Timor-Leste Honours Nigerian Peacebuilder Badejo

Timor-Leste has honoured a Nigerian peacebuilding expert and former United Nations official, Prof. Babafemi Adesina Badejo, with the Medal of the Order of Timor-Leste for his contributions to international peace and conflict resolution.

The award was conferred by the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta, at a ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of Timor-Leste to the United Nations in New York to mark the International Day of Peace.

Badejo, who is the lead consultant and chief executive officer of Yintab Strategy Consults LLC, received the honour under Decree of the President of the Republic No. 107/2026. The award specifically recognises his collaboration with a Timorese technical team in efforts to help Guinea-Bissau restore constitutional order between 2013 and 2014.

President Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace laureate, described Badejo as “a true friend of Timor-Leste and a champion of peace”, saying his efforts had contributed to laying the foundations for stability in some of the world’s most challenging regions.

Badejo served as Chief of Staff to Ramos-Horta, who was then the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, for Guinea-Bissau, from January 2013 to June 2014. During the period, they worked to rebuild relations between the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and supported efforts that culminated in the restoration of constitutional order through elections in Guinea-Bissau in 2014.

Accepting the award, Badejo said the choice of the International Day of Peace for the ceremony was particularly significant because of the circumstances that brought him and Ramos-Horta together.

“Your Excellency has chosen the International Day of Peace to honour me, and I find that fitting, because our friendship was forged in the rather less peaceful business of making peace,” he said. The Nigerian peacebuilder thanked the Government and people of Timor-Leste for the recognition and acknowledged the contributions of Nigerian and other African officials to the Guinea-Bissau peace process.

He dedicated the award to individuals and organisations involved in peacebuilding efforts away from the public spotlight.

“I dedicate this award to every quiet peace support operation official, every mediator, every civil society worker, every ordinary citizen who does the unglamorous work of holding a country together while nobody is watching or applauding,” Badejo said.