Leadership
Folahan Johnson
Founder & Executive Director
Founder & Executive Director
Folahan Johnson is the Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Inclusive Social Development (CISD), a policy research and advocacy organisation working to strengthen governance systems, promote fiscal transparency, and advance citizen participation in Nigeria's development processes.
A governance innovation consultant with over a decade of experience bridging public institutions and citizen realities, Folahan brings deep expertise in public financial management, subnational governance, and development finance. He currently serves as Technical Assistant on the World Bank's $750 million SABER program, supporting business-enabling reforms across nine Nigerian states.
Beyond CISD, Folahan leads Greenswitch Innovations Consult Ltd—an integrated ecosystem comprising Switch Advisory (governance consulting), GX Media House (creative communications), and Switch Technologies (GovTech solutions). This model deliberately channels commercial revenue to sustain CISD's social impact work, funding approximately 60% of the Centre's operations.
His writing on governance, fiscal policy, and systemic reform has appeared in Premium Times, The Cable, and other platforms, distinguished by its combination of technical rigour and lived experience. He has trained at the London School of Economics, Harvard Business School, and ETH Zürich.
Folahan's approach to development is shaped by a conviction that lasting change requires systems designed for how people actually live—not theoretical frameworks imposed from above. He believes governance reform is ultimately about dignity: creating institutions that see citizens as partners rather than subjects.