Timi Olagunju Offers a Leading Voice in Mark Zuckerberg’s Visit to Nigeria

This month, Facebook’s CEO visited Lagos, Nigeria – his first trip to Africa. Zuckerberg met with software developers and startup founders, led a town hall event, and had the opportunity to shake the hand of Nigerian President Mohammed Buhari.

An underlying theme of Zuckerberg’s conversations remained the idea of “free basics” – a Facebook initiative to offer “a limited set of services from various internet companies with no data charges from the carriers and thereby enabling people with very little money to get the benefit of the net.”

But what does Facebook really mean by “free?”

Enter Timi Olagunju. Timi is a Fellow of the Presidential Precinct, having participated in the Young African Leaders Initiative in 2015. As a cyberspace lawyer with significant experience in internet policy and law, Timi has been researching and carefully considering the effects of free basics on Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Read Timi’s recent essay, titled “The actual cost of Free Basics in Nigeria” here:

https://techpoint.ng/2016/05/14/facebook-free-basics-nigeria/

Timi’s perspective has not fallen on deaf ears. Just before Zuckerberg’s arrival in Lagos, Timi was contacted by Dr. Steven Levy, a tech writer who, to many, serves as a biographer into Zuckerberg’s life. Levy connected with Timi as a source of local knowledge on free basics, and used his understanding of potential impacts that the service might have in a recent, in-depth look into Zuckerberg’s visit.

https://backchannel.com/zuckerberg-in-africa-da3dabf74276#.nnseatb8l

Timi continues to be a leading voice, not only for Zuckerberg and Facebook, but for the people of Nigeria and the country’s progress in the globalizing world of tech. Much of Timi’s work is intended to provide access to young Nigerians – aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs. He is not distracted by this well-deserved recognition and remains focused on new initiatives out of his NGO – Nigerian Youths in Motion (NYM). Starting in November, Timi and NYM will begin selecting 90 teenagers to engage in first-hand tours and trainings on law-making, advocacy, and public governance.

The Presidential Precinct congratulates Timi and Nigerian Youths in Motion on their commitment to empower young leaders and innovators in their local communities. To learn more about Timi and his time at the Precinct, watch his Impact Story here: