About Ishaya
Forming leaders, homes and nations that can be trusted
A development scholar who has also stood in the field.
My story
Where leadership is tested most
I have spent my life in the places where leadership is tested most: in displaced communities rebuilding after violent attacks, on sports fields with young people searching for purpose, in churches across northern Nigeria, in counselling rooms with couples and pastors carrying heavy loads, and in classrooms with graduate students asking why Africa, with all it has, still struggles.
Everywhere I went, I found the same thing. Our problem is rarely a lack of talent or training. It is a gap in character. Capable people make poor decisions when no one has formed them to make good ones. That conviction became my life’s work and the heart of my next book, The Character Gap.
Today I help leaders, institutions, couples and young people close that gap. I speak, teach, consult, counsel and coach, using frameworks tested in real Nigerian communities, not borrowed from someone else’s context. Whether I am addressing a national conference or sitting with one hurting family, my aim is the same: to see people formed for good, and nations built by people who can be trusted.
At a glance
- PhD candidate, Global Development
- Lecturer, Economics of Development
- Certified relationship and life coach
- Certified DPTC (UNODC)
- Celebrate Recovery leadership certification
- Trained in theology, psychology and biblical counselling
- Author of three books
By the numbers
Two decades of formation
Milestones
The journey so far
2013
Began sports ministry, partnering with churches to use sport to reach and form young people.
From 2015
Sports ministry partnership grows to 23 denominations across northern Nigeria.
2019
Became Executive Director of PSJ, the International Organization for Peace Building and Social Justice.
2019
The Voice of the Voiceless forum brings displaced people from 22 communities in 10 states together (PSJ and CONAECDA).
2020
Founded Emerging Leaders Community Initiatives to raise a new generation of character-driven leaders.
2021
Began PhD in Global Development at William Carey International University.
2021 and 2023
Launched and piloted S3RP, a community-designed recovery model for displaced communities.
2022
Appointed West Africa Leader of Sports Friends International, leading expansion across West Africa.
Qualifications
Education and certification
- PhD in Global Development (in progress, expected 2027), William Carey International University, USA
- M.A. in Organizational Leadership (2021), California Baptist University, USA
- M.A. in Theological Studies (2014), Jos ECWA Theological Seminary, Nigeria
- B.A. in Pastoral Studies (2010), Jos ECWA Theological Seminary, Nigeria
- Drug Use, Prevention, Treatment and Care (DPTC) (2020), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
- Celebrate Recovery leadership certification, Celebrate Recovery Training of Trainers (Rick Warren and John Baker team)
- Certified relationship and life coach, trained in theology, psychology and biblical counselling
Organisations served
Partners in the work
Logos will be shown here once each organisation has given permission.
Sports Friends International (SIM)
West Africa Leader
William Carey International University
Doctoral student and lecturer
International Organization for Peace Building and Social Justice (PSJ)
Executive Director
CONAECDA
Partner on Voice of the Voiceless and S3RP
Emerging Leaders Community Initiatives
Founder
Betso Charity Foundation
Host, Pathway to Peace (2026)
For organisers and media
Bios you can use
Ishaya Inuwa Durkwa is a development scholar, author, certified relationship and life coach, and speaker, a native of Adamawa State, Nigeria. A PhD candidate in Global Development, he is the Executive Director of the International Organization for Peace Building and Social Justice and founder of the Emerging Leaders Community Initiatives. He helps leaders, families, and nations close the character gap.
Ishaya Inuwa Durkwa is an African development practitioner, author, counsellor, and civic leader whose work joins nation-building, leadership formation, peacebuilding, and family life. He is a PhD candidate in Global Development at William Carey International University, where he also teaches Economics of Development.
As Executive Director of the International Organization for Peace Building and Social Justice (PSJ), he, in partnership with CONAECDA, championed the S3RP project, a community-designed model for securing, rebuilding, and restoring rural communities displaced by violence. For about two decades he has partnered with 23 denominations across northern Nigeria to train young people to use sport to transform communities, and he now leads Sports Friends International’s expansion across West Africa. He is the founder of Emerging Leaders Community Initiatives.
A certified relationship and life coach trained in theology, psychology and biblical counselling, he counsels couples, young people and pastors. He is the author of Love Nigeria, Transformative Leadership and The Good Samaritan.
Bring this message to your people
Invite Ishaya to speak, or download the press kit for bios, photos and the speaker one sheet.