Akinwumi Adesina
Akinwumi Adesina | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Akinwumi Adesina in 2014 | |
| 8th President of the African Development Bank | |
| Assuming office 1 September 2015 | |
| Succeeding | Donald Kaberuka |
| Nigerian Agriculture Minister | |
| In office 2010–2015 | |
| Preceded by | Abba Sayyadi Ruma |
| Succeeded by | Audu Ogbeh |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Alma mater | University of Ife Purdue University (PhD) |
Akinwumi Adesina is the President of the African Development Bank. He previously served as Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.[1] 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).[2] In 2015, he was elected as the President of the African Development Bank. He was the first Nigerian to hold the post.
Early life and career
Adesina was born to a Nigerian farmer in Ogun State.[3] He received a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University) and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University (1988).[4]
He worked at the Rockefeller Foundation since winning a fellowship from the Foundation as a senior scientist in 1988. From 1999 to 2003 he was the representative of the Foundation for the southern African area. From 2003 until 2008 to the present he was an associate director for food security.
Minister of Agriculture, 2010–2015
Adesina was the Nigerian Agriculture Minister from 2010 to 2015. During this time the Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was Ibukun Odusote.[5] Adesina was named as Forbes African Man of the Year for his reform of Nigerian agriculture. He introduced more transparency into the fertiliser supply chain. He also said that he would give away mobile phones to farmers but this proved too difficult. One of the reasons was the lack of a mobile network in country areas.[6]
In 2010, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed him as one of 17 global leaders to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals.
President of the African Development Bank, 2015–present
On 28 May 2015, Adesina was elected the presumptive President of the African Development Bank. He began his tenure of the office on 1 September 2015.[7] He is the eighth president in the organization's history, and the first Nigerian to hold the post.
He launched a strategy based on energy, agriculture, industrialization, regional integration and bettering Africans' lives. The Board of Executive Directors approved the reorganization of the structure around these five priorities. He also intends to launch 5 regional hubs to make the approvals next to the ground.
In September 2016, Adesina was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to serve as member of the Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.[8]
Recognition
- In July 2007, he was awarded the YARA Prize for the African Green Revolution in Oslo.
- In 2008, Purdue University’s College of Agriculture gave him their Distinguished Agricultural Alumni Award.
- In 2010 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Franklin and Marshall College
- In 2013, he was named as Forbes African Person of the Year.[6]
- On May 5, 2015, he was awarded an Extraordinary Achievement Award by Silverbird Television, Nigeria.
Personal life
He and his wife Grace Adesina have two children.[9]
References
- ^ "Interview: Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture, Nigeria". This is Africa. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ "Transformation agenda, a surgical operation on Nigeria - Agric Minister". LinkedIn. 19 June 2012.
- ^ "Akinwumi Adesina: from farmer's son to Africa bank chief". African Spotlight. 28 May 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
- ^ "Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina". High-Level Meeting on Drought National Policy. March 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ NIRA gets 3 life Patrons, IT Realms, Retrieved 23 January 2016
- ^ a b "Nigeria's Akinwumi Adesina named Forbes African of the Year". BBC. December 3, 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ Dogbevi, Emmanuel K. (1 September 2015). "Africa can no longer manage poverty, we must eliminate it – Adesina". Ghana Business News. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
- ^ Secretary-General Appoints 29 Global Leaders to Spearhead Fight against Malnutrition United Nations, press release of 21 September 2016.
- ^ Profile:Akinwuni Adesina, Ogala Wordpress