Like previous outings, the unveiling of the President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, as the winner of the prestigious, biennial Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, was nothing short of spectacular. Founded in 1992 as a non-profit non-partisan organisation, the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation is widely acknowledged as a leading authority in the propagation of the ideas and philosophy of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, anchored essentially on leadership as a tool of social transformation, including the guarantee of “Life more Abundant” for the populace. In lectures, symposia and other public engagements, the Foundation has over the years sought to chart pathways to development for governments in Nigeria and beyond. In particular, the Obafemi Awolowo Prize, instituted in honour of the first Premier of Nigeria’s Western Region who is widely acknowledged as Nigeria’s most distinguished thinker, change agent, philosopher and the greatest president Nigeria never had, is widely coveted, and so Adesina, a former Minister of Agriculture currently serving a second term as President of African Development Bank (AfDB), was unveiled to roaring applause around the world.
Held at the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation’s office at Gbagada, Lagos, the event had in attendance elder statesman and former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku who is the chairman of the Selection Committee; elder statesman, Pa Ayo Adebanjo and the Executive Director, Obafemi Awolowo Foundation Ambassador (Dr) Olatokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu. Members of the Technical Committee saddled with the onerous task of sifting through the many submissions and identifying the candidate with the most compelling vision and, therefore, the most compelling case including a professor of Political Science at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Sat Obiyan, and Professor Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, were also present on the occasion, as was Dr Layi Ogunbanbi, a member of the Governing Council of the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation. The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) president, Eze Anaba, led the presence of media chiefs at the event. The roll call included the Consultant, ANN Plc, Pastor Segun Olatunji; the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of the Tribune, Mr Edward Dickson; Editor, Sunday Tribune, Alhaji Sina Oladeinde and Editor, Saturday Tribune, Dr Lasisi Olagunju, among others.
Speaking on the occasion, the Foundation’s Executive Director, Ambassador Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu, indicated that Dr Adesina was the unanimous choice of the Foundation’s Selection Committee, which described him as possessing the attributes for the award to the highest degree. She added: “The attributes considered to have characterised Chief Awolowo’s excellent leadership, include integrity, credibility, discipline, courage, selflessness, accountability, tenacity of purpose, visionary and people-centred leadership.”
The road to Adesina’s crowning was thorny. Parading only three previous winners, namely the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, former South African President Thabo Mbeki and the legal luminary and educationist, Chief Afe Babalola, the Prize, which is often suspended where there is no candidate adjudged to be distinguished enough, was a fierce contest among great nominees from around the world. An avalanche of eminent personalities from around the world had put forward candidates, extremely distinguished in their own rights, for the coveted prize. Eventually, however, it was the AfDB boss, a stellar cast of global voices behind him, that clinched the award. Among those who had nominated Adesina for the top prize were former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who harped on his “contributions to the African continent and global leadership,” which he described as “exceptional” Blair also noted that under Adesina’s leadership, “ the African Development Bank has delivered bold interventions to address some of the greatest challenges of our time.”
Blair’s views were echoed by former President Goodluck Jonathan, who noted that Adesina “epitomises and combines qualities of extraordinary leadership that are often rare to find: great visionary, incredible courage, the ability to take on huge and difficult challenges, extraordinary dedication and commitment to deliver programmes and policies that transform the lives of millions of people.” Besides, the former Agric Minister secured the warm endorsement of Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, President Emeritus of the World Food Prize Foundation. Quiin wrote: “Adesina has traversed the African continent evangelising his profound vision to end childhood stunting through enhanced nutrition; uplifting smallholder farmers, the great majority of them women; providing critical financing for a broad array of infrastructure projects so critical to development and modernisation.” Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Global Center on Adaptation CEO Prof. Dr Patrick Verkooijen, were also not left out of the global endorsement of the AfDB boss. They jointly wrote: “We can think of no person more highly qualified or deserving of this prestigious award. Dr Adesina is forged in the same mould as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a shining example of leadership.”
In his address on the occasion, Anyaoku, who announced the winner as well a the process that guided the choice, lauded Adesina’s commitment to the positive transformation of the African continent, declaring that he had “demonstrated core leadership qualities that have been associated with Chief Ọbafẹmi Awolọwọ, and which this Prize is meant to encourage and reward.” He added that the prize first won in 2012 and presented in 2013 had the goal of encouraging, recognizing and reward and celebrate excellence in leadership, and would be presented to Adesina on March 6, 2024, to coincide with the anniversary of the transition of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Detailing Dr Adesina’s sterling credentials, Anyaoku said: “Besides his manifest intellectual leadership, Dr. Adesina is a person whose outstanding leadership has occasioned public policies that have positively transformed millions of lives. As Minister of Agriculture in Nigeria, Dr Adesina introduced innovative reforms such as the fertilizer sector reforms, which virtually eliminated corruption in the sector and ensured that farmers actually benefitted from government’s subsidized fertilizers. He developed an electronic-wallet system that allowed farmers to receive electronic vouchers for seeds and fertilizers directly on their mobile phones, thereby cutting off the middlemen in the system. Not less than 15 million farmers benefitted from this scheme within four years.
“Since assuming office as President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Adesina has worked relentlessly to contribute to the positive transformation of the continent. He has brought leadership to bear in addressing some of the challenges confronting the continent including leading and supporting innovative efforts to fight hunger and poverty. At the AfDB, Dr Adesina introduced what he termed the “High 5s” namely, to light up and power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialise Africa; Integrate Africa; and improve the quality of life of the people of Africa. The impactful and successful nature of this programme has been widely acknowledged. In 2019, under the leadership of Dr. Adesina, the shareholders of the African Development Bank increased the capital base of the Bank from $US93 billion to US$208 billion, an increase of over 123 percent, the highest capital increase of the Bank since its establishment in 1964.
“Dr Adesina is a kind-hearted and generous person who believes in supporting the less privileged and younger persons. He demonstrated this when, at the event where he was given the World Food Prize, he announced that he would devote the $US 250,000 cash tied to the prize to supporting young people by establishing the World Hunger Fighters Foundation to support young people in the fight against global hunger. Several young people have so far benefited from this gesture.”
In separate submissions on the occasion, Anyaoku and Adebanjo lamented Nigeria’s inability to have another Awo, as the sage is still fondly called, calling on Nigerians to subject candidates vying for political office to greater scrutiny and institutionalize the Nigeria that the sage and other founding fathers and mothers dreamed of. In Adesina, though, the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation has a winner whose track records testify to the continuing relevance of the ideas that the sage lived for.
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