WiserEarth Area of Focus Suggestions

Dr David Tola Winjobi is a human rights activist and campaigner, an educational consultant, a professional counsellor, a gender analyst and advocate, a resourceful manager of human resources, a community development consultant and mobiliser, an in-depth researcher, and conflict manager. He obtained his first Degree in Education (English Language) from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) Nigeria in 1986. In 1990, he got a Master’s Degree in Counselling Psychology from University of Jos. He also obtained a Master’s Degree in Peace and Conflict Management (with specialization in International Conflict Management) from the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan. In 2000, he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Counseling Psychology from the Première University, University of Ibadan, Ibadan Nigeria.

Apart from being a teacher and an administrator (principal) for some years, Dr Tola Winjobi had worked in the area of poverty alleviation, micro-credit scheme, NGO capacity building, human rights, environmental/community health, and gender for over 15 years in various organizations. Among these are Amnesty International Nigeria (Assistant Director), Centre for Constitutional Governance (Coordinator of Research and Programmes), Childolescent and Family Survival Organization (Director), Catholic Agency for  Overseas Development (Policy and Advocacy Advisor) etc.

In 1996, he joined Amnesty International (an international human rights organization, headquartered in London) Nigerian Section as the Western Zonal Co-ordinator and later as Assistant Director/Development Officer until 2002. He was in charge of training and development of their members across the country. He was responsible for designing, planning and supervising implementation of projects/campaign on human rights, gender, female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, and child’s rights. He was solely responsible for designing training needs of  teaming youths across the higher institutions and adult members in Nigeria. He also played an advisory role to the National Executive Council and Board of Trustees of Amnesty International on gender programs and policy including implementation strategies.

To show that he is committed to fighting poverty, he has been involved in working with indigent semiurban and rural dwellers in poverty alleviation programme and using rural participatory appraisal methodology in Oyo State, Nigeria. He has organized men and women into co-operative groups whereby they could pool their resources together for poverty alleviation and the benefit of the community. This project has been replicated in some selected rural areas of Oyo State, Nigeria. He has obtained a certificate of registration with the Oyo State Ministry of Commerce and Industry for one of such pilots. Recently, he jointly established  two other Micro-Credit Schemes for Women in rural communities in Oyo State of Nigeria.

Specifically using campaigning/advocacy strategies such as lobbying, mass mobilisation,  coalition building, media, letter writing, Tola has been involved in effecting legislation and policy change focusing on child’s rights, female genital mutilation, death penalty, gender-sensitive budgeting, school/community health campaign to mention but a few in Amnesty International, CCG, and CAFSO as a staff. As a result of some of these advocacy efforts, VIP toilets have been dug in some selected urban schools while there has been a remarkable improvement in community environmental health in Yemetu and Oje areas of Ibadan. In Osun State, it is on record that his team advocacy effort on campaigning against female genital mutilation led to legislation against it by the House of Assembly in 2003.

In order to show his further commitment to advocacy work, he has been instrumental to setting up coalitions responsible for lobbying the government and mobilizing the people to effect policy change in some areas. For example in 2002, he was among the few individuals that mooted out the idea of awareness raising on the essence of International Criminal Court. They later formed a coalition NGO called Nigerian Coalition on International Criminal Court (NCICC), and they were able to lobby the Federal Government of Nigeria to not only ratify but also sign the Rome Statute. An achievement he made was to write the abridged version of the Statute.

He also actively belongs to various relevant organizations focusing on poverty, socio-economic rights, justice, etc. Few among these are Amnesty International, Coalition on International Criminal Court, Civil Society Coalition on Education for All (CSEFA), Citizen Forum, International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) Netherlands, Pan African Reconciliation Council, Coalition for the Global Commons. As a matter of fact, he belongs to other organizations where he is a founding member or holds key posts.

Dr Tola Winjobi currently serves as the National Campaign Coordinator of “Make Our Money Work for Us” Campaign aka Global Call to Action against Poverty. This is the world’s largest organization campaigning along side their counterparts around the world on poverty eradication and monitoring of Millennium Development Goals. He is responsible for setting up GCAP/MDGs in rural communities across the country. He has been instrumental to conducting a survey on MDGs progress in Nigeria called “Citizens’ Score Card”. The outcome of this study is being used to hold Nigerian government accountable to the MDG pledges. Dr Winjobi is a strategist and mass mobilizer. He made an unprecedented landmark in Stand Up event in 2008 where over 9 million citizens stood against poverty in Nigeria as against less than 2 million in the previous year. Thus making Nigeria coming first position among the African countries that stood up in 2008. Tola the Master Mobiliser  has repeated the feat again this year 2009  as he mobilised about 13 million Nigerian citizens who Stood Up and Took Action against poverty and inequality and for the Millennium Development Goals. This is verifiable from the Guinness World Records and UNMC.