Nigeria’s impact on the global stage has once again been spotlighted, as two nationals, Damilola Ogunbiyi and Peter Adeleke, secured international recognition in sustainability and leadership.
Ogunbiyi, the Chief Executive of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All, was named to Forbes magazine’s Sustainability Leaders 2025 list. 
The annual roll of honour celebrates 50 figures driving measurable progress on climate action, clean energy, and sustainable development across business, policy, and civil society.
Selected from 120 finalists spanning founders, scientists, researchers, policymakers, executives, and activists, Ogunbiyi shares the spotlight with Kenya’s Wanjira Mathai and Benin’s Romaric Odoulami.
Forbes praised her leadership in mobilising $201 billion in clean energy investments through SEforALL’s Energy Compacts initiative. Between 2021 and 2024, these interventions enabled access to reliable electricity for 177 million people and equipped 6,000 healthcare facilities across underserved regions.
Ogunbiyi’s global roles include co-chairing UN-Energy, serving as commissioner for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty, and co-chairing the COP26 Energy Transition Council. At home, she made history as the first female General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board and later as the pioneer female Managing Director of Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency.
She also co-leads Mission 300, a joint World Bank and African Development Bank initiative to provide electricity to 300 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
Meanwhile, on a completely different frontier, Nigerian-born leadership coach and author Peter Adeleke has etched his name in the Guinness World Records.
Adeleke set the record for the longest leadership lesson, teaching continuously for 28 hours and 45 minutes in Calgary, Canada. His feat surpasses the previous 24-hour mark.
Guinness World Records, in confirming the achievement, hailed Adeleke’s attempt as a bold push to change the narrative of leadership development. “Peter is an author, speaker, and qualified leadership expert.
He set out to achieve a record in the field to raise the bar in leadership development and spark conversation around transformational leadership,” the organisation stated.
For Adeleke, the marathon session was about more than just endurance; it was a call to elevate leadership standards and ignite conversations around transformational change.
“We are thrilled to inform you that your application for the longest leadership lesson has been successful,” GWR wrote in its confirmation email to him.
Ogunbiyi and Adeleke embody how Nigerians are shaping global conversations on sustainability and transformational leadership.
