Festus Lola Osunsade

Background

Festus was born on April 14, 1944 in Idanre, Nigeria.

Education

B.A (Humanities, Part 1, University of London).

B.Sc (Hons Economics, University Of London).

M.Sc (Economics, University Of Ibadan, Nigeria).

D.Phil (Economics, University Of Oxford Balliol College).

Career

Festus worked as an economist at the IMF. Including as a team member for Economic Reform Programmes, Formulation for a wide range of countries such as Brazil, Ecuador, Guinea (Conakry), Morocco, Mali, Philipines, Portugal Former Yugoslavia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Senior Resident Representative of the IMF successively in three African countries: Liberia, Tanzania, and Kenya. On secondment from the IMF staff, I worked as the Macro-economic Adviser to the Nigerian Federal Government, also heading a new secretariat, Located at the presidency; In that capacity, I was the Team Leader for the technical team that prepared Nigeria`s first Interim, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (IPRSP). Post-retirement from the IMF staff, I have been operating as an Independent Consultant on international finance and private banking Issues. More recently, I have also been working on my own as Founder and Chief Economist of an NGO by the name Common Interest Matter (CIM) Centre based in Lagos, Nigeria. Foreign language competence: French (Near Fluent), Portuguese, Spanish (working level).

Achievements

• Distinctions and honors: Pupil Monitor, (a kind of school administrative Assistance) to the headmaster in the last Year of primary school. Head Boy (or senior prefect) in the last year of secondary school. Area Secondary School selected representative in the western Nigeria Schools to welcome pirate (at Ibadan) for Queen Elizabeth (ii) past Coronation visit to (then colonial) Nigeria in 1956. College Scholar Status, (covering tuition and boarding), based on Performance at the part one (BA) Examination of the University of London, then the parent body for the University College Ibadan, Nigeria. Faculty School Status (ditto as above). Secretary General of the then University College Ibadan based Nigerian chapter of International Association of students of Economics and Commercial Studies (AIESEC).
  
  During my graduate's studies at Oxford and through an off-University outfit called Temple Tutorial college, I had the opportunity to participate in giving advance level coaching in Economics to youngsters preparing for admission into the University. Federal Government of Nigeria Scholarship award for the first ever M.Sc (Economics) programme in Nigeria (then covering two years) at the University of Ibadan, in the second year I worked as assistance Lecturer (Assistance Professor)at the same University. Address: Lekki Lagos Nigeria.

Membership

• American Economic Association

• Nigerian Economics Society

• He was a Vice-chairman of staff.

  Association committee of the IMF

• He was a co-founder of the Sub-Sahara staff.

  Association of the IMF

  1994 - 1995

Interests

• Macro-economic management, balance of payments policy, exchange rate management, development planning, reading, poetry, art collection, traveling.