A 1982 graduate of the University of Lagos, Mrs. Alaba Gbadebo holds a B.A. (Hons) degree in History. After her National Youth Service in 1983, she was a lecturer in the History Department of Kano State College of Arts and Remedial Studies where she served for 10 years, retiring voluntarily in 1995.
Mrs. Alaba Gbadebo has been in business for over 20 years, managing and serving on the boards of a number of private companies. She was also at various times, member, secretary and president of various chapters of the Nigerian Air Force Officers’ Wives Association, before becoming a National Vice President of the association.
A former chairperson of Ikoyi Baptist Church Prison Ministry, Mrs. Alaba Gbadebo, who has a passion for helping the less privileged, participates in workshops and conferences on social issues and since 1998, has been actively engaged in philanthropic work with the following agencies: Hospital, Prison and Welfare ministries – Ikoyi Baptist Church, Lagos; Motherless Babies’ Homes – Adekunle Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos; Modupe Cole Home for the Disabled, Akoka, Lagos; Cerebral Palsy Centre – Bode Thomas, Surulere, Lagos and Massey Street Children’s Hospital, Massey Street, Lagos.
In 2012, Mrs. Alaba Gbadebo and her husband, Femi Gbadebo, a retired Air Vice Marshal of the Nigerian Air Force and a National Award recipient of the prestigious title of Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR), founded Benola. The couple who are proud parents of Olaoluwa, a fully dependent 19 year old son living with Cerebral Palsy founded Benola as a Cerebral Palsy Initiative, a non-government organization that is on a mission to change the face of Cerebral Palsy in Africa in order to ensure that those living with the condition, enjoy the best quality of life possible under the unique circumstance in which they find themselves. She is Co-Founder/Executive Director at Benola. Apart from the above, she is Owner/CEO of Feroda Gifts and Supermarkets. She is also Executive Director of Geebard Concepts Limited.
Mrs. Alaba Gbadebo who loves reading, walking, travelling and watching medical documentaries, is happily married with three children, the last of whom is Olaoluwa.