Towards the end of April 2025, our Principal Consultant, Toki Mabogunje, was invited as a guest speaker on the Leading in a Mosaic World Podcast by Susan Poopola. The topic was Breaking Barriers with Toki Mabogunje, but the discussion covered much, much more.

In Mrs. Mabogunje’s nearly one and a half-hour interview, she covered everything from her early beginnings as a child in Lagos to her passion for Nigerian and African business. Her career journey and growth, spanning the public and private sectors, and her impact in the various sectors she calls home.

Being that this podcast was recorded shortly after International Women’s Day, Ms. Popoola and Mrs. Mabogunje took some time to discuss the problems of Women in Business and what is needed to address them. They dove deep on this and spotlighted some of the interventions Mrs. Mabogunje has been involved with over the years, and the insights they brought to the gender question.

Moving on to another aspect of Mrs. Mabogunje’s life, Ms. Poopola inquired about her role as the 3rd woman in 136 years to preside over the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She was curious about what that was like, what goals were accomplished, and what lessons were learned.

Mrs. Mabogunje went headlong into this topic by first of all contextualising it, explaining that the COVID pandemic took place during her time in office and how this made it both a challenging and opportune moment in chamber history. Facing never-before-seen circumstances (since the Spanish Flu) also allowed her to make innovative moves to position the chamber optimally in a dynamic economy. Moves such as getting ISO certified, internationally benchmarked, and digitally transformed, among other things.

Next, Ms. Popoola examined Mrs. Mabogunje’s recent appointment as the Honorary Consul to Tanzania for Lagos State. An appointment, Mrs. Mabogunje explained, that was born out of her achievements at the LCCI. Her main mandate in this role, she went further to say, is to improve economic diplomacy between Nigeria and Tanzania by promoting investments, business, and networking between the 2 countries. So far, she disclosed, things have been going well.

Then, they moved on to Mrs. Mabogunje’s board appointments. In particular, Ms. Popoola focused on the appointment with the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria. She wanted to know how and why Mrs. Mabogunje got involved with the foundation. So Mrs. Mabogunje told the story of her steady and gradual increase in involvement with the foundation from that of a parent of a Sickle Cell patient seeking advice from their Sickle Cell Clubs to becoming a donor and eventually board member of the Foundation.

Mrs. Mabogunje spent a decent amount of time sharing what she knows about the disease and how to manage it. Even citing a situation that took place in the UK where she had to “educate” the doctors caring for her son. A story that typifies the worth of experience over theory.

Finally, Ms. Popoola rounded up the interview with 1 question: “What would you like your legacy to be?” Mrs. Mabogunje replied to this with a clear and well-defined answer. She said, and I’m paraphrasing here:

“I would like my legacy to be such that the positive impact I have on others is so great that it has a multiplier effect which can still be felt generations after.”

You can watch the full podcast below.