Former US President Barack Obama has celebrated a Nigerian sexual violence activist, Oluwaseun Osowobi, for making 2019 Time’s 100 Next list.
Osowobi, who is a rape survivor, has an organisation, Stand to End Rape (STER), for sexual-assault survivors in Nigeria, and has reached over 200,000 people across the country.
Mr Obama, in a tweet on Monday evening, expressed excitement at seeing Osowobi on the list whom he described as a leader in the Obama Foundation.
“Proud to see Oluwaseun @AyodejiOsowobi in this list. She’s an @ObamaFoundation leader who’s organising young people in Nigeria to help end sexual violence, and her work embodies what our foundation is all about: passing the baton to the next generation,” he wrote.
The elated Nigerian could not hold back her joy at being mentioned by Obama.
She said on Tuesday via Twitter: “Oh my goodness!!! Barack Obama just said my name and acknowledged @StandtoEndRape!!! Feeling over the moon right now. Thank you so much @BarackObama for the leadership & community service lessons via the @ObamaFoundation. I’ll continue to build the next generation of advocates.”
Time’s ‘100 Next’ is an annual list of 100 influential people in the world who are actively contributing to change the world through their craft.
Njideka Akunyili-Crosby, daughter of the late Dora Akunyili, former Director-General of the National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC), also made the 2019 list.
