Odewale has degrees in Chemistry (Medicinal Chemistry) and Chemical Engineering Technology. Born in Lagos, South West Nigeria, he also holds professional training diplomas in Community Local Participation (UNICEF); International Elections Observation Missions (KAIPTC/ECOWAS); Mentoring Young Leaders under the Kwame Nkrumah emerging leaders training series, and; the African Contingency Operations and Training Assistance (ACOTA) (ECOWAS) among others.
This young chemist has garnered a combination of nine years local and international work experiences in social and development work, spanning especially the West African sub-region. He has worked variously with regional institutions like the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), the West African Bar Association (WABA) and recently, the Economic Community of West African States as Programme Officer (Youth), Programme Officer (Governance and Human Rights) and Research Assistant (Disaster Risks Reduction) respectively. His research experiences spanning the academic and development sectors cover both the natural and social sciences. In the development sector his focus areas include human rights, governance and political processes, regional integration and human security (security sector governance and architecture). He has five years of field experiences in Elections Observations and Monitoring in twelve member states of ECOWAS and other parts of Africa, UNOWA youth employment mapping in West Africa and inclusion of young people in processes for attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) under the United Nations Millennium Campaign African office situated in Nairobi.
In addition, he has had volunteer, internship and extra-curricula experiences in campaign, mobilization and civic education working with the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the West African Students’ Union (WASU). Odewale is also a former Director of Training and Protocol to the Junior Chambers International (JCI), an international collegiate youth growth club also known as Jaycees.
Mr. Odewale has undergone and facilitated a number of training exercises both within and outside Nigeria. His training experiences cover the media, education, youth employment and empowerment, MDGs, youth leadership and democracy. In 2006, he was admitted as a research fellow at the International Leadership Training Seminar (ILTS) of the Danish Association for International Co-operation in Køln, Denmark.
