Lawal Olalekan Olohungbebe is a dedicated scholar, community development and education expert, serving as the Honourable Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development in Kwara State.

Olohungbebe began his academic journey at Iganmode Nursery and Primary School, Ansaru-deen Comprehensive College, Otta, Muslim Progressive High School, Oke-Odan, all in Ogun State. He then pursued a Diploma in Sharia and Common Law at College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS).

He continued to build a rich academic portfolio, securing a B. Sc. in Sociology and Anthropology from Muhammadu Buhari University (formerly University of Maiduguri), followed by an LLB in Shariah and Common Law from the University of Ilorin. His commitment to social welfare deepened as he went on to earn a Masters in Social Work and Community Development from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho. He ultimately achieved the pinnacle of academic pursuit with a Ph.D. in Community Development and Adult Education from Bayero University, Kano.

Dr Olohungbebe also underwent training in Development Facilitation at the St. Francis Xavier University, Canada; Project Management at the Knowledge Train, Babican, London, United Kingdom; Adult Education and Crisis Management at University of Wuezburg, Balvaria, Germany.

This comprehensive educational journey has uniquely equipped him to championtransformative policies—first as Director, Centre for Community Development, Kwara State University, Malete, where he designed, among other programmes, the Certificate Course in Community Development for all students; Community-based Experience Project (COBEP) for all Engineering and Agric students;

Participatory Action Research (PAR) as well as Self- Prompted Community

Outreach (SPCO) for all the academic staff of the institution.

As promoter of youth development, Dr Olohungbebe has, through developmentinitiatives such as Countryside Emerging Leaders’ Fellowship (CELF), organized an intensive two-week camping for the deserving young school leavers across the sixteen local government of Kwara State where close to one hundred youths were empowered on personal and community development including entrepreneurship. At present, no fewer than 19 CELF fellows are on scholarship across tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

In his quest towards deepening political participation among Kwara youths, DrOlohungbebe organized a civic engagement platform tagged “Kwara Candidates’ Forum” which attracted leading gubernatorial candidates in the 2019 elections in the state. The event offered stakeholders, particularly the youths, the opportunity to assess the manifestoes of the candidates.

Following his record of performance as administrator and community development practitioner, Dr Olohungbebe later served as the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Community Development to His Excellency, the Governor of Kwara State, Malam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (CON) where he organized the Community-Based Organizations’ (CBOs) Summit; facilitated boreholes and public toilets for 43 communities; coordinated the Kwara State’s staple foods and fertilizer palliative distribution exercises.

Dr Olohungbebe is currently the Kwara State Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development. His reforms, within the last 5 months that he assumed office, include the introduction of C2C (From Classroom to the Commissioner) Feedback Initiative; Digitalization of the placement examination registration process; inclusion of community-based organizations in project supervision process, among others.

Lawal Olalekan Olohungbebe is a Nigerian community development practitioner, lecturer at Kwara State University and a political office holder. He held position as the Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara State Governor on Community Development until his appointment as the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.https://kwarastate.gov.ng/press_releases/education-commissioner-tasks-teachers-others-on-punctuality-dutifulness/ He also serves as the supervising commissioner for the Kwara State Ministry of Tertiary Education. Lawal is the Chairman of the Committee of State Commissioners of Education in Nigeria (COSCEN).

Early life and education Olohungbebe holds doctorate degree from Bayero University, Kano (BUK), obtained masters degree in community development from Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho and obtained his bachelor's degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Maiduguri, Borno State.

Career Olohungbebe was primarily a Lecturer at the Kwara State University, Malete before his appointment as the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq on community developmenthttps://kwarastate.gov.ng/press_releases/kwara-gov-appoints-dr-olohungbebe-ssa-on-community-devt/https://kwarastate.gov.ng/press_releases/kwara-gov-appoints-dr-olohungbebe-ssa-on-community-devt/on 3 December 2023. On 10 March 2025, After a cabinet reshuffling by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Dr. Olohungbebe was appointed as the Commissioner of Education and Human Capital Development in Kwara state.

On 10 December 2025, he became the chairman of the Nigerian Education Commissioners,https://coscen.com.ng/?page_id=1131 being the face and representative of other education commissioners across the states of the country at the federal level working alongside the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa.

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