Biography of Akinwumi Adesina: current President of the African Development Bank
Akinwumi “Akin” Adesina was born in Nigeria on February 6, 1960. He is the current President of the African Development Bank and a Nigerian economist. Akinwumi Adesina previously served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa’s Vice President of Policy and Partnerships (AGRA). Akinwumi Adesina was appointed President of the African Development Bank in 2015 and re-elected in 2020, making him the first and only Nigerian to occupy the position.
Early life and education
Adesina was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, to a Nigerian farmer. He went to a rural school and graduated from the University of Ife with a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics with First Class Honors.
He earned his PhD in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University in Indiana in 1988, where he was awarded the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award for his research effort.Career
Adesina worked as a senior economist at the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in Bouaké, Ivory Coast, from 1990 to 1995. Since receiving a senior scientist fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1988, he has worked there.
He served as the Foundation’s representative for the Southern African region from 1999 to 2003. He worked as an associate director for food security from 2003 until 2008.
From 2010 to 2015, Adesina served as Nigeria’s Agriculture Minister. For his efforts to transform Nigerian agriculture, Adesina was named Forbes African Man of the Year.
The fertiliser supply chain became more transparent as a result of his efforts. He also promised to give away smartphones to farmers, but this proved to be too difficult. The lack of a cell network in rural areas was one of the factors.
Notable positions held
He was named one of 17 global leaders to spearhead the Millennium Development Goals by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2010.
Adesina was voted as the African Development Bank’s probable President on May 28, 2015. On September 1, 2015, he began his term as President of the United States.
Adesina was nominated to the Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in September 2016.
He was awarded the 2017 World Food Prize in 2017.
Adesina was re-elected as President of the Africa Development Bank for a second five-year term on August 27, 2020.
Personal life
The current President of the African Development Bank and a Nigerian economist Akinwumi Adesina has been married to Grace Adesina since 1984 and both have two children, Rotimi and Segun Adesina.
Recognition
- In 2015, New African magazine named Adesina one of the Top 100 most influential Africans.
- He was selected Forbes Africa Person of the Year in 2013.
- Afe Babalola University gave him an Honorary Doctorate in 2018.
- In 2019, he was selected the Forbes Africa Person of the Year for the second time.
- He received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, Nigeria, on January 28, 2020.
- He received an Honorary Doctorate from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia on May 14, 2022, for his contributions to the field of economics.
Net worth
Akinwumi Adesina’s current net worth is estimated to be $90 million. Considering that Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina’s previous year’s Net Worth was within $5 Million – $8 Million
Honours
- Grand Officer of Tunisia‘s National Order of Merit, 2019
