Background
Snapshot of Akanni Oyegbola's Service
Akanni Oyegbola has served as a student, spokesperson, local Politician aide, and small business owner. His vision for election to the State House of Representative is because he believes that his leadership skills, as well as his legislative, planning, business, and political experiences bring an important balance to the district. Currently, as a member of the state & local board member for economic development and workforce committee, He has provided pro bono service for the benefit of the community. Furthermore, as a student he also provided pro bono service through the economic development and planning departments in Prince Georges County MD and here in South Tucson Arizona. Lastly, Akanni Oyegbola’s pro bono service also extend to several organizations and civic offices which include: Tucson Pima Collaborative to End Homelessness, Healthy South Tucson, Progressive Democrats of Sountern Arizona, South Tucson Operation Prevention Intervention and Treatment (StopIt), Diverse Voices in Prevention subcommittee through the Community Prevention Coalition, Salvation Army, Marta’s Table, So Others Might Eat, Gospel Rescue Mission, Saint Vincent De Paul, Community Food Bank, Refugee Focus, Office of Administrative Hearings through George Washington University’s law Clinic, South Tucson court, Prosecutors office, and the Codman Rounds Clinical Research & Laboratory through the Department of Orthopedic Surgery: Human Movement Biomechanics Lab at Banner University Hospital for patient outcome measures. Akanni has never wavered from his commitment to the citizens of his district, and only to the citizens of South Tucson within Pima county, acting at every turn with the best interests of the people he represents in mind.
But who is Akanni Oyegbola really?
His personal story, the story of the connection of local treatment, community wellness, and family history begins far from South Tucson Arizona.
Akanni Oyegbola was eighteen years old when he was finally told by his parents the details about many of his grandfather’s entrepreneurial accomplishments. He never met his grandfather. He only knew the face of a man in the picture above his father’s desk in his home office. He wondered to himself, what was his grandfather like? Does he have anything in common with him? As a first generation Nigerian American kid growing up in Washington D.C., working in the family business was instilled in Akanni as part of the Yoruba culture from a very young age. While working in his family’s business with his five sisters, he was inundated with why it was important to work hard, immerse himself with local politics, and get an advanced education. Akanni remembers vividly his father Dr. Oyegbola explaining the importance of local elections and how they affect the community’s day- to-day lives. To Akanni it made sense, both his parents came to the United States (U.S.) from Nigeria in the late 1950’s to get advanced degrees. His parents wanted to reside in what was only a dream to many outside of the U.S. His parents used their understanding of the immigration system to help and give hope to other families from Nigeria who had a vison of coming to the U.S. to pursue the American dream as well.
With a passion of following the path laid before him, Akanni Oyegbola’s academic and professional background mirrors what he grew up learning first hand, business. The fire was now fully lit. His undergraduate course work was strategically tailored to all the essential business skills a young professional needs. As a Business Management major, he was able to tie-in structure and creativity. Several of his courses included: Project Management, Sociology, Entrepreneurship, Accounting, Statistics, Marketing, Psychology, and Policy. Once he completed his Bachelor degree, He moved on towards his Master’s degree in business. His master’s degree helped him to focus on the managerial side of business. His course load was full of advance Accounting, Business Law, Contracts Formation, Contracts Structure, Contract Policy and, Marketing classes. He joined several professional associations such as: The University of Maryland Smith School Supply Chain Management Society (SCMS), The American Society of Transportation and Logistics, and the National Contracts Management Association (NCMA). He pushed himself to network and gain the knowledge neededto help him better understand the complete picture. He also learned a great deal about working as a team and why globalization was the new focus for the business industry.
Why did Akanni Move to Arizona from Washington D.C.
After enduring the tragedy of losing a close friend to mental health, drug abuse, and later his tragic homicide, Akanni devoted himself to bringing greater education and treatment results about mental health in his community. As a student at George Washington University, Akanni decided that studying behavior health and Immigration within a border state would give him the best experience possible for understanding issues and being part of the solution.
He said that he wanted to break the stigma around these discussions within the African American community and state wide. Akanni created his own Community Wellness Festival to help with health issues facing the Immigrant, working poor, and African American communities. In the past, Akanni has helped bring in speakers to address these issues as a whole, held events, and led campaigns about the devastating effects of community wellness, the effects of economics, equitable trade, health equity and substance abuse.
Akanni has introspected about what is it about the House of Representative LD20 seat, the mission and the duties entailed within the seat that draw him to the position? Akanni feels that the opportunity to make an impact on small business support , community wellness, and Economic Development (e.g. tourism) as his main position. Furthermore, he chose to pursue the state seat for two other intimate reasons. The first being that, He wants to assist state residents with the challenges they face daily. Second, the benefit of seeing the big picture of juxtaposing creative outcome program ideas with state/local concerns.
Akanni Oyegbola feels post modernism is key, so by proving his resilience and strength through the challenging circumstances in his life. The hardship that Akanni has faced has motivated him to advocate for mental health awareness as a core aspect of economic development. His commitment to social policy issues is most evident through, The Akanni Oyegbola’s Community Wellness Festival. This annual event, brings about awareness of Health Inequalities by providing his under-served community with access to resources such as: dealing with health disparities, domestic violence, mental illness, depression, counseling, financial literacy, employment skill training, summer youth employment programs, S.T.E.M., small business workshops, legal aid, fair housing, nutrition, etc. He plans to continue to make an ethnically based positive impact in his local district, by introducing a better quality of life statewide.
