4 Nigerians Listed on Time’s 2020 Most Influential People in the World
Popular American news magazine, TIME has named the most influential people in the world, 2020. Since its inception in 1999, TIME has focused on activism, innovation, achievement, and has named four Nigerians on the 2020 list. This year’s list got the Nigerian Businessman and philanthropist; Tony Elumelu, polio hero; Tunji Funsho, Nigerian-Greek basketball star; Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Nigerian-American bestselling author, Tomi Adeyemi on the list.
Tony Elumelu is the Chair of Heirs Holdings, United Bank for Africa and Transactional Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp). He is a successful entrepreneur and the founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Tony Elumelu has been recognized internationally for his productivity and unending support, which has earned him several honour and recognitions, which include: Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2003, Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2012 and the National Productivity Order of Merit in 2019. He was also named African Business Leader of the Year by Africa Investor, a United Kingdom-based magazine and as Daily Time’s Nigerian Man of the Year.
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Tony Elumelu’s entry on TIME was written by Nigeria’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, who described him as ‘a leading proponent of Africapitalism.’ Dangote wrote,
“After deepening the financial market in Africa, he has found an equally important niche: giving a voice of hope to millions of youths across Africa. Having come so far, Tony still forged on, striking a fine balance between personal satisfaction and Societal impact.”
The history of polio eradication in Nigeria and Africa cannot be written without reference to Tunji Funsho, a former cardiologist and the current Chair, Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee of Rotary International (NNPCRI). Tunji Funsho was instrumental to the eradication of polio in Nigeria and worked, alongside members of the Rotary organization; serving as an integral part of the team that led to Africa’s declaration as ‘Wild Polio Free’ on August 25, 2020. Tunji Funsho, who is highly recognized for his contribution towards ending polio got his entry written by Jeffrey Kluger, an editor at TIME. Jeffrey wrote:
“It’s not often an entire continent eradicates a disease, but that happened when Nigeria was declared polio-free, clearing the virus from its last redoubt in all of Africa. The person who did more than any other to drive polio to continent-wide extinction was Dr Tunji Funsho.”
Tunji Funso influenced the Nigerian Government and other influential to support the effort for polio eradication as the spokesman and advocate for Rotary’s fight to end polio in Africa. He worked as a member of Nigeria’s Presidential Task Force on Polio and coordinated immunization and advocacy campaigns with the Minister of State for Health, alongside the Inter-Agency Coordination Committee for Polio Eradication.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who recently won NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), for the second consecutive year is a Nigerian-Greek basketball player. At 25, Giannis makes the 12th player in history to win the award consecutively. Nicknamed ‘The Greek Freak,’ Giannis plays for the Milwaukee Bucks and also won the Defensive Player of the year. Giannis’ entry was written by the Bucks’ legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem wrote,
“Giannis sets an example by standing up for what he believes in. After leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the playoffs, he and his team protested the police shooting of Jacob Blake in their home state by refusing to play, sparking a wave of strikes and postponements throughout the NBA. I once asked Giannis what his name meant, and he told me ‘the crown has arrived.’ It certainly has.”
Tomi Adeyemi, a Nigerian-American writer became known, following the release of her bestselling debut novel, Children of Blood and Bone. Tomi Adeyemi is a creative writer and coach. The British-Nigerian actor and producer, John Boyega who wrote her entry described her as the ‘god of ideas.’ John Boyega wrote,
“She’s inspiring a lot of young people to write. She creates the very world that we as actors get to play in, and the big-screen adaptation will hire a lot of people and bring more representation to our industry. She is going to be very powerful when it comes to bringing stories and ideas to the forefront.”
Tomi’s Children of Blood and Bone won the 2018 Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy, the 2019 Waterstones Book prize and the 2019 Hugo Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book. However, 2019 also saw Tomi on Forbe’s 30 under 30 list.