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‘The magic behind every outstanding performance is always found in the smallest details.”
–Gary Ryan
Omoniyi Salaudeen
The first five-year tenure of office of Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Prof Akinwumi Adesina, as the president of African Development Bank (AfDB) will formally elapse on August 31. Going by the rules of procedure governing the running of the bank, another election into the office is expected to take place during the annual meeting of governors scheduled to hold in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from May 25 to 29, 2020.
Adesina replaced Donald Kaberuka, a former Rwandan finance minister, having emerged the 8th President of the bank against eight other contenders from member countries. The list of the candidates, who fought for the coveted seat, included Sufian Ahmed, a former minister of finance and economic development in Ethopia; Jaloul Ayed, Tunisia; Kordje Bedoumra, Chad; Cristina Duarte, Cape Verde; Samura M.W Kamara, Sierra Leone; Thomas Z. Sakala, Zimbabwe; and Birama Boubacar Sidibe, Mali.
Like his predecessor, who served for 10 years, Adesina is seeking re-election for another term of five years as allowed by the constitution of the bank. According to the timeline released by its Secretary General, the full list of candidates who will slug it out with the incumbent president shall be transmitted to members of the Board of Governors on February 21, 2020, after verification by the Steering Committee to ensure conformity with the criteria for eligibility set forth in Article 36 of the Bank Agreement and conditions of candidature set forth under the Election Rules.
Adesina is already miles ahead of other prospective aspirants, having secured endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as ECOWAS member countries. He disclosed his re-nomination for the bank’s top position last Sunday when he received a lifetime achievement award as Nigeria’s International icon at the 23rd Hallmarks of Labour awards held in Lagos.
A statement on Monday by Emeka Anuforo, Communication and External Relations Executive at AfDB, said that the decision was announced at the end of the 56th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, held on Saturday in Abuja.
Sitting atop a big financial institution like AfDB is by no mean a tea party. Founded by member states of the continent in 1964 with a commitment to contribute to the economic development and social progress of the African Continent, focusing on infrastructure (57.6 per cent), agriculture and rural development (12 per cent), multi-sector (12.6 per cent), social 9.4 per cent and finance (8.1 per cent), AfDB has contributed to poverty reduction in the least developed African countries.
With his rich credential as ‘Africa’s leading development entrepreneur,’ proving focused leadership on poverty reduction through agriculture, innovative technology, and food security, Adesina as the president of the bank spared no effort raising the bar through a dint of hard work, inspirational and focused leadership. This is particularly evident from the litany of modest achievements he has to parade for his five-year stewardship.
His words: “We have been able to do much and God has helped us tremendously. The bank was voted fourth most transparent institution globally last year. The bank continues to maintain its goal through the race. We connected 16 million people to electricity within the last three years. We connected 17 million people with agricultural technology to get food security, we got nine billion people connected to finance, 55 million people with access to improved transport, and 31million people with access to improved water sanitation.”
ECOWAS President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, also gave a testimony of Adesina’s outstanding performance, when he said: “The Authority takes note of the region’s improved economic performance, with ECOWAS real GDP growing by 3.3 per cent in 2019 against 3.0 per cent in 2018, in a context characterised by a decline in inflationary pressures and sound public finances.”
In Paris, French President, Emmanuel Macron and the G7 heads of state provided $251 million in loan support to the bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa for women entrepreneurs in Africa. These did not occur by mere happenstance. Rather, it was a product of stakeholders’ confidence in the bank’s leadership.
Charity, they say, begins at home. As Nigeria’s former minister of agriculture, Adesina’s performance remains unparalleled and unbeatable till date. His Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES) is believed to have ended four decades of corruption in the fertilizer sector, eliminating the middlemen and scaling up food production by nine million metric tons. With the success of the electronic wallet system, Nigeria has become the first country in Africa to reach farmers with subsidized farm inputs through their mobile phones.
To top it all, he also pioneered Electronic Wallet System, which allowed smallholder farmers to receive electronic vouchers for subsidized seeds and fertilizers directly on their mobile phones and enabled them to pay for farm inputs from private sector agricultural input dealers. The system is believed to have enhanced food security for 30 million persons in rural farm households.Little wonder he won the Honorary Doctorate Degree in Agriculture of the Purdue University – the first since 1826 – in recognition of his global leadership in fighting poverty through innovative agricultural policies.
So far, no succeeding minister has surpassed his innovative records. According to Adesina, these are just a tip of the iceberg, as many more innovative ideas are already rioting in his head waiting to be delivered with time.
“Nigeria is the largest shareholder of AfDB. There is still much to do, there are still lots of challenges as we all know. I know I cannot do much unless I get a second term as president of the AfDB. I want to say that once again Nigeria has given me air in my lungs,” he said.
With shareholders’ confidence, report noted that “the institution’s capital more than doubled to $208 billion, which solidified the bank’s leadership in financing development in Africa. The increase is said to be the largest since the bank’s creation in 1964, which is a clear evidence of shareholders’ trust.”
Given an opportunity for continuity, they say, there will be increase in capital, which will allow the bank to maintain a stable outlook from top rating agencies.
As one of the outstanding icons who have done the country proud, Adesina said: “I will live as a Nigerian, die as a Nigerian and, on the Resurrection Day, I will ask for God’s favour to rise as a Nigerian holding the green-white-green flag.”
Akinwumi Adesina was born on February 6, 1960, to a farmer in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. He obtained his B.Sc. in Agricultural Economics at the University of Ife, Nigeria. He graduated in 1981 with first class honours, and thereafter went for his masters and Ph.D studies at Purdue University, USA in 1985 and 1988 respectively. Having served in many international development agencies, Adesina succeeded Abba Sayyadi Ruma as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2010. As minister of Agriculture, he reformed the sector within four years.
