Kemi Ajumobi 
Amina Oyagbola
Board Chair, at Afrobarometer & WISCAR
When you hear the name AMINA, what comes to mind? For me, it is a woman warrior who ruled the territory she conquered. Our ‘Woman At The Helm’ this week, who also bears the name Amina, is certainly ruling in an area that is dear to her heart: advocacy for women inclusion and empowerment. Beyond that, she is Chair, Afrobarometer, Managing Consultant, AKMS Consulting, Partner at Oyagbola Chambers, Founder and Chairperson of WISCAR (Women In Successful Careers – a not-for-profit leadership and structured mentoring network for professional women). She is Amina Oyagbola.
With an untiring pledge to progressing women’s rights, she traverses multifaceted legal settings with the meticulousness of an expert strategist. Something striking about her presence is both uplifting and impressive. I see why women find succour in her presence, because they are assured they have someone who addresses their needs and challenges with a combination of compassion, grace and results.
There is something about her regal style; a sight for sore eyes, often adorned in classy ethnic pieces, oozing confidence that is known among dignitaries.
As an inclusion champion, Amina believes we need more women at the top. She says resilience, supportive network and mentorship really helped her but a mindset change from norms that don’t help women thrive is important. She recounts that a few years ago, under the leadership of the former governor of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who introduced an advisory guideline that every financial institution should have 40 percent representation, she says it has had a dramatic impact with results showing today, and that because of the implementation of that guideline, we have several women who are now CEOs of financial institutions, and this has improved such companies as reflected on the balance sheets.
Amina is passionate about mentorship, hence the reason for WISCAR’s Mentoring Book, which covers the story of how the WIN-with-WISCAR Mentoring programme was conceived. Available at Laterna Ventures, Quintessence Bookstore and Rovingheights Books, the book is indeed a must-read.
She is a Chartered Fellow of CIPD UK, Fellow, CIPM, Fellow and First Vice President, Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD), Fellow, Institute of Management Consultant, member, WCD, a Certified Ethics Officer, Former Chair, Advisory Council member, and Fellow, Africa Leadership Initiative- West Africa and member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She is a Chevening Scholar and 2019 recipient of the prestigious HR People Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award and ALTON Award for her contribution to the telecommunications sector in Nigeria.
The former Human Resources and Corporate Services Executive at MTN Nigeria had her Bachelor of Laws from Ahmadu Bello University, her MBA from Lancaster University and her LLM from University of Cambridge.