Dr. Otive Igbuzor is the Founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD). He served as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy President of the Senate in the 9th National Assembly. He was formerly the International Head of Campaigns for ActionAid International and the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria. Between 2008 and 2013, he was an Honourable Commissioner in the Police Service Commission (PSC), representing civil society.
Before joining ActionAid, Dr. Igbuzor was the Programme Co-ordinator at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), an independent research, information, and training institution committed to policy-oriented scholarship on democratic development and peacebuilding in West Africa. He also served as the Secretary of the Citizens’ Forum for Constitutional Reform (CFCR), a coalition of over 100 civil society organizations advocating for a process-led and participatory approach to constitutional reform in Nigeria.
His career in academia includes lecturing at Delta State University, Lagos Centre. He is a prolific author and scholar with numerous publications on democracy, gender, politics, and development. His books include Perspectives on Democracy and Development, Challenges of Development in Nigeria, Overcoming Challenges of Transformation in Nigeria, National Security and Policing in Nigeria, Alternative Development Strategy for Nigeria, Nigeria: Public Administration Reforms and the Emergence of Buhari (2015), Leadership, Development and Change, Triumphant Christian Living, Called to Serve God and Humanity, Reigning as Kings and Priests, and Contemporary Issues on Development and Change in Nigeria.
He is also the co-editor of two seminal books on constitutional reform in Nigeria: Contentious Issues in the Review of the 1999 Constitution and A Citizens’ Approach to Making a People’s Constitution in Nigeria, as well as two additional edited works, one on Poverty Eradication in Nigeria titled Poverty Eradication in Nigeria: Perspectives on a Participatory and Pro-Poor Approach and the other on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) titled Can Nigeria Achieve the MDGs in 2015? He has 53 academic publications, comprising 10 books and 16 peer-reviewed journal articles, both locally and internationally.
Dr. Igbuzor holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy, a Master’s degree in Public Administration and International Relations, and a Doctorate in Public Administration with a specialization in Policy Analysis. A founding and leading member of several human rights and mass democratic movements in Nigeria during the 1980s and 1990s. He is a member of various professional organizations, including the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA), Institute of Strategic Management Nigeria (ISMN), and Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM). He is a fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and the Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria (ISMN), where he also served as President.
He is currently the President of The Ejiro & Otive Igbuzor Foundation and sits on the board of several prominent organizations, including the Oando Foundation, Police Health Maintenance Ltd (Police HMO), Centre for Women’s Health and Information (CEWHIN), Nigerian Women Trust Fund, and Partnership Opportunities for Women Empowerment Realisation (POWER). In recognition of his outstanding leadership, Dr. Igbuzor was appointed in October 2012 by former United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, to the Global Network of Men Leaders to End Violence Against Women.
