Abdul Hakeen Alijola​

African Union Cyber Security Expert Group​

Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola, Chair of the African Union Cyber Security Expert Group Mr. Abdul-Hakeem Bolade Dirisu Ajijola (widely known as AhA) is a globally respected cybersecurity strategist whose influence spans Africa and the wider Global South. Ranked #1 Global Cybersecurity Influencer (IFSEC, 2020), Mr. Ajijola has advised four Nigerian National Security Advisers and played a central role in shaping national, regional, and international digital secu-rity frameworks. His education in Europe, Africa, and North America underpins his global outlook.
Mr. Ajijola is currently Chair of the African Union Cyber Security Expert Group, a co-author of the African Digital Compact (2024) that fed into the UN Global Digital Compact, and a co-drafter of the African Continental Cy-bersecurity Strategy (2026–2030). Through his interventions at the UN Open-Ended Working Group and the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Cyber-crime, he has influenced international norms on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. He previously served as a Commissioner of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC), the Pioneer Chair of Working Group B on Cyber Incident Management & Critical Information Infrastructure Protection at the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), and as a founder of the OIC–CERT. Mr. Ajijola also established the OIC–CERT Global Prize, advancing cross-regional standards for cyber resilience.
Nationally, Mr. Ajijola chaired the committees that produced Nigeria’s National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (2021) and the Nigeria Data Protec-tion Commission Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (2023–2027). He chairs the Institute of Information Protection and Privacy (IIPP) Ltd/ GTE and recently launched the Cyber Diplomacy initiative at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has also contributed to strengthening cybersecurity through the World Bank audits.
Mr. Ajijola is a Fellow of the Nigerian Computer Society, Lead Facilitator with the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria, and con-sultant to organisations including the UN, AU, ECOWAS, US AFRICOM, Coun-cil of Europe, ASEAN, Council of Europe (CoE), and the Marshall Centre. Through Consultancy Support Services (CS2) Ltd., Mr. Ajijola continues to advance secure, resilient, and inclusive digital ecosystems that anchor national security, economic growth, and public trust. His present priority is catalytic: building Africa’s cybersecurity economic sub-sector to create thousands of sustainable jobs for Africans under thirty-five, delivering end-to-end solutions across Indigenous value chains.