Babatunde Oginni is a community development worker and migrant advocate at heart. His experience spans community integration, asylum seeker wellbeing, frontline support, and the non-profit sector. Building on a background in Computer Science from the University of Ibadan (Nigeria’s premier university) and several years of experience in Human Resources, Babatunde has worked in programme co-design, peer support facilitation, advocacy training, and trauma-informed engagement, with a strong focus on engaging overlooked demographics, particularly men navigating the asylum and integration process and creating spaces that restore dignity, purpose, and agency. His work is grounded in a belief that meaningful social change happens when people are empowered, connected, and supported to shape the systems affecting their lives.
Passionate about social justice, holistic wellbeing, human rights, and active citizenship, Babatunde is particularly interested in the links between mental health, social isolation, and systemic inequality, and how these intersect to impact the ability of migrant men to fulfil their roles as fathers, husbands, and providers while confined to direct provision accommodation and other isolated spaces either physically or mentally.
As a participant in the 2026 SDG Advocates Programme, Babatunde looks forward to grounding his frontline experience in a structured framework that connects local challenges to global goals. He intends to apply the training’s emphasis on systems thinking and active citizenship directly to his “Men in Transition” project, equipping male asylum seekers and migrants not just to cope, but to lead. By learning alongside fellow advocates, Babatunde aims to transform Cultúr Migrant Centre’s grassroots insights into a scalable model for male-focused, trauma-informed support across Ireland, turning prolonged waiting into purposeful action.