Dr OLUKAYODE OYELEYE, who is a graduate from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where he obtained the certificate of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) in 1989. He did a post-graduate diploma course in Public Administration and a certificate course in computer programming. He did a Master's programme in Public Health and Preventive Veterinary Medicine at the University of Ibadan. He went through the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on a cattle ranch in the defunct Gongola State and thereafter embarked on a private veterinary general practice within the state capital, Jimeta·Yola, in the newly named Adamawa State, for about seven years during which he was a regular weekly writer and contributor to the popular Nigerian private newspaper, The Guardian.
In 1997, he joined The Guardian on a full-time job as a Journalist and served as a field reporter on agriculture. This provided an opportunity to have a panoramic view of the agricultural sector from the perspectives of business enterprise, policy, research and Innovation in addition to core scientific underpinnings. The learning opportunities came from attending various meetings, conferences, seminars, symposia, roundtable meetings, debate platforms, stakeholder associations' forums, political settings and policy environments, within and outside Nigeria, in other countries in Africa and beyond.
Dr Oyeleye combined journalism with activism in his professional body, the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA). He served as the Lagos State Chapter Chairman of the NVMA from 2007 to 2010. He served informally as an adviser to the national president of the NVMA from 2011 to 2013 and influenced some programmes and policies of the association.
An opportunity to serve in the federal government came in 2011 when he was offered a job in Abuja as a Special Assistant on Media and Strategy by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina. He served in that capacity till 2015 and was retained by the succeeding Minister Chief Audu Ogbeh. This gave him a rare opportunity to learn about practical issues in policy formulation, implementation and Feedback. lt also exposed him to a broad spectrum of issues in international relations. He resigned his appointment in 2018 on purpose to pursue a private enterprise. As a weekly columnist in a national newspaper, he writes on Africa and global issues from development perspectives. He reads extensively on a wide array of issues, on leadership, finance, politics, history, governance, technologies, health, environment, food, sports, tourism, public, private and social sectors, family, youth, demographics and humanitarian services at the local and global levels.
Oyeleye is a public speaker, social critic, policy analyst, mentor and a preacher of the gospel of christ.
Dr Oyeleye works and resides in Nigeria.
