Prof. Olugbenga Okunlola
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Professor Olugbenga Okunlola holds a PhD in Economic Geology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where he is currently a full Professor and Head of the Department of Geology. He has previously got a B.Sc. Geology of the University of Ilorin (1982) and a Masters of Exploration Geology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1991). He obtained, in addition, professional proficiency Certifications from the University of Oxford, England (2016) and The British Geological Surveys England (2010).
He has 40 years of experience as a geoscientist that straddles the public service, industry and academia. He has served as a Special Adviser (Mineral Assessment) to the Director General of the Nigerian Geological Surveys Agency (NGSA) from 2006 to 2013. He currently chairs the Mining Road Map Implementation Strategy Team (MIST). He is also the coordinator of the Solid Minerals, Mines and Steel Technical Working Group (TWG) for developing the Federal Government Medium Term National Development plan (2021-2025). He is a former member of the board of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), a subset of the global EITI, and chaired the Technical committee of the board. He is also a member of the minerals sub-group of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) expert working group for the development of the United Nations framework for minerals and Energy Resource systems (UNFC). A member of the African Union (AU) Expert working group for the development of the African Mineral Resources Classification and Pan African Resource and Reserve Code AMREC-PARC and also a member of the African Union Commission, the expert working group on the development of policy framework for Artisanal Mining and Mineral Governance in Africa. He is a board member of the PANAFGEO, a collaborative training initiative of the European Union EUROGEOSURVEYS and the Organisation of African Geological Surveys (OAGS). He has handled numerous consultancy assignments for international and local agencies and companies, including the African Development Bank (AFDB) and the World Bank (MINDIVER PROJECT). He currently has about 106 publications to his credit in many reputable Journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters and has successfully supervised 9 PhD dissertations and over 30 M.Sc. student’s thesis. He is currently the President of the Geological Society of Africa, Past President of The Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, President of the Geoscience Information and Research in Africa Network (GIRAF) and Vice President for Africa, Association of Geoscientists for International Development (AGID). He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, Fellow of the African Scientific Institute, Fellow the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS), Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers, Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Engineering Geologists and the Environment, and Fellow of the Nigerian Association of Hydrogeologists. He is a member of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG), a Member of the Geological Society of South Africa, a Country councillor of the International Association for Geoethics (IAGETH) and a Council member of the International Geoscience Educators Organisation (IGEO), amongst others. He is happily married with children. |