Akinwumi Adesina wins 2023 Obafemi Awolowo prize for leadership

Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has been named the recipient of the 2023 Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership. This award, which commemorates the legacy and democratic principles of the late Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian nationalist and federalist leader, pays tribute to and celebrates exceptional leadership.

The Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, established in 1992, is a non-profit non-partisan organisation dedicated to promoting leadership excellence and democratic ideals.

Emeka Anyaoku, chairman of the selection committee responsible for this award, unveiled the laureate during a press conference. He emphasised the selection process, which involved evaluating several nominees.

During his speech, Anyaoku, lauded Adesina for personifying the essential leadership qualities synonymous with Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s qualities that this prize seeks to endorse and acknowledge.

“The prize was to encourage, recognise, reward, and celebrate excellence in leadership. After a careful, detailed, and rigorous screening process, the selection committee was unanimous in deciding the recipient of this year’s prize,” he said.

“I have great pleasure in informing you that the considered view of the selection committee is that of all the nominees presented before it, the person adjudged to possess the attributes for the award to the highest degree and therefore is the recipient of the 2023 Ọbafẹmi Awolọwọ Prize for Leadership is Akinwunmi Ayọdeji Adeṣina, CON, President of the African Development Bank (AFDB).

According to Anyaoku as a former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture during President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s administration, Adesina introduced innovative reforms that revolutionised the agricultural sector. These reforms included the fertiliser sector overhaul, which effectively eliminated corruption and ensured farmers had access to government-subsidized fertilizers.

He noted that the AfDB President’s introduction of an electronic wallet system empowered farmers to receive electronic vouchers for seeds and fertilizers directly on their mobile phones, bypassing middlemen and benefiting more than 15 million farmers within four years.

Since assuming the presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Adesina has been at the forefront of addressing Africa’s challenges. He introduced the “High 5s” initiative, which focuses on critical development priorities such as electrification, agriculture, industrialization, integration, and improving the quality of life for the African populace. Under his leadership, the AfDB’s capital base was significantly augmented, a testament to his ability to mobilize resources for Africa’s development.

Anyaoku also praised Adesina’s commitment to the youths and the less privileged. He noted that Adesina’s establishment of the World Hunger Fighters Foundation, funded by the $250,000 cash prize he received with the World Food Prize, demonstrates his dedication to empowering young people in the fight against global hunger.

Also at the event, Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu, executive director of the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, concurred with the Selection Committee’s choice. She noted that Adesina embodies the attributes that characterised Awolowo’s exemplary leadership, including integrity, credibility, discipline, courage, selflessness, accountability, tenacity of purpose, visionary leadership, and a people-centered approach.

The Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, awarded to Adesina, joins Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka and Thabo Mbeki, former South African President as a distinguished honor. “The award ceremony, scheduled for March 6, 2024, on Chief Awolowo’s birth anniversary, promises to be a momentous occasion, featuring a keynote lecture by Dr. Adesina himself,” Awolowo-Dosumu said.