By Victor Ofure Osehobo
Last week, a coalition of sincere, informed and patriotic Nigerians raised the sum of N100 million to purchase the expression of interest and presidential nomination forms of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC for Nigeria's former Minister for Agriculture, and current President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, done and dusted.
Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina is not an unpopular Nigerian. He has not made many headlines because he is not a notorious politician and he is not a noisemaker. He also has no baggage even after he served as Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, under the government of President Goodluck Jonathan, Gcfr. Else his name would have been a notorious household name.
But for the records, let me share some facts about this eminently qualified Nigerian, a rare breed, a scientist, an economist and an astute public administrator, fit to be Nigeria's Leader, who before his appointment as Minister in 2010, was Vice President of Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
And as an economist, he served at the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Bouake, Ivory Coast, from 1990 to 1995. This was after working at the Rockefeller Foundation and winning a fellowship from the Foundation as a senior scientist in 1988. He later became the representative of the Foundation for the Southern African area from 1999 to 2003 and thereafter served as an associate director for food security, until 2008.
It is on record that Adesina is one of 17 global leaders spearheading the Millennium Development Goals and was so appointed by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2010. For his reform of Nigerian agriculture including introducing more transparency into the fertilizer supply chain, Adesina was in 2013 named Forbes African Man of the Year.
He was named again by the same Forbes in 2019, as African Man of the year, after his first tenure as 8th elected President of the African Development Bank Group, where his skills, competence, and capacity have become more glaring.
Interestingly, he is the first Nigerian to occupy the high office and is right now, on his second term.
Elected to this position, on May 28, 2015 by the Banks Board of Governors at its Annual Meeting held in Abidjan, Côte d Ivoire, Dr. Adesina was re-elected after his first tenure expired, because many countries believe his strides are in tandem to the achievement of the overarching objective for the setting up of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
That objective is, "to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in its regional member countries (RMCs), thus contributing to poverty reduction". And as part of efforts to achieve this, the Bank under Adesina has been striving to execute a 2013–2022 strategy designed to reflect, “The aspirations of the entire African continent. It is firmly rooted in a deep understanding and experience of how far Africa has come in the last decade, and where it wishes to go to in the next”.
In advocating for Dr. Adesina to be Nigeria’s next president, I am convinced that he meets most, if not all, of the various qualities which many Nigerians have listed as their expectations of the Nigerian President come 2023, and at a time, that for many of the aspirants, the game has become a comic relief. This is evident from the cacophony of declarations on TV and from the funfair surrounding mere purchase of forms and some of the trips around the country to consult, seek alliance, and woo delegates and party leaders to endorse their ambitions.
Among the qualities are that the President must be a politician and a technocrat; a Nigerian by birth and conviction, known to Nigerians with a popularity that cuts across the six geo-political zones. He is also to have a fair knowledge of all parts of the country and be detribalized with a pan-Nigerian mentality. Dr. Adesina fits this bill.
Nigerians want a communicator who has capacity to communicate ideas and express opinions about issues affecting the people and country for their President. This mentality requires that the next President have a fair understanding of all the contending interests and influences in this country. It means appreciating the fact that we are a country of diversity with different persuasions, tradition, culture, religions and be ready and willing to respect them.
Nigerians want a President who is a stickler for national cohesion and unity who can use the oneness of the country to build peace, and address the insecurity plaguing the country. Dr. Adesina is a detribalized Nigerian in all ramifications and as Minister for Agriculture, his efforts on these scores are really on the high side.
One other quality Nigerians expect of our next President is that he must be ready to accommodate the needs of the youths of today, in the light of their upbringing in a fast changing world dominated by high-tech, internet and computer technology and be able to facilitate policies that will get them employed.
In addition, many want a President who should have no pending or proven cases of corruption in any form. So he or she must have integrity, charisma, personality, swag, candor and political courage.
I know for sure that a President Adesina will be a great President, as he is conversant with global socio- political trends and is economically savvy, and is willing to champion the diversification of the Nigerian economy, and in the process take the country from being a consumer to a productive nation.
I believe that Dr. Adesina is a realist who will be a purpose-driven leader, in addition to being a wealth and prosperity creator. He will lead by example, and will be willing to sacrifice political support for unpopular decisions, to feed Nigerians, to diversify her economy, take us out of being a consumer to a productive nation. His word shall be his bond as he believes more in action than words.
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