Associates of Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), have testified that he is a man of impeccable integrity who would not compromise his position for selfish gains or show behaviour unbecoming of the president of a continental financial institution.
The embattled AfDB president is facing 16 allegations bordering on non-respect of internal rules and regulations in recruitment, mismanagement of Technologies for African Agriculture Transformation (TAAT) programme, appointment of friends and relatives, preferential treatment for Nigeria and Nigerians, among others.
The allegations, which came from employees of the bank posing as whistleblowers, were later investigated but dismissed as ‘baseless’ and ‘unsubstantiated’ by the bank’s Ethics Committee headed by Takuji Yano, a Japanese national.
However, Steve Mnuchin, US Treasury secretary, wrote to express ‘deep reservations’ about the process undertaken by the Ethics Committee and asked for an independent probe.
The Bureau of Board of Governors has bowed to the US pressure, authorising an independent investigation into allegations levelled against Adesina.
But at a Zoom conference recently, those who worked with the AfDB president or participated in his programme as Nigeria’s agric minister say he could not have been guilty of such allegations as he rejected gifts as agric minister and did not employ people based on primordial sentiments.
Before now, other prominent citizens have thrown the weight of their support behind Adesina. They include President Muhammadu Buhari, who said Nigeria would stand solidly behind Adesina in his bid to get re-elected as AfDB president, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed, Adetokunbo Kayode, vice president of Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI), among others.
Ada Osakwe, CEO of Agrolay Ventures, an Africa-focused investment agric firm, who worked with Adesina between 2012 and 2015, said the AfDB chief was, at a point, pushed to get an official car as agric minister but he declined. She explained that Adesina turned down gifts from various quarters.
Osakwe said Adesina gave anybody who worked with him an opportunity to fly high and moved their ideas forward as long as they were backed with facts. She explained that Adesina employed Nigerians of all ethnic groups while he was agric minister and did not shy away from getting local and international experts to move the country’s agric sector forward.
“Adesina told me he would try to bring professionalism in AfDB. And that he has done. He inspired me to become the agric entrepreneur that I am today. Since I started the business in 2015, I have had no regrets,” Osakwe said.
“He has been there before. When he took over as agric minister, he had to set up a new system to ensure that things were properly done,” she said.
Adesina launched the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme in 2012 as agric minister to enable farmers have access to grants, subsidised seeds and fertiliser via vouchers on their mobile phones. He also spearheaded dry season farming, and cassava revolution, attracting investment to the crop.
Kola Masha, managing director, Babban Gona, which attracts young people to farming, said two of Adesina’s key qualities are his commitment and ability to galvanise others.
Masha, who worked with Adesina to develop his flagship Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA), said the AfDB president galvanised permanent secretaries, civil servants and the private sector, carrying everybody along – a trait he took to the AfDB.
Masha further explained that the AfDB has an exceptionally robust process, saying that US interference in the bank is an attack on the institution and its governance structure.
Temitope Aroge, a pioneer beneficiary of Adesina’s Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) and managing director of Arog Bio Allied Agro Services, said he was struggling at his farm in Ekiti State until he heard about YEAP. He wrote an email to Adesina and the then minister replied him after five hours – at 3am. Even without knowing him personally, Adesina directed people concerned in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to support him. He benefitted N5 million from the scheme.
“I have assets worth N250 million today, thanks to Adesina,” Aroge, who trained as a medical doctor, said.
He explained that he has set up a High Quality Cassava factory and has 1,000 hectares of farmland, thanks to Adesina, dismissing allegations on the AfDB president about primordial considerations in recruitment and promotion as farcical.
Haowa Bello, CEO of Madame Coquette, which makes leather bags and runs a goat farm, said she benefitted from Adesina’s YEAP without knowing anybody. She dismissed the allegation against Adesina bordering on receiving prizes for himself, saying that the AfDB president was not even available to receive the World Food Prize.
“Dr Adesina is a man I will describe as visionary. He loves Africa and he loves waking people up. I never knew him before benefitting from YEAP. When I came to know him, he took time to teach me to believe in my dreams. I have travelled round the world to speak about my vision because of his impact on my life,” she said.
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