Bello Hakeem Adediran was born on the 15th Day of December 1972 at the Lagos Island Maternity, Lagos State to Mr Ganiu Adedeji Bello of blessed memory and Mrs Safuriat Adeshiyan Bello of the Balogun/Animashaun family of Lagos Island.
Hakeem started his educational pursuit at Aunty Ayo’s Preparatory School, Biaduo Street, S/W of Ikoyi, Lagos between 1975 and 1981. He then proceeded to Morocco Comprehensive High School (Igbobi College III), Yaba Lagos from 1981 to 1986 and then Igbobi College Yaba Lagos for Higher Secondary School Education (HSC) between 1986 and 1988.
In 1988, Hakeem gained admission to the great University of Ilorin to study Biochemistry and graduated with a second class Honours degree in 1992. Between May 1993 and April 1994 Hakeem had his National Service at Muslim High School, Ago-Iwoye in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State where he taught Mathematics and Chemistry to Senior Secondary School students and was able to mentor two students, now a medical doctor and a chemical engineer.
;In his quest for academics, Hakeem gained admission into the prestigious University of Lagos for a 2 years M.Sc degree Programme in Chemical Engineering in 1995 and graduated in 1998 with a CGPA of 4.28, He also completed another M.Sc Degree Programme in Environmental Chemistry in 2005 at the University of Lagos with a CGPA of 4.41.
Hakeem started his career with the Lagos State Government on the 1st of March 2000 and served in various capacities between 2000 and 2012. Between 2000 and 2002, he was responsible for the management of water and sanitation facilities at the Lagos House Marina, the official residence of His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other VIP guest chalets in the State.
This assignment prepared him immensely to multi-task without supervision early in his career as he reported directly to the Permanent Secretary, Office of Chief of Staff and was responsible for making potable water available to the first family and guests of the State. Between 2002 and 2005, he served in the newly created Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Mineral Resources Development in the Governor’s Office; the Office has today evolved into the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
As one of the pioneer member of staff, he actively participated in the development of required frameworks such as policy, regulatory and legal, required for the smooth commencement of a novel organization. Hakeem also participated actively in building consensus amongst stakeholders in the hitherto un-organized mineral resources sector in the State. This was in addition to developing guidelines for operators and interfacing with national institutions such as the Federal Mines Office, Department of Petroleum Resources and the Federal Ministry of Environment.
Finally, in the Office of the Special Adviser on Mineral Resources Development, he acquired wide experience in Environmental Impact Assessment process and Review and Environmental Audit Reporting. In November 2005, at a time the then Ministry of Rural Development was being repositioned for optimum performance, Hakeem was deployed to the Ministry where he served till 2012 when he was seconded to the Federal Ministry of Environment after he was appointed sequel to a rigorous procurement process to serve on a FGN-UNDP Project as National Coordinator and Head of the Project Management Team.
In the Ministry of Rural Development, he was exposed to Development Partnership Programmes in Water and Sanitation and parts of his responsibilities included amongst others, Water and Sanitation Project Design and management, Budget Preparation/Defence at bilateral meetings, Community/Stakeholders engagement process e.t.c. As the Head of the Project Management Team (PMT) in the FGN-UNDP collaborative project to mainstream sound chemical management into the development plan of Nigeria, Hakeem deployed his project management skills to finalize on the project in 9 months.
It is worthy of note to mention that the project timeline was 24 months, but Nigeria lagged behind due to prolonged procurement process and had only 9 months before financial closure by the funders, the Swedish Government. On the FGN-UNDP project, Hakeem was responsible for the supervision and timely completion of project activities.
Organized Workshops and training sessions as deemed appropriate, acted as Secretariat during the lifetime of project, developed the scope of work and other procurement
documentation required to facilitate the recruitment of experts and consultants, monitored expenditures and ensured adequate management of the resources provided for the project, provided oversight to administrative and financial management of the project to meet a satisfactory outcome of project annual audits, liaised closely with UNDP designated programme Officer and team leader of the Energy and Environment unit to assess and manage project risks and to plan and report project activities and progress.
In January 2014, Hakeem was re-absorbed back into the service of the Lagos State Government after completion of his national assignment as National Coordinator and was desk Officer for Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for Lagos State. His responsibilities included initiating studies, developing policies and strategies and implementing projects/programmes to resolve identified gaps in the Water and Sanitation sector in Lagos State. As desk officer for Rural WASH, Hakeem put to task his experience in development partnership project/programmes for Save the Children Nigeria in the Stop Diarrhea Initiative (SDI) Project of Save the Children International in Somolu LGA of Lagos State.
His accomplishments on the SDI project are: Developed WASH manual and delivered training to 330 CORPs, 288 WASHCOMs, 10 State, 10 LGA Personnel and 2 NGOs based on the developed manual.Coordinated the Implementation of Urban-CLTS in 26 communities in Somolu LGA. Delivered training to 288 WASHCOMs based on the National Hygiene Improvement Framework Coordinated and served as lead trainer in the training of CLTS facilitators in Somolu LGA in which 14 CLTS facilitators were trained and presently triggering communities in Lagos State. Further in his career, Hakeem was commissioned by UNICEF in June 2017 to support Kwara State RUWASA during the outbreak of Cholera that occurred in the State in June 2017.
Proper Community entry and its importance to effective hygiene promotion. Community Sensitization on: Excreta disposal, Hand washing at critical times, Safe water chain, appropriate use and maintenance of sanitation facilities and control of flies and other insect vectors. Reported cases of cholera incidences decreased with intervention In October 2019, Hakeem was re-deployed to Lagos Water Corporation where he served as Regional Water Quality Assurance Manager (RQAM) for Lagos North and Lagos North-West regions.
His responsibilities as RQAM for Lagos North and Lagos North-West which comprise of 10 Mini-Water Works, each of 2MGD capacity is to regulate the quality of water that is produced in the water works by promoting and enforcing standards in relation to water treatment at the water works and sound production and laboratory practices, and also include the Coordination/supervision/monitoring of Quality Assurance Officers/Chemists (10 in number).He was further re-deployed in October 2021 to the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board where he served as Head of the Scientific/Research, Training and Development Department of the Agency, In his short stint at the TMB, he developed the code of conduct document for the practice of Traditional Medicine Practise in Lagos State and also developed the course content for the teaching of medical ethics and delivered training on medical ethics to practitioners. This position he held until his deployment on the 27th March 2023 as Coordinator and head of the Agency, Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board.
He has attended several training programmes both local and international, these are articulated below:Planning and Designs of Sanitation Systems and Technology, an online course organized by SANDEC/EAWAG, 2017Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries, an online course organized by SANDEC/EAWAG, 2017Delivering Effective WASH Trainings (DEWT), a training programme organized by Federal Ministry of Water Resources in collaboration with UNICEF, Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta and CAWST. 21st -25th February, 2017Validated in May 2017 as a Lead Trainer (Master) in WASH under the National DEWT Programme.
Workshop on Developing Leadership Competencies for Enhanced Service Delivery in Lagos State, BAYWATCH Groups, March 9th -15th 2017Short Course on Constructing Safe and Sustainable Groundwater Wells, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, 18th -22nd July, 2016.Workshop on Work Ethics and Productivity Improvement for Public Servants, Lagos State Ministry of Establishment, Training and Pensions, October 25, 2016.Workshop on Delegation, Work Evaluation and Appraisal for Effective Performance for Senior Officers in the Lagos State Public Service, TABAY CONSULT, 17th -19th December, 2011.Workshop on General Management, Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre, 30th April- 4th May, 2007.Member of the 6-man delegation of Lagos State that attended the World Petroleum Congress that held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2005. Workshop on Project Management, Lagos State Public Service Staff Development Centre, 8th - 12th July, 2002.Hakeem enjoys reading, travelling and playing Chess.
He is married with Children,
