The Story Behind Akinwumi Adesina

The Story Behind Akinwumi Adesina

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is the current President of the African development bank. Previously, he served as Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2010. He was elected in 2015 as the president of African development bank and re-elected for a second term in 2020. He is a globally honored as an economist/politician and has formally served as a president of the African association of agricultural economists, as well as on the editorial board of several academic journals, including the internal Journal of Agricultural Economist. He was awarded the Outstanding Black Agricultural Economist. He was also a distinguished Africanist scholar at Cornell University, USA.

Early Life and Education

Akinwumi Adesina was born on 6th February, 1960 by Nigerian parents, Roland Adesina and Eunice Adesina in Ibadan, oyo state. He attended a village primary school, and also attended a Baptist high school Ejigbo Osun state, after which he further to The Great University of Ife. He graduated from the Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, with a first class honor in 1981. In the history of the faculty established on the 22nd of September, 1962, he was the first student of the faculty to be awarded this distinction where he graduated at an early age of 21.
He later proceeded to the Purdue University in Indiana, United State of America for further studies and obtained his Ph.D in Agricultural Economics at the age of 28 years in 1988. He won the outstanding Ph.D thesis for his research work In Purdue University.

Personal/Marital Life

Akinwumi Adesina returned briefly to Nigeria to get married to Grace Adesina in 1984 at the age of 24 years and the marriage is bless with two children, Rotimi and Segun. From 1990 – 1995, Adesina serve as a Senior Economist of West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Bouake, Ivory Coast. In 1988 he served the Rockefeller Foundation
since winning a fellowship from the foundation as a senior scientist. From 1999 to 2000 he was the representative of foundation for the southern African area. From 2003 – 2008, he was an Associated Director for food security. He was the Nigerian Agriculture Minister from 2010 – 2015. When he reform Nigerian Agriculture he was named Forbes African Man of the Year. He introduced more transparency into the fertilizer supply chain. The united nation secretary general Ban KI-moon appointed him as one of 17 global leaders to spearhead the millennium development goals in 2010.

On 28 th may 2015, Adesina was elected the President of the African Development Bank. He began his tenure of the office on 1 st September 2015. On September 2016, Adesina was appointed by United Nation Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to serve as member of the lead group of the scaling up nutrition movement. In 2017 he was awarded 2017 World food prize. On 27 august 2020, Adesina was re-elected as president of African development bank for a second term of five years.

Awards and Recognition on Akinwumi Adesina

• He was named as Forbes African person of the year In 2013.
• He was awarded Honorary Doctor Degree by Afe Babalola University In 2018.
• He was awarded Honorary Doctor Degree of Science by the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria. On January 28, 2020.
• He was the Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit of Tunisia, in 2019.
  
• Net worth
• 
  According to the research carried out, with other information solicited, Akinwumi Adesina is presently one of the most richest and influential Economist /Politician in Nigeria. His net worth is projected and estimated to be $90 million.
• Life Challenges and How he Overcame
• Akinwumi adesina has a personal love for agriculture because he believes that it makes him connect to the reality. But his father preferred him to go for medical profession considering his smartness. After several unsuccessful attempt and entry exams to the university, he could not meet up the requirement to study Medicine, but rather made it for Agriculture.
• World food price challenge

• Adesina was accused of corruption and abuse of office allegations from his own staff. A Whistle Blower and a group of concerned staff members of the AfDB claimed that Dr. Adesina has used the banks resources to promote himself to gain, and favoring his fellow Nigerians. The committee later carried out an investigation and declared that Dr. Adesina was totally free from any question of quilt against him and recommended that the board of governors adopts its conclusions.

Lesson learned from Akinwumi Adesina

• Focus on your career
• Believe in yourself
• Hard working
• Be fair and truthful