Murtala Muhammed’s Daughter Appointed Into Harvard School’s Leadership Board

The Women’s Leadership Board of the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States of America has invited Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode onto its Board.

Mrs. Muhammed-Oyebode, a lawyer, administrator and philanthropist, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, a Nigerian non-governmental organisation.

The Women and Public Policy Program is a centre of the Harvard Kennedy School that specialises in groundbreaking gender research, teaching, training and policy translation. Comprised of leaders from the most senior levels of business, government, academia, and the non-profit sector, members of the Women’s Leadership Board and the Women and Public Policy Program aim to create gender equality and improve the lives of women and men around the world, focusing on rigorous, high-impact research that furthers a shared mission of closing gender gaps in the areas of economic opportunity, political participation, health and education.

By her membership of the Board, Mrs. Muhammed-Oyebode joins a dedicated group of women who have committed to deepening their participation in gender research and to interface with high-level policy and decision-makers to deploy interventions and Women and Public Policy Program expertise to close gender gaps in their spheres of influence.

The news of this appointment was well received by Mrs. Muhammed-Oyebode who is one of the few Africans on the Board.

The Harvard Kennedy School is a globally reputed institution and I feel honoured to have been selected as a member of such a prestigious and illustrious Board. I will surely contribute my best to make Nigeria proud,” Mrs. Muhammed-Oyebode said.

“The contributions of the Women’s Leadership Board support the creation of a more gender-equal world using a two-pronged approach: the short-term strategy focuses on providing women with the skills and tools to successfully navigate existing systems, while the long-term strategy identifies effective policies that can create long-lasting structural change.”

The Murtala Muhammed Foundation of which Mrs. Muhammed-Oyebode is the founding CEO was established with a humanitarian mission to improve the living conditions of Africans through the reduction of poverty and the elimination of conflict, while promoting self-reliance of African people and communities. This mission has been practically implemented by the foundation through numerous humanitarian programs covering core thematic areas such as education and capacity development, disaster risk reduction, good governance and policy compliance among others.

Inaugurated in 2001 to promote the ideals of the late General Murtala Muhammed, Mrs. Muhammed-Oyebode’s father, the NGO works closely with government, international organisations, local and international NGO’s, religious institutions, professional organisations and relevant stakeholders, to address social issues both locally and internationally through building partnerships for development.

The Women’s Leadership Board members are nominated by existing Women’s Leadership Board members or Harvard Kennedy School officials, and evaluated by the Women’s Leadership Board executive committee and Harvard University.

Individual members are invited based on demonstrated leadership and professional accomplishments. All members possess a shared dedication to supporting the mission, growth and impact of the Women and Public Policy Program.