Akinwumi Adesina

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 (age 64)[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[edit]

Adesina was born to a Nigerian farmer in Ibadan, Oyo state.[5] He attended Ejigbo Baptist High School (EBHS) 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[edit]

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] Adesina received the 2010 Borlaug CAST Communication Award from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), the year that the award was renamed after agricultural biologist and 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug.[15]

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.[16]

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.[17] In 2017, he was awarded 2017 World Food Prize.[18]

On 27 August 2020, Adesina was re-elected as President of the Africa Development Bank for a second term of five years.[19]

Personal life[edit]

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.[20]

Awards and Honors[edit]

References[edit]

  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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Nigeria's Akinwumi Adesina named Forbes African of the Year". BBC. December 3, 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  15. ^ a b "Dr. Akin Adesina". Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.
  16. ^ Dogbevi, Emmanuel K. (1 September 2015). "Africa can no longer manage poverty, we must eliminate it – Adesina". Ghana Business News. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  17. ^ Secretary-General Appoints 29 Global Leaders to Spearhead Fight against Malnutrition United Nations, press release of 21 September 2016.
  18. ^ "AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina wins $250,000 World Food Prize". africanews. 27 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Akinwunmi Adesina re-elected as AFDB president". Sellbeta. 27 August 2020. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  20. ^ Profile:Akinwuni Adesina, Ogala Wordpress
  21. ^ "Nigerians dominate New Africa's 100 Most Influential Africans of 2015". Vanguard News. 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ "African Of The Year". Forbes Africa. 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  24. ^ "Akinwumi A. Adesina à Caïd Essebsi: La BAD disposée à soutenir la Tunisie dans divers domaines".
  25. ^ FUNAAB (2020-01-30). "27th Convocation Begins". FUNAAB. Archived from the original on 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  26. ^ "AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, Receives Honorary Degree In Ethiopia". METRO DAILY Ng. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  27. ^ "AKINWUMI ADESINA – Fostering, Feeding & Financing the Africa We Want". Perbi Executive Leadership Education. 18 April 2024.
  28. ^ "BUK Confers Honorary Doctorate Degree on Senator Barau, Adesina | Bayero University". www.buk.edu.ng. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
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