Magnus Lekara Kpakol is a Nigerian American educator who is the CEO, Chairman and Chief Strategist at the Economic and Business Strategies. He is the principal leadership, management and business coach/trainer at the Economic and Business Strategies Ltd. He was the principal consultant at VIJONS International in Dallas Texas and a visiting professor of economics at the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a Private university, private Catholic church, Catholic university in Irving, Texas. Established in 1956, it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university comprises four academi ...

, where he taught economic development and international economics before being appointed in 2001 as

Chief economic adviser Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

to the president of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Early life and education

Magnus Lekara Kpakol was born in B. Dere, Gokana in Rivers State of Nigeria. He attended Saint Pius X College, Bodo City, and

Baptist High School Baptist High School, often abbreviated as BHS, is a prominent Single-sex education, all-boys secondary school in Nigeria. The school is located in the Borokiri neighbourhood of Port Harcourt, Rivers State and was founded in the late 1940s. BHS w ...

, Port Harcourt before leaving for the United States as a teenager in the mid 1970s. He obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, (1978); did graduate studies in Economics and Industrial Relations at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, Minneapolis and in 1982, obtained a Master of Science Degree in Labor Economics and Industrial Relations at the University of North Texas in Denton. In 1983 he received an M.A. in

Political Economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

at Dallas from where in 1988 he also obtained a Ph.D in Political Economy, specializing in economic development and international economics.

Career

Kpakol was Chief Economic Adviser to the President of

from July 2001 to May 2003. While serving as Chief Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, he was also the Chief Executive Officer of the National Planning Commission, and a member of cabinet in the Federal Executive Council, working with the Minister of Finance, and Governor of the

Central Bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

on fiscal and monetary policies. Beginning in June 2003, he served for eight years as a Senior Special Assistant to the President and was also the National Coordinator of the National Poverty Eradication Program (NAPEP). His administration at National Poverty Eradication Program developed a unique Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program (COPE) with a Poverty Reduction Accelerator Investment (PRAI) component. He also adopted the Village Economic Development Solutions (Village Solutions); and initiated the Promise Keeper Partnership (PKP) program for poor people in faith based organizations. In respect of some of these programs he implemented at NAPEP, stories were published in the media about his being indicted by the Nigerian Senate, with claims of misappropriation of funds and scam, and also of his and the Senate's refutation of such stories. Kpakol lives in Dallas, Texas, where he is the Chairman, CEO and Chief Strategist at the Economic and Business Strategies (EBS); he is also the host of Magnus Kpakol gvA, a global economic trends show on Africa carried around the world on Africa Independent Television. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Economic Growth and Development Center (EGDC), the initiators of SHAFRI and Village Solutions; Chairman of VIJONS, an International Business and Management Consulting firm based in Dallas, Texas. Before working with the government of Nigeria as an advisor, he was a senior economist in the Planning & Research department of JCPenney Company based in Plano Texas. He was also a visiting professor of economics at the

and previous to that an adjunct professor of economics at the same university; he also taught in the Graduate School of Business at the University of Dallas. He was also an adjunct professor at the University of North Texas in Denton, and North Lake College in Irving, Texas. He was the Director and Principal Consultant at VIJONS, based in Dallas Texas. He served as a consultant for the United Nations Development Program (

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

), He has spoken at conferences around the world and appeared on various articles, radio and TV programs Redoubling Efforts to BoostExports
He founded MAGONI Productions, the creators of Magoni music with roots in Ogoni rhythm. Kpakol was a member of the Board of Trustees of

John Brown University John Brown University (JBU) is a Private university, private, interdenominational, Christianity, Christian university in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Founded in 1919, JBU enrolls 2,343 students from 33 states and 45 countries in its traditional und ...

in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. He is a member of the Dallas Economists’ Club, where he was chairman of the Education Committee. He is also a member of the American Economic Association, the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) and its International Roundtable.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kpakol, Magnus L. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Educators from Rivers State University of Texas alumni University of Dallas faculty University of Minnesota alumni University of North Texas alumni People from Gokana Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States