Name: Adeola Festus Adenikinju

Title: Professor

Organisation: University of Ibadan

"My name is Adeola Adenikinju. I am a Professor of Economics at the Nigeria’s premier university, the University of Ibadan. I have held several leadership positions within and outside the university system. Some of them are listed below.

Between 2011 and 2023, I served as the pioneer director of the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL) at the University of Ibadan. The Centre was started through a US$1 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. CPEEL is a Centre of Excellence in postgraduate training and research in energy studies and energy law. The Centre is the first of its kind in the West African region.

I was also the pioneer head of the Department of Minerals, Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (DMPEEL). Between 2021 and 2023, I served as the 16th Head of the Department of Economics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. The department is the oldest in the country and is reputedly one of Africa's best economics departments.

I have served as the President and the Chairman of the Governing Council of the following professional associations:

1) Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE), 2012 – 2016 2) Nigerian Association of Macroeconomic Modellers (NAMM), 2019 – 2023 I am also the current President of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES), the oldest professional association in social sciences in Nigeria. In the area of policy making, I served as:

1. Special Assistant to the Presidential Adviser on Energy Matters, 2005 – 2007

2. Senior Special Assistant to the President, Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to the President, 2010 to 2011

3. Member, Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, 2018 till date. I am a Fellow, of the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics, a Fellow, of the Energy Institute, and a Fellow, of the Nigerian Association of Macroeconomic Modellers. I am also on the board of several organisations, business and not-for-profit organisations. "

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Adeola's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

The most challenging aspect of leadership in my experience is getting members of the team to see the bigger picture that you see as a leader, and to convince them to make the extra sacrifices needed to get the organization to your desired level. Not many people are willing to leave their comfort zone and pay the price that is required to get to a higher plane. This is especially true if the orgnaisation is new or taking an old organization to a much higher level than you envisioned as a leader, A lot of people are comfortable with the status quo.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I have always loved to take on challenges that I believed in. I also believe that if one is willing to pay the price, then nothing is impossible to achieve. My journey to leadership started in 2007 when I led a very diverse group of people to start the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics, as a Nigerian affiliate of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) in Nigeria.

Getting the affiliate started, and consolidating on its survival at the early stage of its establishment was very tough. It required multi-tasking, sacrifice and pulling together diverse people, many of who did not see any immediate direct financial benefits from such a voluntary professional association.

Since 2008, the NAEE is the only affiliate of the IAEE in Africa. In 2023, it celebrated an unbroken 14th Annual Conference. The seed I planted then, supported by a few colleagues, has survived, amid low survival rates of similar professional associations. Since then I have started and led several organisations and centers of excellence.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

Interestingly my schedule is very flexible, depending on the work at hand. There are periods when I have very heavy workloads, then I adjust my schedule accordingly. However, most days, I wake up around 6 am., say my prayers and reflect on the activities for the new day. I then have a light exercise if time permits.

I get to the office by 9 am. I conduct my classes, answer my emails, carry out my meetings and attend to other academic and professional assignments for the day. I leave my office by 5.30 pm. I listen to the major news media, local and international before I sleep at about 11.30 pm.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

A leader must be willing to face the opposition once he/she has the force of conviction about his/her assignment. I became the 16th Head of the Department of Economics on August 1, 2021, just as I completed a ten-year stint as the director of the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law, CPEEL. I joined the department as a student in 1983, completed my PhD in the department, and rose to become a professor in 2006.

As an alumnus, I have always wanted to contribute my quota to take the department to a much higher level than it was operating. However, a few professors were not happy about my appointment as the HoD. Hence, they mounted some resistance, covertly and overtly. Initially, I was bothered by the opposition. However, an inner voice told me I was not there to please anyone, but to work on my assignment.

A few months down the line, as the results of my leadership, started flowing in, and they could see visible transformation in the department, the ‘antagonistic’ professors lost any support they had and were forced to acknowledge and respect my leadership. The lesson for me is that a leader must not feel pressured to please everybody. Work hard and your success would force those who oppose you to acknowledge your leadership and line up behind you.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

The book with the most profound effect on me is the Bible. There are many leadership examples in the Bible that provide wonderful lessons for success. In the Bible, there are examples of leaders that failed and those that succeeded. You learn that the beginning or conditions of your birth do not determine how far and how successful you can be in life. You learn that a failure in one stage of life does not define your end.

What looks like a failure can be a pathway to eventual success if you refuse to quit. You also learn that you should not compromise your future for short-term gains or comfort. A leader must be strategic. A secular book that has also inspired me is “Gifted Hands” by Benjamin Carson.

The book showed how Dr. Carson was able to defy the circumstances of his birth, disadvantages, and the opinions of nay-sayers, and through perseverance, hard work, and a supporting and praying mother, rose to become one of the best in his chosen areas of medicine. There should be no excuse for failure

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

One piece of advice I would give to a young leader is that don’t give up on your dream. There will always be opposition and challenges. A leader must be prepared to confront them. Challenges and opposition are parts of the price you must pay to get the prize. A leader must not compromise on the pursuit of excellence. A leader must lead by example.