Ikanna Okim is a young woman with the zeal to make a difference. The Uyo-born academic aficionado is the first person to graduate with a first class from the Faculty of Law, University of Uyo in the 36 years of the faculty’s existence. Being a woman of many parts, she authored the Amazon thriller, Black Syrma, a novella which tackles issues such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Child Marriage. This is in addition to the 3 other novellas written by her. She started writing and publishing when she was 19 years old. She has also been a voice against the practice of FGM in Akwa Ibom state having led awareness campaigns in the state. She is consulted globally on this topic by organisations including the Research Directorate at the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada. While in school, she was the President of the Law Students Bar Association where she changed the narrative of leadership and inspired women to be bold enough to take on the reins of leadership at any level.
As a result of her commitment to correcting social ills, in 2018, she was nominated as one of Africa’s top 10 Under-21 highest potential young people along side other young people from other African countries. To this effect, she was conferred the honour of a Fellow of the African Young Leaders Fellowship of Teennation.
Ikanna has also acquired certifications from different institutions around the world including one in Crime, Justice and Society from the Department of Criminology, University of Sheffield, Negotiation studies certificates from University of California, Irvine Extension; and Yale University. She also is a recipient of the distinctive certification in Mediation licensed by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom.
She is known for her poise, charisma and smile. She likes to be called the Hugger-in-Chief because of her desire to make everyone feel loved and accepted in a battered world. She loves to chat, read and dance. She’s a lover of brass bands and can play the trumpet.
Join us to celebrate our shinning star.
