• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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African Development Bank presidency: Adesina best candidate for the job

Akinwumi Adesina
During the 2015 presidential election campaign, a diplomatic row broke out between Nigeria and Morocco over a disputed telephone conversation between President Jonathan and King Muhammad of Morocco. As the row developed into a political storm, the presidency was forced to deny that there had been a telephone conversation between the two leaders, but said that President Jonathan had attempted to speak to King Muhammad to solicit his support for the candidacy of the minister of agriculture and rural development, Akinwumi Adesina, for the next president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), who will be elected during the bank’s meeting on 25th-29th of this month.
The diplomatic row was, of course, embarrassing for Nigeria. However, despite the diplomatic incompetence and failure that led to the row, it must be said that the underlying motivation was noble. President Jonathan was right to try to drum up support for Adesina, and it’s also right and proper that the president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, has now lent his own support by endorsing the minister for the job. Nigeria should always seek to get its best and brightest citizens into key international positions whenever the opportunities arise. It is a key measure of a country’s international relevance and political engagement. Besides, the presidency of the AfDB is a major position in the international economic and development field. So, this should be an international priority election for Nigeria.
Of course, unlike the World Bank, the AfDB is not a household name in Africa. Yet its mandate is similar to that of the World Bank, albeit with a regional focus. It was established in 1964 to “promote sustainable economic development and reduce poverty in Africa”. Essentially, it does this by lending money to support projects across Africa and by providing policy advice and technical assistance to support development efforts across the continent. The bank is primarily funded by its shareholders, which currently consist of 54 African countries, known as regional member countries (RMCs), and 26 non-African countries, known as non-regional member countries. The latter category of shareholders includes the major developed countries, such as the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Japan, as well as the advanced developing countries, notably China, Brazil and India. So, the AfDB is a bank in which the world’s great economies have a stake.
To be sure, the AfDB has done a lot in its 50 years of existence. For instance, over this period, it approved over 4,501 projects amounting to $118.7 billion, invested $4.5 billion in the energy sector, and spent $3 billion to finance more than 370 water operations in over 40 African countries. However, despite these achievements, it is safe to say that the AfDB has not always lived up to its billing both as a bank and as a development agency.
Several years ago, as a business magazine publisher in London, I interacted closely with the bank’s senior officials in Europe. I have fond memories of my close personal relationship with the then regional director, Europe, Nfor Susungi, who is now a senior politician in Cameroon. I had conversations with Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, then the bank’s head of communications, who later headed the Commonwealth Communications Organisation (CTO), and has held several ministerial positions in Ghana, including currently as minister of trade and industry. These are individuals who were passionate about the role that the AfDB could play to help bring about sustainable development in Africa.
But this was also a difficult period during which the bank faced an existential challenge. It was poorly managed, had poor lending practices, and inevitably faced a liquidity crisis and a crisis of confidence. This called for a surgical operation, and the then president, Babacar N’diaye, wielded the knife and closed the bank’s satellite offices, including the one in London, which had been set up in 1978, as Susungi told me, “to make us better known in Europe, which is a very important constituency as far as our shareholders are concerned”. But the AfDB was failing to behave like a reputable bank.
Today the story is a lot more different. The AfDB is now run properly as a bank. It has an impressive liquidity position, and enjoys a triple-A rating from all the major rating agencies. All of this is important, of course. After all, the AfDB has to succeed as a bank first before it can perform its role as a development agency. But the development role is not trivial, and the bank would have failed if it shirks this. It should be at the forefront of stimulating private sector development and reducing poverty and inequalities in Africa, just as the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are doing in Asia and Europe, respectively. The trouble is that the AfDB has not made any significant impact in helping to fight poverty in Africa.
Last week, I wrote on this page that the xenophobia directed at Africans around the world has its roots in widespread joblessness and poverty in Africa. I argued that the solution lies in each African country generating economic growth that creates jobs and reduces poverty. This would reduce the incentives for Africans to risk their lives and dignity to go to other African countries or to Europe as ‘unwanted’ economic migrants. But the situation is dire, with about 40 percent of Africans living in extreme poverty. Of course, African governments must not abdicate their responsibilities to tackle poverty and improve living standards. But as Africa’s major development bank, with a mandate to help reduce poverty and inequalities in the continent, the AfDB can do a lot more.
This is where Adesina’s candidacy for the AfDB presidency is important. For a start, the president of the AfDB must have experience in government, in economics and in finance. Adesina ticks those boxes, but so are the other candidates for the role. They all have been ministers in their countries and most have degrees in economics or finance, with practical experiences to boot. However, given Africa’s development challenges, the AfDB needs a president who also has a strong development record, who understands the issues in poverty and how to deal with them, and who is an instinctive reformer. A president who understands that fighting poverty in Africa requires a laser-focused approach to addressing agriculture, rural development and private sector development. Adesina presents a stronger credential than his rivals in this regard.
As Nigeria’s minister of agriculture and rural development, Adesina has gained national and international kudos for his transformation of the agricultural sector, which led to the production of more and cheaper food, and created jobs for millions of people. A first-class agricultural economist, with a doctorate, Adesina rightly believes that agriculture can be used “to end hunger, create wealth and jobs and drive equitable economic growth in Africa to lift millions out of poverty”. It’s not surprising that the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, appointed him as one of the 17 “global leaders” to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals. His expertise cuts across all the critical enablers of development, including infrastructure, energy, health, and education. 
Adesina is a big thinker. His vision statement for the AfDB presidency is a testament to his big thinking and idealism. For instance, he wants to “help build a new Africa with prosperous, sustainable growth; one that is peaceful, secure and united, regionally integrated and globally competitive”. But Adesina is not just a thinker, he is also a doer. He has demonstrated a results-driven leadership in a career spanning over two decades as an international development practitioner. As General Buhari said when endorsing him for the AfDB top job, Adesina “has had a record of excellent performance over time”.
What is also striking about Adesina is his Pan-Africanism. He has lived and worked in 15 African countries, across all the regions. As he recently puts it, “Africa is my home and I’m at home everywhere in Africa”. Crucially for a leader, Adesina is also an excellent communicator, with a very sharp mind. These skills would be valuable in communicating with the bank’s diverse stakeholders, and in raising the bank’s profile globally. Furthermore, his experience as vice president of Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), where he led on developing policy and partnerships, would help in building strong partnership relationships for the bank.
The AfDB needs such partnerships to develop a concerted approach to tackling poverty in Africa.
Needless to say, the best candidate should become the next president of the AfDB. Eight capable Africans want the job, but Adesina stands out. He has the skill-set and the development focus that the bank needs to deliver effectively for all its members and for the people of Africa. Since its inception in 1964, the AfDB has had seven presidents, from Mamoun Beheiry to the current president, the respected Donald Kaberuka. Some have been excellent, but it strikes me that Adesina, if elected, would be an outstanding president. He should get the job!
Olu Fasan