Few Nigerians have held the line for democracy and accountability as consistently as Yemi Adamolekun. For over a decade, she has been one of the country’s most unrelenting voices for civic responsibility — challenging power, shaping public discourse, and reminding citizens that silence is not neutrality. As the long-serving Executive Director of Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, Yemi helped build one of the nation’s most influential advocacy movements, leading landmark campaigns such as RSVP (Register, Select, Vote, Protect) and playing a central role in the global Bring Back Our Girls movement that demanded justice for the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.
Grounded, fearless, and remarkably self-assured, she has navigated Nigeria’s civic terrain with a rare blend of conviction and composure. Her leadership has inspired a generation of activists to see citizenship not as a label, but as a duty. Now, after 13 defining years at the helm of EiE, she has chosen to step aside — not in retreat, but in evolution.
In this conversation with Konye Chelsea Nwabogor, she reflects on the road that brought her here — the courage to confront power, the cost of consistency, Nigeria’s ongoing struggle for accountability, and what comes next after a career spent demanding better from the system and from ourselves.
Yemi, You’ve spent years holding power accountable in a country where speaking truth often comes at a cost. What first gave you the courage to step into that fight?
It wasn’t something I thought about. I was raised to speak up, so it comes naturally. My father was a student activist following Awolowo as a student at the University of Ibadan. As a University Professor, he was also quite vocal. You knew where you stood with my dad, and I’m definitely my father’s daughter. I also saw my mom use her voice, albeit in a different way. So, asking questions and holding duty bearers accountable is basically how I was raised. My faith has also played a very significant role in this journey. I’m a Christian, and God is a God of justice. The disconnect between the proliferation of religious institutions and the state of the nation doesn’t compute in my brain. It is intrinsic to the faith I profess to make a positive difference in my environment, and speaking up to make that happen is a natural act.
So tell me, was activism always part of your plan, or did Nigeria’s chaos and contradictions push you into it?
Not at all! You don’t pay significant amounts of money for business school education abroad to become an activist. And neither was it Nigeria’s chaos and contradictions. I was invited to the #EnougIsEnough March 2010 protest in Abuja, and working with the movement during my NYSC year in 2010 literally changed the trajectory of my life.
EiE started as a small civic movement and became a national force. Did you ever imagine it would grow into what it is today?
EiE was simply a response to a national crisis. The president was missing – we weren’t sure if he was dead or alive; there were killings in Jos, and there was fuel scarcity. It was an immediate response, a short-term response if you will. In the email that Chude Jideonwo wrote, which called for a rally. He said, “This rally will be the first phase. Other things will come up later. But this one we have to do first. This is the one we need you for. This is one we have to make a statement with.
This is our country; our duty; our future.
As I like to say, we have made it up as we’ve gone along. There wasn’t a grand plan when it was started. And to be clear, I came into leadership accidentally. The protests were in 2010, and we decided to turn the energy into the 2011 elections. We got some money and started operations in January 2011 for the April 2011 elections. The Program Manager quit in February 2011, and because I had spent my 2010 NYSC Year fully engaged with the movement, I offered to run the organisation until the elections were over and we found someone else. That’s how I became an accidental leader! And in that vein, because we only fully planned a short-term response, we made it up as we went along until we hit on the idea of civic education, and that’s been our main focus.
Many people talk about activism; few sustain it. What has kept you consistent all these years?
I’m stubborn. I also believe I deserve better. Nigeria can and should work for the majority of its people. For me, it’s really that simple. Our duty bearers are Nigerians, not aliens. More importantly, they are public servants. SERVANTS. So by the very nature of the jobs they put themselves forward to occupy, their duty is to SERVE me!
Looking back now, what would you say was EiE’s defining moment — the one that shifted how the country saw the organisation?
We have led or participated in the most significant protests in Nigeria in the last 15 years: #EnoughIsEnough, #OccupyNigeria, #OpenNASS, #BringBackOurGirls, #OneVoice, #EndSARS, and #EndBadGovernance. So, protests are a very strong part of our brand association, and that has come with our consistency in lending a voice to issues and encouraging Nigerians to do the same. I won’t say it’s one moment, but our consistency in being present has shaped how Nigerians see us.
The BringBackOurGirls campaign was a global turning point. What did that experience reveal to you about the power — and the price — of advocacy?
The experience is ongoing. The girls are not all back, and more girls have been abducted since the Chibok Girls in 2014. The power of advocacy is in unity. #BringBackOurGirls was very effective because it was a single-issue campaign. There was a straightforward demand – Bring Back Our Girls, Now and Alive!
Furthermore, we kept it as a loose organisation of citizens who were self-funded. It was a decision that Aunty Oby Ezekwesili took in the early days that has served us very well. Otherwise, there certainly would have been accusations and counter-accusations of financial mismanagement. There were still some people who benefited financially from either being truly associated with the movement or from lying about it. Nevertheless, it has had minimal impact on the movement.
On the price of advocacy, it’s expensive. There’s really no other way around it. Especially in our context, when anyone who’s critical of the government in an attempt to push it to deliver on its promise to the Nigerian people is seen as an enemy. And beyond the state, sometimes it’s the Nigerians one is advocating for who stand as opposition because they have either found favour with the state, want something from the state, or are simply projecting their own trauma.
Beyond the media frenzy, how did that period affect you personally and emotionally?
That period was just more intense. The advocacy has continued. It takes your time and your resources and saps your energy, especially when nothing is happening. It can also lead to despair as the actions / inactions of the government sometimes communicate very strongly that Nigerian lives have no value in the eyes of those who swore an oath to uphold our Constitution, which clearly states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.
What do you think has changed the most about Nigeria since you began this work — and what hasn’t changed at all?
Governance issues and questions have become more mainstream with the proliferation of platforms. When we started it was Facebook and Twitter. Now there’s Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and with the monetisation incentive, a lot of people have become content creators. And we love making fun of politicians and highlighting how their inaction or actions lead to poor governance outcomes. Unfortunately, the awareness amidst increased impunity has not translated into commensurate action to improve governance outcomes.
Do you think Nigerians understand their power as citizens, or is that still an ongoing awakening?
It’s an ongoing awakening, and it’s clear when we compare it to the actions of citizens over the last two years in countries like Nepal, Madagascar, Kenya, Colombia and Sri Lanka, when citizen engagement forced governments to change policy and, in some cases, led to the resignation of prime ministers and other senior government officials.
When citizens know their power by occupying their Office of the Citizen, then the government is afraid of them and impunity or “anyhowness” as we say in Nigeria, will significantly reduce because there will be a price to pay, ie consequences.
You are stepping down from your role as Executive Director of EiE after 14 years. Why now?
Nigeria is at a critical juncture, when its largest voting demographic, 18-35-year-olds, need to understand and activate the power they have. It was this data point shared by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the 2010 Future Awards that became the seed for EiE Nigeria. She said those words, and Chude then wrote an email titled “Where is the outrage????” asking why young people are not vested in their country!
I was 36 when I became EiE’s accidental leader. I believe Nigeria’s youth need one of their own to connect with them and share a vision of what is possible when they say “Enough is Enough” and take ownership of their country. Of course, I can hire young people to work for me, but why do I want to have endless conversations across two worldviews? LOL! But seriously, I can deploy my time and talent in other ways on this Nigerian matter, while someone younger mobilises other young people to understand the power of their voice, find it, and use it effectively.
Was it an easy decision, or one that took months — maybe years — to make?
It was quite easy. I wanted to step down when EiE turned ten because I believed it was a nice milestone – a “significant” time. But God disagreed with me and my colleague that I thought would succeed me moved on to another organisation and eventually left the country. Interestingly, he joined EiE’s board last month.
I struggled to find a deputy who shared my passion for Nigeria and the possibilities I could see. The desire to step down was latent since 2020 (when EiE turned ten), and in some ways, I mentally checked out of thinking strategically about EiE and what I could do with it. It became a more conscious thought as my 50th birthday was looming. I wanted to focus more on shifting political culture in Nigeria than EiE gave me room. In Dec 2024, I was asked to look inward, and the strong impression I got was – Who better to lead the organisation than one of their own? I immediately knew who on the Team had checked that box, and when we came back in January 2025, I told her and asked her to think it over and get back to me. Ufuoma Nnamdi-Udeh accepted the offer in February.
Can we talk about your successor? What qualities were you most intentional about finding?
Passion for Nigeria as a blessed country with a clear destiny to be a great nation. The person must also inherently understand that this was a calling/purpose, if you will. It wouldn’t be a job; it would be an assignment to deliver on certain KPIs, some of which only you can see or understand. Ufuoma understands this fundamentally. We’re similar in a lot of ways but also quite different, and I’m really looking forward to how she exponentially grows EiE’s impact.
Is stepping down a sign that you’re done with activism — or just a transition into a different kind of influence?
Until Nigeria begins to fulfil its potential, I can’t be done. Certainly moving into a different kind of influence.
You’ve inspired a generation of activists and changemakers. How do you want the next wave to approach advocacy differently?
In expressing the authenticity of their heart for a Nigeria that works and makes room for their dreams, they will find their advocacy voice and tone.
Hitting 50 is such a beautiful milestone — how does it truly feel to reach this point in your journey?
Grateful and blessed. God has been very good to me. My birthday was January 12th, and there are 12 months in the year, so I have been intentional about celebrating this milestone in different cities. I have had cake in 11 cities around the world, and Abuja might just be my 12th city to close the loop since the first one was in Lagos!
What do you want this new chapter of your life to look like?
More political influence. A fuller personal life and more time for projects of interest.
And finally, when people look back at the name Yemi Adamolekun years from now, what do you hope they remember most?
That she believed enough in Nigeria to sacrifice her time and talent for its development, and in the process, inspired others to do the same.
