About
ADEBAYO
AKINDELE
Writer. Speaker. Observer of people.
Biography
Adebayo Akindele was born in Ibadan in 1988 and moved to Lagos for university in 2006. He began publishing essays in 2011, and a major essay series in 2015 brought his writing to national attention. Since 2018 he has spoken widely on identity and ambition, and in 2026 he published his first book, The Weight of Becoming.
He lives between Lagos and Abuja, and writes about African identity, ambition, culture, leadership, faith and the tension between tradition and modernity.
Personal Philosophy
"I am less interested in who we say we are than in what we repeatedly choose. The second one is truer."
The Author's Story
Education & Career
Adebayo studied at the University of Lagos before beginning his writing career as an essayist in 2011. His work has since appeared in The Meridian Review, The Lagos Observer, The New African Quarterly, Sunday Ideas and The Civic Journal.
Speaking Career
Since 2018 he has spoken at universities, conferences and public forums across Nigeria on identity, ambition and modern African life.
In His Own Words
"Discipline is just the name we give to love that has decided to show up on the days it doesn't feel like it."
"I did not write this book to be understood. I wrote it to be useful."
"Lagos taught me ambition. It took me longer, elsewhere, to learn what ambition should cost."