ROTIMI LAWRENCE OYEKANMI – Publisher

Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi  joined The Guardian newspaper as a reporter in December 1996.  He rose to the position of Correspondent/Head, Education Desk in 2003; Acting News Editor in 2011 and was Head, Features Desk until September 2014 when he resigned.

During his over 17 years of reporting on Education, Oyekanmi effectively covered the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary levels. He also covered development issues, specializing in poverty in Africa.

He collaborated with several regional, national, international and non-governmental organisations, including but not limited to: UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, CSACEFA (Civil Society Action Coalition for Education for All), ACTIONAID, the British Council and Exam Ethics International (EEI) on all aspects of education.

Widely travelled and respected, he has also covered major international conferences in numerous countries spread across five continents, including the biennial UNESCO General and Commonwealth of Learning conferences.

He is the first Nigerian journalist to interview the incumbent Director General of UNESCO, Mrs. Irina Bokova and the current Commonwealth Secretary General, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma.

Among other achievements, Oyekanmi spent five months (January to May 2000) at the Post Graduate Journalism School, University of California, Berkeley, under the auspices of the reputable Freedom Forum fellowship.

He also participated in the 2007 version of the prestigious United States’ Department of State’s International Visitors’ Leadership Programme (IVLP). Besides, he has, at various times, been bestowed with distinguished awards by schools and organizations, including the EEI and the Civil Society Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) for extensive coverage of the education sector.

Oyekanmi obtained both his Bachelor of Art and Master’s degrees in Christian Religious Studies and Public Administration (MPA) from the Lagos State University in 1993 and 1999 respectively. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism, acquired from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in 1996.