Akinwumi Adesina
Akinwumi Adesina in 2014
8th President of the African
Development Bank
Assumed office
1 September 2015
Preceded byDonald Kaberuka
Nigerian Agriculture Minister
In office
2010–2015
PresidentGoodluck Jonathan
Preceded byAbba Sayyadi Ruma
Succeeded byAudu Ogbeh
Personal details
Born (1960-02-06) 6 February 1960[1]
Nigeria
Alma materUniversity of Ife
Purdue University (PhD)

Akinwumi "Akin" Adesina CON is a Nigerian economist, who is currently serving as the President of the African Development Bank. He previously served as Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.[2] 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).[3] He was elected as the President of the African Development Bank in 2015 and re-elected for a second term in 2020. He is the first Nigerian to hold the post.[4]

Early life and education

Adesina was born to a Nigerian farmer in Ibadan, Oyo state.[5] He attended a village school and had a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics with First Class Honors from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria in 1981.[6] He was the first student to be awarded this distinction by the university. He pursued further studies at Purdue University, Indiana and briefly returned to Nigeria in 1984, to get married.[7] He obtained his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics in 1988 from Purdue, where he won the outstanding Ph.D. thesis for his research work.[8]

Career

From 1990 to 1995, Adesina served as a senior economist at West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Bouaké, Ivory Coast.[9] 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.[10] From 2003 to 2008, he was an associate director for food security.[11]

Adesina was the Nigerian Agriculture Minister from 2010 to 2015.[12] Adesina was named Forbes African Man of the Year, for his reform of Nigerian agriculture. He introduced more transparency into the fertiliser supply chain.[13] He also said that he would give away mobile phones to farmers, but this proved too difficult. One of the reasons was lack of a mobile network in country areas.[14]

In 2010, United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, appointed him as one of 17 global leaders, to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals.[4]

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.[15]

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.[16] In 2017, he was awarded 2017 World Food Prize.[17]

On 27 August 2020, Adesina was re-elected as President of the Africa Development Bank for a second term of five years.[18]

Personal life

While at Purdue University, Adesina and his wife, along with another couple, started a Christian group called the African Student Fellowship.[7] He and his wife, Grace, have three children, Rotimi, Emmanuel and Segun.[19]

Recognition

Honours

References

  1. ↑ The President's biography, African Development Bank
  2. ↑ "Interview: Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of Agriculture, Nigeria". This is Africa. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2015-01-12. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Transformation agenda, a surgical operation on Nigeria - Agric Minister". LinkedIn. 19 June 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Biography". African Development Bank - Building today, a better Africa tomorrow. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  5. ↑ "Akinwumi Adesina: from farmer's son to Africa bank chief". African Spotlight. 28 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-09-22. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Nigerian Minister, Adesina, Elected President Of African Development Bank". Sahara Reporters. 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  7. 1 2 Delmar Broersma (2017). God's Surprises Along the Journey. pp. 89–93. ASIN B077DZ8JTP.
  8. ↑ "Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina". High-Level Meeting on Drought National Policy. March 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "AfDB's Akinwumi Adesina named 2017 World Food Prize Laureate". CNBC Africa. 2017-06-26. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  10. ↑ "AfDB's Akinwumi Adesina named 2017 World Food Prize Laureate". CNBC Africa. 2017-06-26. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  11. ↑ "The Travails of Akinwumi Adesina".
  12. ↑ NIRA gets 3 life Patrons, IT Realms, Retrieved 23 January 2016
  13. ↑ "Nigerian is 'African of the year'". BBC News. 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  14. 1 2 "Nigeria's Akinwumi Adesina named Forbes African of the Year". BBC. December 3, 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Dogbevi, Emmanuel K. (1 September 2015). "Africa can no longer manage poverty, we must eliminate it – Adesina". Ghana Business News. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  16. ↑ Secretary-General Appoints 29 Global Leaders to Spearhead Fight against Malnutrition United Nations, press release of 21 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina wins $250,000 World Food Prize". africanews. 27 June 2017.
  18. ↑ "Akinwunmi Adesina re-elected as AFDB president". Sellbeta. 27 August 2020. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  19. ↑ Profile:Akinwuni Adesina, Ogala Wordpress
  20. ↑ "Nigerians dominate New Africa's 100 Most Influential Africans of 2015". Vanguard News. 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  21. ↑ "Afe Babalola University Confers Honorary Doctorate Degree on African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina". African Development Bank - Building today, a better Africa tomorrow. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  22. ↑ "African Of The Year". Forbes Africa. 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  23. ↑ FUNAAB (2020-01-30). "27th Convocation Begins". FUNAAB. Archived from the original on 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  24. ↑ "AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, Receives Honorary Degree In Ethiopia". METRO DAILY Ng. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  25. ↑ "Akinwumi A. Adesina à Caïd Essebsi: La BAD disposée à soutenir la Tunisie dans divers domaines".
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