From socialist to founder of a pro-liberty think tank in Africa
Emeka Ezeugo used to be a socialist. That was unsurprising, seeing as most universities in his home country Nigeria are dominated by socialist professors and socialist thinking. When he received a copy of The Road To Serfdom from a friend in African Students For Liberty in 2011, Emeka realized that waiting on government intervention was not helping his country develop.
Pro-liberty ideas showed him that individuals can be activists and can educate people on how to empower themselves and improve their countries, without government permission. Today, Emeka is the founder and president of the Global African Christians for Liberty Initiative, a think tank that aims to promote peace in Africa through the advocacy of freedom, property rights and religious tolerance.
“I am thankful for SFL for giving me the platform to develop myself and to become a better leader. SFL helped me to build up my speaking skills by allowing the opportunity to speak at regional conferences, and I had the freedom to develop ideas and execute them. I also got a wealth of knowledge and connections to other organizations in the network.”
Emeka became involved with ASFL in 2013, was a member of the International Executive Board of Students For Liberty, and worked as the Programs Associate for African Students For Liberty until July 2017.
“With SFL, I was able to be the dissenting voice. In Nigerian universities, we are taught about about how Europe unde-rdevelops Africa and education is so focused on the past. Through the ideas of liberty, I learned that Africa can develop itself. One of my proudest moments with SFL was writing an article for SFL’s blog called, “How Africa Underdevelops Africa””
He founded his non-profit in 2015, while still involved with Students For Liberty. He recognized that politicians were profiting from intolerance among people of different faiths, and that the lack of religious tolerance contributes to so many violent crises in Africa. The Global African Christians For Liberty Initiative exists to change that.
Although he’s no longer officially involved with SFL, he continues to support ASFL. In fact, he continues to encourage young Africans to be a part of the organization that contributed so much to his own personal and professional development, “Recently, a student asked me what he needed to do to become like me. I told him to join SFL. I sincerely believe that SFL is the platform for learning to be a leader and how to make changes in society. SFL gives you the opportunity to explore different paths and find your calling.”
Emeka is currently working on projects around property rights in Nigeria’s North East region, the part of the country that is ravaged by Boko Haram’s terror campaigns. He credits SFL’s webinars on property rights for giving him some of the necessary intellectual foundations to be able to plan and execute his current project.
Chukwuemeka is currently a clergy, presiding as a Bishop at Overcomers Christian Mission, Nigeria.