Check out the list of the Top Nigerian Achievers of 2013.
1. Coach Stephen Keshi
In February this year, media outlets were awash with the triumph of the Super Eagles at the African Cup of Nations finals in South Africa.
The national team, on February 10, 2013, under Coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, became African Champions after
defeating Burkina Faso in the final match of the African Cup of Nations soccer tourney at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, to lift the trophy for the third time: in 1982, 1994, and 2013.
Keshi, born 23 January, 1962, is a former Nigerian defender and now football manager, who has managed the nation’s senior male football team since 2011. He became the first Nigerian and second African to win the cup both as a player and as a coach. He had coached the national teams of neighbouring Togo and Mali before taking up the Super Eagles job.
2. Mosunmola Abudu
Famous talk show host, Mo’ Abudu launched what could be described as Africa’s first global black multi-broadcast network, EbonyLife TV [/b]on Sunday, June 30, 2013. Just few hours after the glamorous Lagos launch, the channel went live on Monday, July 1, 2013.
According to Mosunmola Abudu, ‘EbonyLife TV is aimed at giving Africa a new perspective by projecting its potential and re-writing its story’. The channel, it is hoped would change the old age perception of both Africa and Africans, using entertainment and lifestyle with programming aimed at viewers aged 18 to 34,
Often referred to as the Oprah Winfrey of Africa, Mo’, as the talk show host is fondly called, has used the platform of her syndicated daily talk show, ‘Moments with Mo‘ to build a strong repertoire. With the launch of EbonyLife TV, [b]Mo makes history becoming the first and only woman in Africa to own a cable TV channel.
She has interviewed celebrities from Hillary Rodham Clinton, former African presidents F. W. de Klerk of South Africa and John Kufuor of Ghana, former England soccer skipper Rio Ferdinand, musician R. Kelly and American fashion icon Diane Von Furstenberg.
Located in Tinapa, Cross River State, EbonyLife TV has high ambitions: to revolutionize media and entertainment in Nigeria and across Africa.
3. Aliko Dangote
Aliko Dangote, founder of Dangote Group was ranked richest man in Africa and richest black man in the world [/b]by Forbes Magazine. Forbes also said Dangote is now the first African entrepreneur to lay claim to a $20 billion fortune as the stock value of his largest holding, Dangote Cement, leaped just three months after it released its annual ranking of the world’s richest people.The report noted that Aliko Dangote’s 93 percent stake in the cement company is now worth $19.5 billion.This was in addition to his controlling stakes in other publicly-listed companies like Dangote Sugar and National Salt Company of Nigeria and his significant shareholdings in other blue-chips like Zenith Bank, UBA Group and Dangote Flour.
4. Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde
Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde in April was enlisted on Forbes [b]magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, a feat which earned the 34-year-old actress the title ‘Africa’s most renowned leading lady.’
Jalade-Ekeinde was named in the 2013 icons category of the list alongside young Pakistani activist; Malala Yousafzai, US first lady Michelle Obama, Burmese pro-democracy activist; Aung San Sun Kyi, RnB diva; Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and controversial Italian footballer; Mario Balloteli.
Writing a profile on the actress who this year launched a reality show about her life on M-NET, she was described as the “Queen of Nollywood.”
5. Zuriel Oduwole
Zuriel Elise Oduwole, 10 -year-old Nigerian girl,who enjoys interviewing presidents and world business leaders, was recently celebrated as the youngest person to be interviewed by Forbes Magazine.
IN today’s world, when many youths and adults roam about the streets looking for jobs, here is a 10-year-old Zuriel Elise Oduwole, who seems to have discovered her purpose for living at the age of 10.
At a very tender age, she has met with African presidents and top African leaders because of her passion to relate with great men and women.
Currently, she is being globally celebrated as the youngest person ever to be interviewed by Forbes Magazine.
Oduwole has already made a name for herself right from her childhood, and another which stands as a plus for her is that she is already a hot cake in the business world.
Zuriel, who is often referred to as the next Oprah Winfrey, said she is committed and determined to rebrand Africa by bringing out positive things in the continent and most importantly, convince Africans on the importance of educating the female gender.
She became the youngest global international media representative ever [/b]on record last November, 2012, competing with seasoned correspondents from Cable Network News (CNN), Reuters, Super Sports, Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) and The Guardian, likewise in South Africa and Nigeria.
6. Olumide Aliu
Olumide Aliu, was elected as president of the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) Council; thus becoming the first African to head the global body for aviation safety.
Mr. Aliu was elected ICAO Council president on Monday at the 38th Assembly of the organisation in Montreal, Canada. The assembly consists of 172 countries.
Nigeria joined ICAO in 1960 and was elected into the Council of ICAO in 1962 as a Part II member State. The country has since remained on the Council and has continued to promote the interest of Nigeria and Africa on the Council as well as contribute to the development and growth of civil aviation in the region.
7. Akinwumi Adesina
Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina, was been named the 2013 Forbes Africa Person of the Year which celebrates the individual who has had the most influence on events of the year gone by.
The Forbes Africa Person of the Year has, since its inception two years ago, reportedly attracted the highest calibre of nominees from across the continent.
Akinwumi Adesina was considered a worthy winner by the judges as [b]he is a man on a mission to help Africa feed itself.
8. Blessing Okagbare
Blessing Okagbare showed her class as she won a silver medal in the women long jump and a bronze medal in the 200m at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Moscow, Russia. She also holds the African record in 100m sprint.
Blessing Okagbare won Nigeria’s first medal at the IAAF World Championship in Moscow as she leaped 6.99 metres to clinch the silver medal in the long jump event final.
Nigeria last won a medal at the Athletic World Championship in 1999, a drought Blessing Okagbare has ended with her victory.
9. Chinedu Echeruo
. Chinedu Echeruo’s HopStop.com was acquired by Apple this year.
Founded in 2005, HopStop.com makes mobile applications for both iOS and Android that covers over 300 cities and that helps people get directions or find nearby subway stations and bus stops.
HopStop has oft been compared to Israel’s Waze which was recently acquired by Google for $1 billion. The move is seen as Apple’s plan to bolster its map offering especially given Google’s recent acquisition of Waze.
A serial entrepreneur, Chinedu Echeruo grew up in Eastern Nigeria and attended Kings College, Lagos. He attended Syracuse University and the Harvard Business School in the United States and founded HopStop.com after working for several years in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Leveraged Finance groups of J.P Morgan Chase where he was involved in a broad range of M&A, Financing and Private Equity transactions. He also worked at AM Investment Partners, a $500 million volatility-driven convertible bond arbitrage hedge fund.
He founded and raised nearly $8 million for his two U.S based internet companies; Hopstop.com and Tripology.com. Tripology.com was acquired in 2010 by American travel and navigation information company, Rand McNally. He was [b]named Black Enterprise Magazine’s Small Business Innovator of the year and listed in the magazine’s Top 40 under 40 [/b]and is currently a partner and head of the Principal Investing group at Constant Capital, a West Africa based investment bank.
What do you think of these Achievers? Talk about other Nigerians who achieved great things in 2013...
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