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Rotary International’s First African President Takes Office

(EVANSTON, Ill. USA- 1 July 2003) - Jonathan B. Majiyagbe, a Nigerian lawyer, takes office on 1 July as President of Rotary International, a 98-year-old service organization with more than 1.2 million members and a network of 30,000 community-based service clubs in more than 165 countries.  As the first person of African origin to lead Rotary, Majiyagbe’s presidency is historic. 

“This will be a big boost to Rotary in Africa,” says Abdulrahman Tunji Funsho, a Nigerian Rotary member.  “It proves that Rotary is an international organization of equal people and that selecting a leader is not based on a particular race or religion.”

“He is the right president at the right time,” says James Lacy, chairman of the trustees of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.  “I can’t think of anyone better suited for this year.”

Majiyagbe has chosen “Lend a Hand” as the theme of his presidency.  States Majiyagbe:  “We will Lend a Hand to alleviate poverty, educate the illiterate and relieve the scourge of disease, and we will Lend a Hand of fellowship to all of the family of Rotary.  I will encourage Rotarians to help meet the basic needs of the many people who live in desperate circumstances today.”

A member of the Honourable Body of Benchers, Majiyagbe is also a former member of the interim judicial service committee, Kano State, a past vice president of the Nigerian Bar Association and a member of the International Bar Association.  He was chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Kano and has served as the Chairman of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Kano Branch.

Dedicated to the global effort to eradicate polio, Majiyagbe has served as Chairman of the African Regional PolioPlus Committee and member of the International PolioPlus Committee.  Rotary’s PolioPlus program, launched in 1985, is an aggressive public/private partnership to assist international health agencies and governments to end polio worldwide by the year 2005, Rotary’s centennial anniversary.  Rotary has committed more than a half billion US dollars to the eradication effort. To date, more than two billion children have been immunized against the deadly poliovirus.  Rotary has contributed more than US$205 million toward immunization activities in Africa.

A Rotary member since 1967, Majiyagbe is the past president and a current member of the Rotary Club of Kano. Rotary International has 874 clubs and 23,000 members located in 51 countries throughout Africa.  Rotary International has been an important presence on the continent since the first club was established in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1921.

Source: www.rotary.org