Ogun first lady mourns gender expert, Mojisola Akinsanya

By : Azeez Olorunlomeru

Date: 1 December 2025 7:04am WAT

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The first lady of Ogun State and founder of the Ajose Foundation, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun

The first lady of Ogun State and founder of the Ajose Foundation, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun

The first lady of Ogun State and founder of the Ajose Foundation, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun, has expressed deep sorrow over the death of Dr. Mojisola Florence Akinsanya, a highly respected development expert, gender specialist, and former Executive Director of the Ajose Foundation.

Mrs. Abiodun, in a statement personally signed by her, described Dr. Akinsanya’s death as “a profound loss” to the foundation family and to the development community as a whole.

The first lady said that “the late gender expert was an exceptional leader whose intellectual depth, compassion and commitment to justice shaped every space she walked into. Her absence will be deeply felt across Nigeria and beyond.”

Mrs. Abiodun said that “the nonprofit sector has lost a respected voice, a courageous advocate and a champion of women and girls whose work will continue to influence generations.”

She extended her heartfelt condolences to the family of Dr. Akinsanya and to the colleagues and partners who were shaped by her guidance and inspired by her service.

Akinsanya reportedly served the development sector with distinction for more than twenty-five years, working with leading international partners, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia, the World Bank HPDP Two HAF CSO Grant, and the Commonwealth Fund Foundation.

She built a remarkable career dedicated to advancing gender equality, strengthening women’s leadership, and promoting the protection and empowerment of women and girls in Nigeria, Africa, and the Pacific.

Over the past three years, Dr. Akinsanya worked with the United Nations Development Programme and UN Women in Papua New Guinea under the Women Make A Change Project, where she contributed significantly to civic engagement, gender-based violence prevention, and women’s participation in governance since 2013.

She also served as a Gender Analyst in Elections with the African Union, participating in missions across eight countries and providing critical technical expertise on gender inclusion in electoral processes.

Her work was said to have extended across conflict, displacement, and fragile settings, and she was widely recognised as an international consultant with deep expertise in civic engagement, gender mainstreaming, and policy advocacy.

The late Akinsanya provided leadership at national and sub-national levels in Nigeria and held key roles in civil society networks across the ECOWAS sub-region.

She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Gender Studies from Oregon State University in the United States.

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