Aisha Yesufu’s outspokenness and zeal to stand against injustice is innate, and can be traced back to her childhood in Northern Nigeria where speaking up as a female was unheard of. At age 4, Aisha Yesufu was already standing up against injustice. Her father tells the story of how she went to him while in Nursery schooltodemand he be the one to take her to school as the neighbour who helped take her to school was being hostile.

She pursued her elementary education in Kano state before proceeding to Bayero University, Kano for her undergraduate degree in 1999, where she bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology graduating with a Second-Class Upper Division.

Her quest for knowledge led her to take up a Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Microbiology at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.

Aisha is married to Aliu Osigwe Yesufu, a Chartered accountant. Their marriage is blessed with two children; Amir and Aliyyah Yesufu.

She is the founder of Citizens Hub ( www.thecitizenshub.org ) a not-for-profit organization that seeks to build a financially independent, active and responsible citizenry through a solutions-driven and dynamic approach which has successfully hosted a good number of attendees across Nigeria. Citizens Hub’s vision to empower is built upon core focus areas of educating Citizens on financial literacy, personal and social development.

When Aisha Yesufu turned 40 in December 2013, she decided it was time to devote her life fully to Nigeria and as she puts it “’The first 40 years of my life I devoted to myself to be able to be financially independent and help others. It is said you can’t help the poor by being poor yourself. The next 40 years God willing I am going to devote to Nigeria; I am going to be an active citizen. My silence makes me part of the problems of Nigeria.

Upon the abduction of the chibok girls on April 14th 2014, Aisha joined a group of like minds on 30th April 2014 to advocate for a speedy and effective search and rescue of all the 219 abducted school girls and for a rapid containment and quelling of insurgency in Nigeria. Out of the 219 school girls, 107 were found, and 112 are still in the hands of the terrorists. The school girls who were between the ages of 15 to 18 in 2014, were abducted from school during their quest for knowledge.

Aisha co-convened the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, which has become an effective platform that has successfully put the issue of the school girls’ rescue at the front burner of public discourse locally and internationally. The group has without fail come out daily since the 30th of April 2014 to voice out, despite all forms of intimidations and harassment by security agents and the government. Aisha served as a Sit Out Coordinator and Chairperson of the Strategic Team of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign group. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign attracted global attention from dignitaries like Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. The hashtag #BringBackOurGirls trended across multiple platforms worldwide and it sparked physical protests in various countries.

As a Public Speaker, she has travelled to the United States, South Africa, Ghana United Kingdom, Argentina and other countries to provide engaging keynotes speeches and to ignite discussions on the abduction of the chibok girls and other socio political issues. Notably, she was invited to speak at the Edinburg University CAS Seminar on “The Many Meanings of #EndSARS in Nigeria”. Additionally, she was a speaker at the Chatham House Africa Programme organized by UNDP Governance in Africa on “The Role of Non-Violent Protests in Influencing Change and Delivery” and was invited to speak at the Strategy Session organized by the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Students on the #EndSARS peaceful protest.

Furthermore, Aisha is the Convener of #NigeriansMarchAgainstCorruption – a peaceful demonstration against corruption within the Nigerian public sector. Aisha Yesufu has continued to remain a vocal critic of lax government policy and frequently advocates for good governance, accountability and transparency.
She is an avid reader and writer. Aisha has landed coverage in print and broadcast outlets around the world.