BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Mr. Babatunde A. Ahonsi of Nigeria as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Türkiye, with the host Government’s approval.
Babatunde Ahonsi has 26 years of experience in international development acquired inside and outside the United Nations.
Prior to his current appointment, he served as the UN Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone where he coordinated and facilitated the UN’s operational activities for development in the country. During his tenure he has led the UN country team and ensured system-wide accountability on the ground for the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.
He has also coordinated UN support to Sierra Leone in its implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the UN Secretary General’s Prevention Agenda.
Prior to this, he served UN Resident Coordinator a.i. in China from June-September 2020. In addition, he served as UNFPA Representative in China/Country Director for Mongolia from January 2017-June 2020, and as UNFPA Representative in Ghana from 2014-2016.
Between 1997 and 2014, he held senior management positions with the Ford Foundation (covering West Africa) and Population Council (covering Nigeria) overseeing reproductive health, women’s empowerment, and youth development programmes and initiatives.
He had also lectured at federal universities in Ilorin, Calabar, and Lagos, Nigeria during the 1980s and 1990s.
Ahonsi holds a BSc (First Class Honors) degree in Sociology from the University of Lagos, Nigeria; and a Ph.D. in Population Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, England.
