Akinwumi’s worthy election

Adesina broke a jinx, as Nigeria had earlier made three attempts at occupying the position on the board, which includes representatives from African member states as well as foreign donor governments, without success.He succeeds Donald Kaberuka, a Rwandan national, who has been president of the bank since 2005. Adesina, an agricultural economist and graduate of […]

Adesina broke a jinx, as Nigeria had earlier made three attempts at occupying the position on the board, which includes representatives from African member states as well as foreign donor governments, without success.
He succeeds Donald Kaberuka, a Rwandan national, who has been president of the bank since 2005. Adesina, an agricultural economist and graduate of Purdue University (USA) beat seven other contenders for the top job. He won the election having garnered 58.10 per cent of the total votes, out of which regional votes represented 60.50 per cent. He will be the eight President in the organization’s history. We congratulate the former minister on his election and Nigeria, for finally clinching presidency of the most prestigious bank in Africa. We also commend out-going president, Donald Kaberuka, for his initiatives which led to remarkable reforms at the bank. Kaberuka initiated and implemented major economic reforms and introduced new systems of structural, monetary and fiscal governance, while laying special emphasis on the independence of Rwanda’s Central Bank. The development led to the revival of Rwanda’s economy and sustained economic growth.  He also presided over a major redirection which focused on inclusive growth and transition to green growth for development and poverty reduction in Africa. Many credit Kaberuka for making the bank the “premiere” institution for Africa. Analysts say under his leadership, the bank was able to boost its presence among member states, increase its capital and carve out its role.“I introduced the bank on the financial market, but Donald Kaberuka has given Africa a voice on the global platform,” former AfDB President, Babacar Ndiaye said. Despite these reforms, a lot still needs to be done; gaps still need to be filled, especially in the areas of poverty reduction and infrastructural development. Like the out-going president noted, Africa’s growth is strong at 5 per cent but it is still below the 7 per cent minimum African countries have been aiming for over a decade.  The new president is expected to consolidate on the achievements of the out-going head while initiating new reforms.
Adesina is not new to the terrain, as he was Vice President of Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), before his appointment as Nigeria’s minister for agriculture. So, we expect him to be conversant with the major economic challenges facing Africa and as such be able to get down to work immediately he assumes office in September. Adesina, who acknowledged the excellent work of Kaberuka, assured that he would build on it. We urge him to ensure that he fulfils that pledge, because the bank has attained a certain height due to the good work of his predecessor. He should make Nigerians proud by sustaining what has been built and superseding the achievements of his predecessor. We urge him to come up with initiatives that will have direct impact on the common man/ rural populace.
Like his predecessor, his policies should be such that though general to all African countries will have significant impact on Nigerians and the nation’s economy.  He must not lose sight of the need to fight poverty and develop infrastructure. The bank under Adesina should also look into the areas of health, education, peace and security. As minister of agriculture, Adesina was credited with having driven a new commercial approach to agriculture, boosting domestic production of rice and helping to reduce corruption in the allocation of fertiliser subsidies through the introduction of an e-wallet system, whereby 10 million mobile phones were distributed to Nigerian farmers. The initiative was developed to avoid middle-men, who have always been a stumbling block when it comes to receiving information on seedlings and fertilizer vouchers.   Despite these achievements, some of the policies formulated by the ministry under his leadership seemed far-fetched and not in tandem with the realities on ground.  So, we urge him to come up with policies that are implementable, while taking into cognizance the falling commodity prices occasioned by the fall in price of crude oil. Agriculture is the greatest employer of labour in Nigeria and most African countries, he should therefore formulate policies that will encourage people to go into the agricultural sector and to make the sector attractive to the banks and investors. Finally, he should remember that people of the continent are holding on to, and expecting to him to deliver on his speech which stated thus, “My vision is to help build a new Africa with prosperous, sustainable and inclusive growth; one that is peaceful, secure and united, regionally integrated and globally competitive. Africa’s future is huge; I will not let you down. We will make Africa to be the pride of the world”.