Nigeria’s former Ministerv of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, has been inaugurated President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a second term, thus bringing to a refreshing end the storm that almost marred his reelection. He was first elected president of the Bank in 2015 and was reelected in September 2020 for another term of five years. He was returned by an overwhelming majority of the Bank’s Board of Governors and other stakeholders. We applaud the feat which undoubtedly came as a result of his sterling performance in his first term and support from the Federal Government and other African nations.
We commend President Muhammadu Buhari, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, groups and individuals that worked for Adesina’s reelection. This is the first time a Nigerian is attaining and consolidating such a position in the bank and it calls for celebration.
Adesina’s exoneration from corruption allegations against him by whistle-blowers and his consequent reelection underscored his sincerity and integrity. We charge other public servants in the country and beyond to live up to the demands of their offices. We urge him not to rest on his oars but to keep to his agenda of repositioning the bank. He should strive hard to meet the targets he set for himself.
It is remarkable that Adesina began his second term with a recap on the organisation’s achievements under his watch and an outline of his agenda for the next five years. The bank under his leadership attracted $78.8 billion worth of investments to Africa in two years. Under the High 5s Programme, which was launched by the Bank when Adesina was first elected in 2015, the AfDB has positioned itself as a catalyst in the development of the continent.
The achievements of the High 5s include providing 18 million people with access to electricity, 141 million people connected to improved agricultural technologies for food security; 15 million people exposed to finances from private investments; 101 million people given access to improved transport from infrastructure; 60 million people provided with water and sanitation facilities. The programme also impacted 335 million people. The bank’s climate financing equally expanded from nine per cent in 2015 to 36 per cent by 2019 – an increase of 400 per cent. Extending the bank’s activities to the women and in almost all the member countries, particularly the fragile states marked a high point of Adesina’s presidency.
He pledged to focus on building a stronger institution, strengthening human capacity, enhancing the bank’s effectiveness as well as maintaining financial sustainability before the end of his second term. Adesina also promised giving special attention to regional industrial value chains and the strengthening of financial markets in order to expand intra-regional trade and competitiveness and boost the Africa Continental Free Trade Area. Interestingly, the youths are also factored into his agenda.
We urge him to accomplish these noble goals and put the bank in a better shape. His reelection is a demonstration of the trust members of the bank have on him. He should deepen the ideals of the bank.
Adesina was born on February 6, 1960. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Economics with First Class Honors from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1981, where he was the first student to achieve the feat. He later went to Purdue University in Indiana, USA, where he obtained his PhD (Agricultural Economics) in 1988.
Adesina served as a Senior Economist at West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Cote d’Ivoire. He worked at the Rockefeller Foundation as a senior scientist in 1988. From 1999 to 2003 he was the representative of the Foundation for the Southern African area.
Until his appointment as Minister in 2010, he was Vice President of Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). He was named Forbes African Man of the Year for his reform of Nigerian agriculture. As a minister, Adesina introduced more transparency in the fertiliser supply chain. We congratulate and wish him a successful tour of duty.