”
Tom Coogan,
Former USADF Country Director
“I want to wish DDI, and Adamu Garba in particular, an incredible anniversary. This is a quarter milestone. It is hard to believe that twenty (20) years have actually gone by. I had the privilege of working with the team in the very early days of their partnership with the USADF as the regional manager, on projects that were focused on small enterprise and women’s groups in particular , DDI played a very crucial role in the success of those projects. Happy anniversary once again.”
Christine Fowles,
Former Vice President, USADF
“DDI has really done justice to its mandate and this is what they mean when they say ‘don't tell me what you can do, but show me what you have done’. I’m happy that as The International Labor Organization (ILO), we are included in the celebration of your anniversary because we have a common goal…Our mandate is to promote social justice in the world of work and this leaves us with the responsibility to guide and provide technical assistance, to make sure that the governments adopt policies that are really informed by evidence underground…I do believe that some of the outcomes of your interventions will begin to bring out some of the evidence that we need in order to make more informed decisions…I like the participatory approach that you promote…So thank you so much, I wish you a happy 20th anniversary. I do hope that in the next 20 years, when you are celebrating 40 years of DDI existence, you will be able to include ILO among the third ‘P’ of DDI’s uniqueness, because we will gladly like to work closely with you as we deliver and really bring about change and improve the lives of every Nigerian.. I look forward to DDI achieving many more impactful and productive years ahead.”
Vanessa Phala,
Country Director, ILO Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone
“DDI has shown a template for actually empathizing the dividends of the sort of governance we have in Nigeria. Taking things for our people and making sure that we have a more inclusive development. I am extremely impressed by the various programs that DDI has pioneered and has continued to push, leading to meaningful economic growth and development of the country. I will continue to speak as loudly as possible for people to learn more about what DDI is doing…This first 20 years, I’m sure, is just a start, the sort of exponential growth we expect to see as Nigeria moves forward can only stand DDI in very good stead. I can say that Nigeria needs more DDIs not just because I want to see DDI grow but to see how Nigerians can be moved from where we are today to where we desire the country to be. I commend and applaud the board, management of DDI for the steadfastness of the vision, and the management of DDI for coming this far in the journey. We should keep working closely with you in this regard to make sure that this effort that started 20 years ago will continue in good stead.”
Dr. Lanre Babalola,
Former Minister of Power, Federal Republic of Nigeria
“Let me from the outset congratulate the leadership of DDI on the momentous occasion of your 20th anniversary. This signifies two decades of meritorious service and developmental impact for the unserved and underserved across Nigeria…we can see that DDI’s work cuts across several spheres including agriculture, renewable energy, and youth, which are closely linked with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); SDG 2 on Zero Hunger, SDG 7 on Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth and SDG 10 on Reduced Inequalities. We’ve also seen that these interventions have cross cutting and multiplier effects on several other SDGs with the over action objective of providing Nigerias with equitable opportunity for self actualization through economic empowerment and sustainable livelihood…I thus commend DDI for this…I enjoin you all to continue to advocate for vulnerable persons to ensure their inclusion. I look forward to working closely with DDI in this decade of action for the global goals to ensure that no Nigerian is left behind. Once again, congratulations, DDI for all the lives touched and the impacts made.”
Princess Adejoke Orelokpe Adefulire, Senior Special Adviser to The President on SDGs, represented by Ochenia Mercedes Alpha
“Congratulations to DDI on 20 years of providing development services across underserved and unserved communities, especially in working with local energy entrepreneurs to deploy off-grid renewable energy solutions as well as implementing a number of critical activities across a range of sectors in Nigeria. I’m wishing the team at DDI a wonderful celebration of the last few decades and looking forward to more success in the years to come, ensuring an equitable and sustainable future for Nigeria.”
Damilola Ogunbiyi,
CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN Energy
“My goodwill message to DDI is that they should keep up the good work they are doing and never relent, knowing that the survival and sustainability of so many upcoming organizations in the renewable energy space are indirectly dependent on DDI. By that, I mean that DDI should know that it has become an umbrella to so many beyond its direct workforce. If DDI goes down, a lot of businesses will go down. My prayer for DDI is that they remain in business and become even better in their dealings.”
Solomon Enejor,
MD/CEO, Solmenz Engineering Limited
“20 years is a great milestone. It is obviously evident that you have been consistent at what you do, you have been at it, and you have come to this point, which is a landmark that is inspiring for a lot of us who are also looking forward to getting to that point. We want to say congratulations. We also want to say this is just the beginning, we see you at 50 years, at 100 years, and many more, we see you doing greater works, making a greater impact…It’s been an amazing experience working with DDI and I’m sure I say the same as other organizations and establishments that have engaged and been in business with you. I will say thank you so much for all the support that you give, and the impact that you are making in life. Truly, you may not know but you are changing lives. You are helping to make this process really seamless and what can I say? From all of us at auto-ease, we say, Congratulations!”
Oby Okeke,
CEO/Co-Founder, AutoEase Services, Enugu
“The mere fact that an organization like the ADF will always look to DDI to implement its project says a lot about the credibility, transparency, and integrity of DDI. I have enjoyed working with the supervisor that has been assigned to me on every project that I have had to work with DDI on. It helped me to prioritize and make better-informed decisions…I just want to say that DDI should keep up the good work. We pray for more opportunities for them to keep helping more young Africans and more young Nigerians like myself too, to actually scale and sustain the impact of the work that we are doing. So congratulations to DDI at 20.”
Dr. Saeed Jumah,
The Smile Shop Dental Clinics, Kano, Nigeria
“DDI makes less noise, but their landmarks are loud, and their footprints are everywhere. You can imagine through the lives of the 600 people we have trained, DDI is thus represented in 600 plus families, because, for every person trained, there is a multiplier effect, and that means DDI is already entrenched in the hearts of thousands of Nigerians and that will be forever…At 20, I am seeing DDI going so big to cover larger scopes, I see DDI doing greater and mightier things in the land, and I hope that the DDI-FSD relationship continues.”
Mrs. Omowale Ogunride,
Executive Director / Coordinator, Field of Skills and Dreams (FSD), Lagos, Nigeria
“There’s a popular saying that life begins at 40 so DDI is halfway there, which means that there is still a lot of play left for them. Personally, since I came in contact with the organization, DDI, I’ve always seen a huge potential that remains untapped. And I believe that as DDI marks 20, in the next 20 years, we will see the organization un-wrap the potential that they have locked within…The leadership of DDI is quite exceptional. The staff too have been quite extraordinary over the last few years that I have come in contact with them. And I think DDI will become one of the tops, if not even the top implementing partners for agric projects across the country. So as DDI ends 20 and starts another 20 and many more, we can only hope and wish that the organization will live up to its full potential, and whatever support that we can provide at our level, whether as donors or as individuals, we will be ready to provide to DDI to enable it to grow and scale to the level that it should be. We can only wish DDI the best in the next few years.”
Andrew Echono,
Country Program Coordinator, U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF)
“I am excited that DDI has reached this milestone. DDI has been a beacon of success and how technical assistance and project management should be between donors, grantees, and beneficiaries. The level of professionalism that was displayed by all the people we engaged with at DDI has been topnotch. I wish DDI all the best and hope that we will work together soon in the near future.”
Hannah Kabir,
CEO, Creeds Energy, Abuja
“To the DDI team, on the occasion of your 20th anniversary, I know it’s not been easy sustaining a business for 20 years in Nigeria, but I say kudos to you and to the entire team for the successes recorded and the impact you have created for the likes of myself, my colleagues and several other companies and individuals in the country. My best wishes to you are continued growth, and expansion of the team and invariably significant additional impact in the country and beyond.”
Ifeanyi Orajaka,
MD/CEO, GVE Projects Limited
“It is with utmost joy and fulfillment that I sit here today to congratulate DDI on its 20th anniversary, and I am happy to be part of the success story. DDI has made tremendous impact in the development of agriculture and the upliftment of the smallholder farmers to the next level, changing lives, making impact and changing the entire scenario as a local implementation partner. Here is to the next 20 and the 20 after to conquer the rest of Africa and to get global. Thank you very much, and I wish DDI all the best.”
Dr. Aliyu Sama'la,
National Program Manager, Flour Milling Association of Nigeria
“Your organization has consistently over these years, focused on supporting rural communities to achieve economic empowerment and improve their livelihoods. To God be the glory. I sincerely applaud DDI for identifying agriculture as vital in achieving their mission which is evidenced through several agricultural projects such as the GAIN Strengthening Nutrition in Priority Staples (SNIPS) project for promoting the Vitamin A cassava. Biofortification such as the Vitamin A cassava (product of research), is one of the areas where ARCN has shared values with DDI. An organization such as DDI that contributes to fighting hunger and poverty is highly commendable and deserves to be supported. Government alone cannot reach out to the grassroots; hence the public-private partnership initiative. Having been on the field for 20 solid years despite all odds, DDI has emphasized its commitment to service delivery and mission focus. Nevertheless, the management should not relent in doing more, covering more states and communities. More work still needs to be done to promote the uptake of proven technologies, especially in areas of value addition and postharvest storage, ACRN is open to welcoming any further engagement with your organization with a view to achieving the much-desired transformation for a food-secure nation.”
Prof. Garba Hamidu Sharubutu MNIN,
Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN),
“We are members of Kiru II Farmers’ Cooperative Society, an organization comprising 300 small-scale farmers located at Kiru Local Government Area in Kano State. We have been in contact with Diamond Development Initiatives (DDI), a noble, reputable, responsible, and trusted organization that thought and worked towards humanity since 2009. DDI has been providing monitoring and evaluation, training, as well as technical and management assistance to our cooperative group since then. We are grateful to DDI and all its staff members for a job well done. We rejoice with you and are happy to be part of this important event of your 20th anniversary. Long Live DDI!”
Prof. Garba Hamidu Sharubutu MNIN,
President, Kiru II Farmers’ Cooperative Society, Kano