Leadership

Festus Ighodaro is the Founder of the Youths of Value Empowerment Initiative. He is also a banker with over 23 years’ experience in process reengineering, branch operations, cash management, IT cost optimisation, and financial management. He holds a B.Eng in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), a PGD in Lean Six Sigma from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA, and is an alumnus of the National University of Singapore, where he attended a leadership programme. He completed a Senior Management Programme (SMP) at Lagos Business School. He is a Fellow of ACCA and ICAN, and a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt holder from the American Society for Quality (ASQ).

He is the Convener of the annual Youths Pray for Nigeria gathering, which began in 2022. He is a pastor, a short-term missionary to Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, and teaches an online Bible study on biblical principles for successful living every Sunday night. He is passionate about seeing a great Nigeria, and strongly believes that with the required encouragement, young people can become change agents for national transformation. His usual slogan is: “Nigeria will be great again in our lifetime.”

Yerima Caleb Shamaki is a distinguished road safety professional with over three decades of dedicated service and leadership experience. Through commitment, discipline, and professional excellence, he rose through the ranks to attain the position of Corps Commander.

Over the course of his career, he has undertaken specialised training in intelligence, counterterrorism, and the management of irregular migration. These programmes have strengthened his expertise in security, public safety, and strategic operations.

Beyond his professional responsibilities, Corps Commander Shamaki is passionate about music, particularly Hausa gospel music. He has a special interest in using music to promote the gospel and create a positive impact across Northern Nigeria.

He is married to Christina, and their union is blessed with three children.

Belema Osagie-Ighodaro is an accomplished customer service consultant, a professional counsellor specialising in marriage and relationships and in child and adolescent care, and a certified personnel manager with an engineering background. She is a seasoned banker with over 20 years’ experience spanning customer service, banking operations, and procurement across three banks. She holds a master’s degree in Business Administration.

Her passion for people’s welfare led her into consultancy in this space. She consults for various NGOs and volunteers to speak with young professionals as they begin their careers and business endeavours.

She is Co-founder of the Youths of Value Empowerment Initiative, founder of the BOI Orphanage, and CEO of Nosabelle Global.