Antonia Ally does not enter a room so much as she alters its temperature. People say she has the rare gift of making purpose look effortless; compassion, almost administrative. Yet behind the calm smile lies an iron routine of service, honed over a decade of turning ideals into structure.
Her latest work, The Agbede Foundation, was launched recently in Obudu, Cross River State. The foundation targets local empowerment through education, healthcare, and youth training. Its burnt-orange emblem pays homage to her late mentor, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, whose HOW Foundation she once led. 10 years on, she carries that legacy with a steadier hand.
At HOW Foundation, she oversaw the distribution of more than 10,000 mosquito nets and 5,000 malaria drugs; numbers that sound modest until one counts the lives behind them. The United Nations noticed. In 2017, it named her a Global Peace Ambassador. She kept working quietly, unmoved by titles.
The Agbede Foundation is Ally’s next chapter. In partnership with local leaders, it runs skill-acquisition programs in Obudu, Bekwarra, and Obanliku. Participants learn entrepreneurship, digital literacy, and technical trades. A mentorship scheme threads through it all, pairing young people with professionals who teach diligence and creative resilience.
The foundation’s first major project, the Prince Bassey Otu Professional Drivers Empowerment Scheme, began on November 1. Over five years, it will train 500 drivers in safety and finance, opening doors to new livelihoods. At the launch, dignitaries clapped, traditional rulers smiled, and over 300 small grants changed hands. It was philanthropy with rhythm, not rhetoric.
Meanwhile, Ally’s national portfolio widens. As Special Adviser on Aviation to Minister Festus Keyamo, she brings her managerial precision to airport standards and volunteer coordination. Service, to her, has no fixed sector; only a constant moral centre.
Ally keeps moving, but without noise. In her world, change travels not by announcement, but by quiet repetition: one good act after another.
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