The Angelic TroubTariq Lawal biography : The Angelic Troublemaker:
Introduction: The Voice of a Younger Generation
The new wave of young leaders emerging from the midst of the chaotic, fast-paced city of Lagos, Nigeria is a unique form of leadership that unites the poetic with the practical, and connects the global with the local. This new wave of leadership is embodied by Tariq Lawal, a “multifaceted creative,” “artivist,” and “social entrepreneur,” who has ushered in an era of change for young activists.
As early as age 19, Tariq Lawal was internationally recognized as one of the most successful and honored teenagers on the African continent. While this list of awards is quite long, Tariq’s achievements represent much more than a collection of awards; rather, it is evidence of how combining creative expression with hard technology can provide solutions to both the “triple planetary crisis,” and long-standing societal inequalities.
Lawal calls himself an “angelic troublemaker”, a term inspired by Bayard Rustin who was a legendary civil rights activist. The title of “angelic troublemaker” represents his entire philosophy which states that it’s necessary to create disruption (“the trouble”) but that this disruption must be done for a good (or “angelic”) reason. As a young man, Tariq Lawal has been making waves and challenging the status quo all over the world – from the flooded streets of Lagos Island to the refined corridors of the United Nations and from the intellectually charged corridors of Stanford University, he has made it clear that he will not only speak for the youth but he will advocate for them.
A Tale of Two Lagoses
To get an idea of what Tariq Lawal believes, you have to start with understanding the geography of his early life. Born about 2006, Lawal was raised in both worlds of Lagos State; the old, crowded and chaotic Lagos Island, and the new, developing area of Lekki. The dual world in which Lawal grew up would be his first lesson in social inequality.
Lagos Island, the heart of the city, is rich in history but also in poverty. It is a neighborhood where lower and middle class families face serious hardships including; poorly maintained infrastructure, overcrowding, and the visible affects of climate change (rising tides and flooding) on their daily lives. On the other hand, Lekki is a symbol of “new money” in Nigeria and includes high end estates, paved roads and generally offers its residents a level of separation from the everyday struggles of living on the mainland.
Lawal talks about how every day, he sees the stark contrast of what he calls “the hustle” of ambitious Nigerians trying to achieve some level of stability on the Island, versus the generations of wealth and ease of living in the Peninsula. Like many of his peers who may have never seen beyond their own zone of existence, Lawal was able to see both worlds as a result of his travel between them. Lawal was therefore never fully desensitized to the realities of poverty nor comfortable in the privileges of wealth. He spent his childhood watching family members build nonprofits and tech companies. Therefore, it wasn’t uncommon for Lawal to see evidence of “extraordinary” achievement at work.
Unlike so many other Nigerian children who had no tangible examples of social entrepreneurship, Lawal had a number of examples of people building systems to improve lives. The exposure helped raise the ceiling of his aspirations. It instilled in him a belief that the disparity he experienced, while real, was not an inevitability; rather, it was a design flaw in society that can be corrected.
Lawal’s educational experience also took an unconventional turn that influenced his independent thought. When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, Lawal decided to homeschool himself. He realized that the traditional school system was not preparing him for the rapidly changing world of technology and globalization. This choice to take the road less traveled gave Lawal the ability to customize his learning to focus on the digital skills, global citizenship, and the complex socio-political issues that would later drive his professional development.
The Pen and The Planet
Lawal’s activism started with a pen long before he used a megaphone. By the time most of his peers were figuring out how to navigate the first few years of adolescence, Lawal was already writing poetry and short stories to help understand the world around him. He knew early on that writing was a powerful medium to advocate for social justice and humanize statistics and global crises to create a sense of connection to others.
His first artistic endeavors were centered around the very things he cared most deeply about: pollution of the earth and silencing of the voice of young people. He said that his approach to creating art is a type of “liberation from earthly burdens,” and that he sees utopian futures where art replaces addiction and hopelessness. Works such as “Euphoria Over Dysphoria,” illustrate how much potential there is in the power of art to transform people, and that by merely noticing the beauty of your own surroundings is itself an act of radical preservation.
As the climate crisis worsened (and with it came unpredictable weather and severe flooding in Lagos) Lawal shifted his advocacy work from the written word to the street. In March of 2023 he walked through the streets of Lagos Island to stage a public protest to bring awareness to social and environmental issues in Lagos. This was a turning point. For the first time, he wasn’t simply observing, or commenting upon, the situation; he was agitating. The purpose of his protest wasn’t to make noise; it was a carefully constructed act of “angelic troublemaking” intended to get his community to recognize the reality of the environmental changes they are experiencing.
For Lawal, transitioning from artist to activist was a smooth transition. He views both roles as complementary. His “postmodern art,” which highlights the effects of climate change on Lagos, has gotten the attention of Global Citizen, who selected him as one of their emerging creatives in 2024. This program is designed to focus on creatives in the global south who promote free civic space, and Global Citizen recognized Lawals ability to use graphic design and storytelling to speak out against corruption and gender inequality in a civic space that is often restrictive.
The Challenge of Innovation During A Time of Crisis
Lawal realized that while Art was emotionally resonant for his movement, that in order for systemic changes to occur, he needed systemic solutions. He was critical of the way that youth movements have been limited to “raising awareness” about issues without providing concrete ways to address those issues. He wanted to transition from discussing what was wrong with the world to creating the tools to correct those problems.
This desire for innovation during a time of crisis has lead to the development of the Lagos Island Literacy Project (LILP). Lawal has always believed that the struggle for our planet is inextricably tied to the struggle for education. For Lawal, “literacy for all” means “for everyone, everywhere; literacy is…a basic human right.” However, Lawal defines literacy much differently than others. Literacy for Lawal includes not only reading and writing but also includes civic, digital, environmental, and cultural literacies.
With working with under-served children and youth in his community, the goal of the LILP is to develop “global citizens.” Lawal believes that for young people to protect their environment, they need to understand it and where they fit into it. As such, Lawal developed a curriculum for the LILP that included the traditional educational elements, as well as lessons on climate resilience and civic responsibility. The success of the LILP can be measured by the fact that Lawal has successfully raised over one million naira to fund the project which allows him to provide an opportunity for the children who are in the most vulnerable position due to the climate crisis – the children from the low income families of Lagos Island.
The technological innovation of Lawal’s career came when he developed the “Let’s Conserve” app (which was originally conceptualized as iConserve). When developing the Let’s Conserve app, Lawal stated that this was “Silicon Valley style thinking.” What he meant by this was that he was looking to create a game based application for conservation. The Let’s Conserve app is intended to empower individuals to monitor their own environmental impacts and participate in conservation activities using their smart phones.
Lawal’s project came about because he believed the lack of urgency he observed among his peers was a result of the overwhelming nature of the issue. “Let’s Conserve” helped to break the issue into smaller, easily achievable tasks that would lead to greater positive results. As a result of this innovative approach, Lawal won the #BeWildForNature Competition hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Lawal is the first person from Lagos Island to have been chosen to participate in a UN-hosted competition, which proved to him that solutions to major problems facing humanity can be created anywhere in the world.
Tariq Lawal did not win the award simply for having an idea. Rather, the award represented a larger body of work that he produced that resulted in numerous awards and recognition. Lawal was also a finalist for the $12,500 African Earth Prize, and he received an honorable mention from the National Geographic Slingshot Challenge in addition to being ranked in the top 50 of over 2,700 submissions from 96 different countries. These awards did not represent mere trophies or validation for Tariq Lawal. Rather, they represented a tangible example of how ideas generated by teenagers in Lagos can be as relevant as those produced by teenagers from other parts of the world.
An International Voice
By 2024-25, Tariq Lawal became a regular voice heard internationally. In fact, by this time, his resume resembled more that of a career diplomat than a teenager. In addition to his many accomplishments, he was appointed a UNICEF Nigeria Young Influencer, allowing him to speak nationally for the rights of children. As a UNICEF Nigeria Young Influencer, he advocated for the implementation of the Child Rights Act, and has used his platform to give a voice to marginalized children.
His international stature gained significant momentum through his receiving The Diana Award. The Diana Award was established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. It is the highest honor that a young person can receive for their contributions to the area of social action/humanitarianism. Receiving the Diana Award signified that Lawal’s contributions were no longer confined to local activism, he was now part of a larger group of global changemakers.
He also provided counsel to both the World Ocean Day Youth Advisory Council and the TikTok Youth Council regarding digital safety and engagement. In reference to him, World Ocean Day stated “he is the most accomplished and globally awarded teenager in Nigeria.” His credentials included the Louis Anderson and Vincent Martinez World Citizen Award, the American Anthropological Association’s Junior Anthropologist Award, and recognition from the Yale Entrepreneurial Society.
Although the shine of these awards is impressive, Lawal’s commitment to the specific context of Nigeria remains intact. Speaking at the Nigerian Out-of-School Children Summit in late 2023, he was the youngest speaker in the room. Using the platform, he delivered a scathing review of educational inequity. He reminded the policy makers in attendance that approximately one in every five children around the world who are not attending school reside in Nigeria. He did not speak as a remote observer; he represented the generations that are being left behind.
Philosophy of a Changemaker
The philosophy underlying Tariq Lawal’s actions reflects a sophisticated framework. A central tenet of this philosophy is the concept of the “Angelical Troublemaker”. Lawal internalized Bayard Rustin’s belief that, in an unjust society, there exists a moral obligation to disrupt the existing social order. However, this disruption cannot be “troubled” in a violent manner. Rather it must be “angelic”, meaning it must be conducted in a non-violent manner, with a focus on building up rather than tearing down, and with a foundation based upon the love of community.
For Lawal, it also meant identifying the mechanisms that were responsible for causing poverty and environmental devastation and developing an alternative mechanism to replace these harmful systems.
He was very critical of the theatrical elements of many forms of contemporary activism. He believed that “raising awareness” is a comfortable substitute for those who are unwilling to put in the time and effort necessary for implementing solutions. Regarding his efforts to develop apps for the climate movement, he stated, “It’s the kind of bold, Silicon Valley-type thinking the climate movement needs more of – taking big risks on large-scale ideas rather than trying to reach consensus.”
Lawal was also very troubled by what he called the “tokenism” of youth. He regularly highlighted in his writing and speaking that young people were often invited to participate at conferences and meetings to create a positive image of participation by youth; however, they were rarely granted the authority to help shape policy. He insisted that if he were going to attend the table (as he did when he served on the Youth Board for The Earth Prize and when he advised UNICEF), he wanted their input and perspectives to be considered as expert testimony and not just as emotional appeals.
As well as being intellectually curious about issues related to the environment, Lawal developed a great interest in anthropology. Lawal received the Junior Anthropologist Award and studied human culture from an anthropological perspective. He believed that climate change is both scientifically created and culturally created — a result of the way in which humans value (or devalue) the natural world. He encouraged other student anthropologists to “apply anthropology to examine and respond to urgent global problems” and to use anthropology as an instrument of advocacy rather than simply as an observer.
The Road Ahead
By the start of 2026, Tariq Lawal’s path is still moving upward. The breadth of his intellect is taking him to Stanford University, where he writes for The Stanford Daily. His articles (as varied as his thoughts on what it means to be Nigerian, or as pointed as his criticisms of campus culture) show an individual always observing their surroundings. Even among the Stanford elite, Lawal continues to see himself as an outsider. Thus he writes articles titled “No Stanford for me, I am Nigerian,” which capture the paradox of global mobility and rootedness in a place.
In Nigeria, his reach continues to grow. The iCOVE organization has launched the Tariq Lawal Innovation Challenge — a competition to create innovations, specifically for teenagers, named after Lawal. This represents a major shift. From being one of many competitors, Lawal is now an example, a model for a whole new crop of young entrepreneurs.
Lawal continues to function as a UNICEF Young Influencer to use his voice to promote the domestication of child rights laws into law in each state in Nigeria. For Lawal, the future is about creating the COVE — a potential physical hub for innovation, referred to as Africa’s Silicon Valley — to provide a structural basis for the type of youth-lead innovation that Lawal began.
Tariq Lawal’s biography will continue to unfold. He is situated at the crossroads of multiple futures: a technology entrepreneur, a global diplomat, a writer, and a revolutionist. In a world that is too often paralyzed by the complexities of its problems, Lawal provides a refreshing simplicity of purpose. He shows us that while the problem is global, the solution is often found in a street in Lagos under water, through a poem, a protest, and a refusal to accept the status quo. He is the Angelic Troublemaker that his generation has been waiting for.
Sources & References
As of February 2026, this Bio has been created using publicly accessible data on Tariq Lawal’s accomplishments, and publications.
Sources used to compile this bio include:
* Profiles from UNICEF Nigeria for his position as a Young Influencer, and work in the Lagos Island Literacy Project.
* Profiles from Justice with Children and Global Citizen for his advocacy and status as an Emerging Creative.
* Archives of The Stanford Daily for his writing, and attendance at Stanford University.
* Announcements from the Diana Award and UNODC about his wins in the competitions he participated in, and his global recognition.
* Profiles from Heal the Planet and LearningPlanet for details on his status as a Young Planet Leader and his philosophy that is an “Angelic Troublemaker”.
* National Geographic for his Slingshot Challenge selection.
