Comrade Shakirudeen Bankole Adeshina, a seasoned Journalist , Communications Strategist, and Development Advocate, has been elected as the Second President of the Alimosho Youth Development Association of Nigeria (AYDAN).
Bankole, whose election and that of his executives, was held last year, has now led his team to officially resume the position, effective from January 2025. He took over from Comrade Abdullateef Ogungbade, the founder and pioneer President, who has been administering the organisation since inception, and now has devolved fully into partisan politics.
Other newly elected executives were Comrade Ola-Lawal Mubarak, a seasoned Journalist and an Editor at Opomulero Online News, who was elected as the Secretary; Comrade Jokosanya Oluwatosin Faizat, an Entrepreneur, elected as a Treasurer; Comrade Israel Olajide, a Tax Practitioner, elected as an Auditor; Comrade Kafayat Gbadamosi, an Entrepreneur, elected as a Welfare Director; and Comrade Oketokun Adetoye, a seasoned Political Mobiliser and Social Activist, who was elected as the Public Relations Officer.
AYDAN was established over a decade ago as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), and a Political Pressure Group, leveraging its wide spectrum of jurisprudential coverage – the old Alimosho Local Government Area, which comprises over six million population- to promoting good governance, fostering public accountability, and driving social development across the grassroot level.
Bankole, in a keenly contested election with a popular grassroot politician and stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress from Agbado Oke-Odo LCDA, Comrade Lukman Obadina, was declared winner, having scored the popular majority votes and satisfied other pre-qualifications that was said to guarantee quality and impartial leadership for the relaunched AYDAN in the next two years.
“Comrade Adeshina has been with us. I remember his role in one of our significant political inputs in Alimosho Local Government, when we push for constitutional procedures to leadership process. Instead of the business as usual approach of selection, we advocated so intensely for fair play, as stipulated by the constitution and the tenet of democratic governance that we practice. The public advocacy caught the attention of the policymakers and political elites. And this forced the hands of the party to allow for all candidates to then go ahead to purchase the form and emerge through a rather fair and credible democratic process. Comrade Adeshina was instrument to the Press Statement and media advocacy. He was then our Director of Media,” Comrade Ogungbade, said of the new President.
Bankole, who is also reputed as a Human Rights Activist and Founder and Executive Director, Frontline Advocacy Initiative (FAI), comes to the job as a shrewd professional, with over a decade of experience in leadership and management, among other impeccable track records of excellence in Socio-religious and Socio-religious Organisations.
Some of the organisations include he has made his mark as .social development advocate, includes The Muslim Volunteers Foundation (TMVF),.where he has just handed over as the 4th President of the Socio-religious organisation; Human Rights Journalists Network, where he has been Volunteering as a Lead Communications and Strategy Officer; and former Programmes/Communications Officer for British High Commission’s Nationwide project on Combating Money Laundering and Illicit and Financial Flow (IFF) across Nigeria,.among others.
Bankole studied Mass Communications from the Polytechnic Ibadan and Psychology from the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo Campus, majoring in Journalism and Political Psychology, respectively.
“The return of AYDAN at this point in time is very critical. This is because Alimosho Local Government seriously needed such an impartial and important intervention from an organisation that prides itself as a moral compass for the political organisations and the elite ruling class within its jurisdiction. We must continue to push back against the shrinking civic space by the politicians,,” Bankole said.
The official inauguration of the new executives has been scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2025.
