“Our legacy is not defined by the half a billion dollars granted to 1,098 partners, although these numbers are not insignificant for a philanthropic foundation.

"Our legacy is best reflected in the spirit that underpinned each partnership, in the profound and long-standing relationships we built with our partners.”

Those were the words of Dr ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye, Regional Director of the Ford Foundation Office of West Africa (FFOWA), as the Foundation marked its 65th anniversary in Abuja.

The milestone celebration dubbed “OWA@65: From Nation Building to Social Justice” brought together grantees, partners, alumni, and friends to reflect on more than six decades of advancing social justice, equality, and inclusive development across the region.

Dr. Aniagolu-Okoye described the anniversary as “a profound moment of gratitude and recommitment,” emphasising that the Foundation’s strength lies not in the scale of its giving but in the relationships it has nurtured.

Since establishing its first regional office in Lagos in 1960—the same year Nigeria gained independence—the Ford Foundation has worked with over a thousand partners across West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. Grants totalling more than half a billion dollars have strengthened movements and institutions in education, governance, women’s empowerment, human rights, arts, and environmental justice.

“This milestone belongs not to one institution, but to a shared community of changemakers across West Africa and beyond. Since 1960, our mission has remained clear—to stand with those building just and inclusive societies,” she said

Martín Abregu, Senior Vice President of the Ford Foundation, noted that West Africa continues to play a central role in the Foundation’s global mission to reduce inequality and advance social justice.

“The Ford Foundation began as an American philanthropic institution, but today it is a global organisation rooted in local realities,” he said.

“Our offices from Lagos to Johannesburg, New Delhi to Mexico City, serve as bridges between the local and the global. What happens in the Niger Delta, Ghana’s universities, or the streets of Dakar informs how the world understands social justice,” he added.

Delivering the keynote, His Excellency Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, commended the Foundation’s enduring impact on the region’s development.

“The Ford Foundation’s approach is a model of partnership rooted in humility, courage, and a steadfast belief in the potential of West Africans to drive their own progress,” he said, adding that social justice “places the human being—not statistics—at the centre of development.”

Goodwill messages were delivered by Dr Peter Mbah, Executive Governor of Enugu State; Darren Walker, Outgoing President of the Ford Foundation; and Heather Gerken, the Foundation’s current President.

In a message read on her behalf by Tolu Onafowokan, Director, Strategic Communications at the Ford Foundation, Heather Gerken, the newly appointed President of the Ford Foundation, reaffirmed her commitment to continuing the Foundation’s legacy of partnership and trust-based philanthropy.

“Our task is to build on the gains already made—to deepen accountability, strengthen democratic institutions, expand opportunity, and protect the most vulnerable. The Foundation will continue to listen first, respect local expertise, and support the bold ideas that emerge from communities themselves,” she said.

She extended her heartfelt congratulations to the Government and people of Nigeria on 65 years of independence and to the team of the Ford Foundation’s Office of West Africa on the occasion of their 65th anniversary, emphasising that both milestones “affirm a shared commitment to justice, democracy, and enduring partnership.”

As part of the commemoration, FFOWA launched a legacy publication and documentary film chronicling the stories, faces, and milestones that have defined the Foundation’s contribution to West Africa’s development and social transformation over 65 years.