Ms. Leymah Gbowee
A 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Ms. Leymah Gbowee, will deliver a public lecture on governance, peace, and security: Challenge and new direction for Africa, in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, on Friday.
A former Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the Governing Council of the University of Nigeria, Nnsuka, Prof. Bolanle Awe, is billed to chair the event , which is being put together to commemorate the 50th birthday anniversary of the Wife of the Governor of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi.
Two books written by Ekiti First Lady, ‘Speaking above a whisper,’ an autobiography, and ‘Speaking for myself,’ a collection of essays and lectures delivered by the wife of the governor over the years will be presented to the public during the event.
Born in 1972, Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist responsible for leading a women’s peace movement that helped bring an end to the second Liberian civil war in 2003.
Her efforts to end the war, along with her compatriot, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and other Liberian women activists helped usher in a period of peace that paved the way for a free presidential election in Liberia in 2005, which Sirleaf won.
Gbowee, Sirleaf and a Yemeni, Tawakkul Karman, were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.”
Last modified: October 9, 2013