The Director of Alliance Française, Ibadan, Mrs. Olaide Turner-Moyet, has said that Nigeria’s prosperity and leadership role in West Africa depend significantly on its ability to engage culturally and linguistically with its Francophone neighbours.
Turner-Moyet made this known in a recent interview where she highlighted the pivotal role of language, culture, and the arts in driving national growth and regional cooperation.
“Nigeria is surrounded by French-speaking nations, Benin, Togo, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, and Mali. To lead effectively in the region, we must speak the language of our neighbours. Mastery of French is not just cultural, it is strategic. It’s vital for diplomacy, medicine, trade, tourism, and peace-building,” she said.
Turner-Moyet, a multidisciplinary artist, educationist, entrepreneur and Pan-Africanist, assumed the leadership of Alliance Française Ibadan with a vision to make French learning accessible, joyful and transformative. Her approach blends language acquisition with cultural immersion, using art, music, and community engagement as key tools.
Under her leadership, Alliance Française Ibadan is becoming more than a language centre. It’s evolving into a vibrant hub for creative exchange, hosting exhibitions, artist residencies, workshops and intercultural dialogues that foster regional solidarity across West Africa.
She explained, “We want Nigerians to learn French the French way, through interaction, games, storytelling, and real cultural experiences. At the same time, we’re creating a platform to showcase Nigerian artists abroad and welcome creatives from across Africa.”
Turner-Moyet noted that the French Embassy in Nigeria plays a key role in supporting this work. “They are our foundation. Their support makes this entire framework possible,” she said.
Turner-Moyet’s journey into cultural leadership has been anything but linear. With over 25 years of experience, she has worked as an artist, educator, interpreter, business owner, and social worker, combining her many passions into a cohesive life mission.
She holds a B.A. in Classics from the University of Ibadan, a Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française (DALF) from the Republic of Benin, and a UAL Extended Diploma in Art and Design from Leeds City College, UK. She also holds various certifications in social work, autism support, food safety, and digital marketing.
Her early career spanned teaching roles in English, Literature, Government, Social Studies, Christian Religious Studies and French, including an innovative stint teaching sports in English to Francophone students in Benin.
“I’ve never stuck with just one thing. Everything I’ve done connects back to creativity, education, and social impact,” she said.
Before joining Alliance Française, Turner-Moyet also ran a textile and craft business promoting Adiré, Batik, and Aso-Oke fabrics. “It was more than business—it was cultural storytelling through textiles,” she recalled. “I was exporting African identity, showing people the richness of our heritage through what we wear.”
Even now, her artistic work continues through initiatives like EWA (Ethnic Wearable Art), LoniRé Organic Foods, and IJIMO Creatives, all of which merge art, culture, and sustainability.
In 2018, she founded Young Artists Art Hub and Art Theraparty, platforms that use creative expression for therapy, education, and youth development. These programmes, she said, are vital for building emotional resilience and a sense of identity in young people.
As facilitator of the PneumArt Workshop within the GCRF-funded Pneuma-City Project, a collaboration with the Universities of Lagos, Toronto, and Kent—Turner-Moyet also champions the role of art in mental wellness, environmental awareness, and social inclusion.
“Art helps us ask: Who are we? Who do we want to be? If we’re not happy with the answers, art gives us the power to reimagine and rewrite our story. Nigeria belongs to all of us, ‘everybody and nobody’. Change begins with each of us choosing to live with integrity and purpose,” she said.
Reflecting on her journey, Turner-Moyet emphasised that leadership, especially for women, must be rooted in empathy, courage, and vision.
“I don’t lead because I’m a woman; I lead because I’m human, driven by love and purpose. But as a woman, my nurturing instinct shapes how I build and protect spaces of growth,” she said.
To women in leadership or aspiring to it, she offered this: “You are life-givers — not just physically, but ideologically. Nurture dreams. Birth ideas. Protect what matters in society.”
For young women, her message was clear: “The journey won’t be easy. But every challenge is preparing you to lead with wisdom and compassion. Embrace your story, and when your time comes, lead boldly.”
Turner-Moyet’s work underscores the belief that language, culture, and creativity are not luxuries, but essential tools for national and regional development.
“At Alliance Française Ibadan, we’re not just teaching French. We’re building bridges , between people, cultures, and possibilities. The future of Nigeria depends on our ability to connect, collaborate, and create. And French is a key to unlocking that future.”
