Our Alumni
AIG SCHOLARS IMPACT STORY
2019 AIG Scholar Hakeem Onasanya is the Special Adviser to the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees at the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) was established to tackle unemployment and promote entrepreneurship in Lagos State by empowering its residents with job and wealth creation opportunities.
Hakeem applied for the AIG Scholarship to undertake a Master’s in Public Policy degree (MPP) because of his passion for public service and his desire to positively impact his country and give back. He says that his time at Oxford was life changing.
“My experience at the Blavatnik School of Government was a once-in-a-lifetime, life-changing opportunity. I gained practical knowledge from academics and renowned public policy leaders on the nuances of public service. Most importantly, I learned the importance of focusing on the impact my work will have.”
Hakeem states that the diversity of his class provided lots of opportunities for knowledge transfer. With 123 class members from 50 different counties, students discovered that many of the issues countries face are not unique and that sometimes the best way to move forward is to learn from the successes and failures of other countries. He also learned the importance of continuous learning.
“During one of our lectures, we were told that after attending the University of Oxford, ignorance is no longer an excuse This quote has followed into my career. I constantly tell myself that I cannot be an ambassador for the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation and be ignorant about the world surrounding me. I therefore seek to constantly educate myself.”
Hakeem says his experience at Oxford has made him approach his work with excellence and impact at the forefront of his mind. This means that he always does his very best and thinks about the real people who will benefit from the work that he does.
“When you work in public service, you have a duty to serve the people, you are not doing them a favour. So I approach my work with that mindset. I also carry out constant impact evaluations to assess how the beneficiaries of any project I am engaged in are faring and if it is solving the identified problem. Finally, I ensure that I obtain sufficient data so that the assessment of the results of our interventions are backed by evidence.“
A recent project he worked on was the Lagos MSME Recovery Project Fund, which was set up by the Governor of Lagos state to rehabilitate small businesses and inhabitants of Lagos who were affected by the aftermath of the END SARS protests. Hakeem was an integral part of the Committee and wrote the final project report.
“Projects like this are why I work in the public sector. They allow us to show that the public sector can provide a service and that a key way that citizens will reap the dividend of democracy is through the work of public servants.”
For his work, Hakeem was recently recognised by His Imperial Majesty the Ooni of Ife as a recipient of the 2022 Royal African Youth Leadership Award in the Entrepreneurship & Empowerment category.