The Publisher
She started her career as an academic in the Department of English, University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, Nigeria before she moved to the University of Ife Press in 1980 as an editor. She rose to the post of Publishing Manager in 1987. She now runs her own publishing outfit,
ABBI Books and has served as publishing/editorial consultant to multinational publishing houses as well as regional and international agencies including ECOWAS and the UN system in Nigeria over the years.
Her interest in development work started in 2005 when she was invited to head the Secretariat of the 14th International Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually-transmitted Diseases in Africa (ICASA 2005) organized triennially by the Society for AIDS in Africa. Since then, she has been involved in consultancy services with several major NGOs in Nigeria. She headed the Technical Support Unit of Network on Ethics, Human Rights, Law and HIV/AIDS-Prevention, Support and Care (NELA), one of the pioneering NGOs in HIV/AIDS advocacy in Nigeria.
The unit, under a USAID sponsored project, NELA Consortium on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NECAIN), worked in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, providing technical backstopping for Federal Ministry of Women Affairs for institutional strengthening in their coordination of OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) services in Nigeria.
She provides consultancy services to national and international organizations including the UN system in Nigeria in different capacities and serves on the Boards of several government, community based and corporate agencies and organizations bringing her wealth of experience to bear on these organizations.
She has received several honours, among which are listing in two reference books published by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England:
- International Who’s Who of Professional and Business Women, Second Edition, 1990.
- International Who’s Who of Intellectuals, Ninth Edition, 1990.
- Excellence Award by and listing in the Nigerian Top Executives in the Design, Printing and Publishing Industry, a 2015 publication edited by Elvis Krivokuca.
- 2016 CEO Global’s Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government Awards at both country and regional levels.
She was Regional Coordinator, International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW), between 2011 and 2017. BPW is an international NGO that works to develop the professional, business and leadership potential of women on all levels through advocacy, mentoring, networking, skill building and economic empowerment programmes and projects around the world.
She is currently Africa Coordinator, TX Foundation, an international private philanthropic organisation that works with vulnerable, excluded, disadvantaged and under-served communities around the world providing funding for the construction of learning-friendly education facilities that have positive and lasting impact on the lives of children, women and families. She has coordinated about 50 projects in over 35 countries in Africa.
She is also Executive Director, Kindness to Kids Foundation, a non-governmental organisation focussed on advocacy on children’s health and education rights and Member, UN Women Nigeria Civil Society Advisory Group.
Adenike is a conference speaker and trainer.