Former United States president Barack Hussein Obama has expressed pride in a Nigerian activist who was recently listed in the TIME 100 Next list of influential young people.
Obama’s praise for the 28-year-old Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi was contained in a tweet he posted on Monday (November 18).
“Proud to see Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi in this list. She’s an Obama Foundation Leader who’s organizing young people in Nigeria to help end sexual violence, and her work embodies what our foundation is all about: passing the baton to the next generation.
She was part of a handful of young Africans (See list: meet the Next Generation of the Most Influential people in Africa) or persons with African extraction who made the TIME Magazine’s list. She was one of 53 women who made the list – the list is dubbed “the world’s most ascendant leaders” who are “rising stars in their fields.
”Reacting to Obama’s tweet, Oluwaseun promised to be part of the next generation of leaders whiles admitting that she was over the moon with Obama’s recognition. She was also named as the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2019 earlier in the year.
Founded in 2014, her initiative works to advance women’s sexual reproductive rights and advocate against gender-based violence.
It also provides medical and psychological support to victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence.
Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi
Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi is the founder of the Stand to End Rape organization in Nigeria, one of very few organizations that offer help to women who have been sexually abused. Osowobi was also named 2019 Commonwealth Young Person of the year.
Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi is also a survivor of sexual assault, she told Time’s Suyin Haynes: “Telling my story as a survivor, that comes with a lot of stigma.” STER’s services, which include training for health workers and counselling for survivors, have reached nearly 200,000 people across Nigeria.
