Opinion
Obafemi Awolowo Foundation Honours AfDB President
”’Lighten-Up, Power Africa “‘ Is Iluminating Nigeria Through NEP
By Enyi Ejike-Umunnabuike & Maryam Nwachukwu
Dr Akinwumi Ayode Adesina, the current President and Chairman of Council of the 20-member Board of the African Developmemt Bank { AfDB } is an urbane man of all seasons.He is an intellectually over -achieving personality, with a high affinity for creativity , uncommon value-addition , skilled corporate governance competences , rounded-knowledge base , experience , brilliance and intelligence.
Before 2015, he was Nigeria’s Honourable Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development.
Duing his period of development administrative stewardship, under the President Goodlluck Ebele Jonathan , Federal administration, Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, left a highly enthralling scorecard as a political appointee of government , who was able the manage the positive gains of the electoral successes of that administration, achieving lots of feats , amidst very compelling and challenging circumstances.
Perhaps, the successes and lasting impressions that he left behind as Nigeria’s Honourable Minister of Agriculture & Rural Developmemt, provided a very unbiased career-premised evaluative template that found him worthy of selection and eventual endorsement as the most competent of all the candidates that vied for the exalted position.
This well cultured , disciplined and humble balanced personality , listed , known addressed and called Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina , will by March 6th,2024, be honoured the OBAFEMI AWOLOWO FOUNDATION at the Lagos Continental Hotel with the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership .
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, will be formally honoured and presented with the distinguished Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership 2023.
As a tie-back to history, it will be recalled that the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, was first announced in December 2012, with the official award ceremony held on March 6, 2013.
Before Dr Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina ,was announced as its fourth recipient, three other distinguished personalities had been conferred with the same award .
These include the, Noble Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka; former South African President, Dr. Thabo Mbeki; and the founder of the Afe Babalola University, Aare Afe Babalola, respectively.
A very significant aspect of this event is that it also coincides with the birth anniversary of the late foremost nationalist and stateman in whose memory the award was instituted.
The award is an initiative of the Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, set up in April 1992 to serve as the custodian of Chief Awolowo’s intellectual property and leadership legacy values and norms. Established as an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to immortalizing the democratic and development-oriented ideals of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the organizers of the event, say the award is a “prestigious, biennial, international prize structured to follow a rigorous process of nomination and subsequent screening by a Selection Committee consisting of some of the most outstanding Nigerians”.
They further said that the prize serves as a strong motivational incentive for persons to pursue excellence in leadership and good governance. The award, confers considerable honour and recognition to the recipient.
Speaking on the selection process which led to the choice of Adesina as the 2023 recipient, the foundation Spokesperson Dr. Mrs. Tokumbo Awolowo – Dosunmu , said the call for nomination for the award was published for several months in 2023 and at the close of entries, many nominations of eminent persons were received, with Dr Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, , emerging as a unanimous candidate for the 2023 award.
Expressing his delight about the award and being in the company of previous eminent recipients, Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, who has a FIVE POINT BLUEPRINT for repositioning the African Developmemt Bank { AfDB } said, “I am delighted to have been selected as a recipient of the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership.
Said he , “Joining Nobel Prize laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, as well as Aree Afe Babalola as prior winners of the prize, is such a great honour.”
Adesina, a simply describes himself as a ”Kenyan”’ , is the eighth elected President of the AfDB and the first Nigerian to be so elected to that exalted Executive position, having been elected to the position on May 28, 2015 for the first by the Bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
He was re-elected for a second term in 2020 following an excellent performance acknowledged by supporters and critics alike.
The High Five-point agenda of Adesina’s presidency at the AfDB with the ambition to Feed Africa, Light Up Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa and Improve the Quality of Life in Africa, was particularly lauded by the organisers as capable of putting the development of the continent directly in the hands of its people.
As Nigeria,’ s President, His Excellency , Distinguished Bola Ahmed Tinubu , GCFR , attends the occasion, topical energy issues and Policy concepts, are expected to come up for mention.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, Nigeria,’s second military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, GCFR ,one of Nigeria’s foremost University students Union activist, who was the footsoldier of the famous 1977 Col Ali Must Go NUNS nationwide students demonstration, Chief Wole Olaoye, a Director of Academy Press Limited Lagos & CEO Diametrics Ltd, amongst others.
Issues, values and norms of clean, sustainable and affordable renewable projections , thtough off-grid, solar mini-grid as well as the interconnected hybrid mini-gtid , in all underserved and unserved rural communities In Nigeria.
Happily , the Lightening Up & Power Africa initiative introduced by the President of the African Developmemt Bank { AfDB } as one of his FIVE-POINT Developmemt Administration AGENDA to turn around the fortunes of the African continent through massive rural electrification projects , would certainly be of immense benefits to Nigeria, given the huge fiscal instruments investments , ploughed in by the Nigerian Government.
Interestingly, the AfDB Lightening Up & Power Africa Concept, falls within the globlal expectations of UNIVERSAL ACCESS to electricity.
The fact that this well deserved and prestigious award on Dr Akinwumi Ayodeji Adlesina, is coming at a time the energy challenges in Africa, are getting increasingly multifaceted, attempting to cripple credible efforts by more than 54 African nations , at food security and feeding their various populations, industrializing and integrating their nations as well as improving the quality of life of the citizenry, shows that this biennial event is not only timely , highly strategic but one developing economies in Africa, including Nigeria, would benefit from to reflect on the five-point agenda of Dr Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina’s tenure as the President of the African Development Bank.
Universal access to electricity , aims at recording the following scorecard , (1) No fewer than 162 GM of generated electricity (2) 130 million on-grid connections. (3) 75 million off-grid connections.
The above figures, show some level of worrisomeness , when we consider that well over 640 million Africans, including Nigerians, have no access to electrical energy sources, offering an electricity access rate for African nations, at just 40% , making it the lowest globally.
Ken Nnamani, a former president of the senate, says he did not beg Elisha Abbo, a former senator representing Adamawa north, on behalf of any judge after the ex-lawmaker lost his election case in court.
In October 2023, the court of appeal sacked Abbo and declared Amos Yohanna, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner of the Adamawa north senatorial election.
Appearing on Channels Television on Wednesday, Abbo said he was a victim of “miscarriage of justice”.
The former senator said Nnamani pleaded with him on behalf of a judge after he lost his election case in 2023.
Reacting in a statement, the former senate president described Abbo’s claim as “blatant lies”.
“My greatest surprise was to hear him state that Senator Ken Nnamani visited him to plead with him on behalf of a judge for the miscarriage of justice. This statement is a blatant lie. I do not know how Senator Abbo can boldly fabricate an event that never happened to buttress his allegation of judicial miscarriage against him,” he said.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I have never visited Senator Elisha Abbo at his house or anywhere. Up to this moment, I do not know where he lives. I have never discussed with him about his case, or any case pending or decided by any court of law in Nigeria.
“The only time I met with him was when he visited me in my house. It was more of a social visit by him. At this meeting, we never discussed his case or any case. I recall that when the matter of his political career came up, I advised him to avoid controversies as a young politician.
“The statements Senator Abbo made regarding me and his case are all fabrications. I believe I have had a sterling and distinguished public service career. I am determined to maintain my integrity and commitment to excellence till the end of my life.”
Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources, says the federal government plans to commence implementing the drill-or-drop provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Section 94 of the PIA gives operators a period of three years to begin oil production or relinquish the assets to the federal government.
Speaking during the Cross Industry Group (CIG) meeting held on Tuesday in Florence, Italy, Lokpobiri said it is in the best interest of the country that all inactive wells go to work.
He said the federal government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has provided every necessary incentive to ensure international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria run smoothly and profitably.
“Now, it is imperative for these industry players to match the government’s efforts with increased investment by announcing final investment decisions (FIDs),” he said.
Furthermore, Lokpobiri discussed “the challenges, expectations, and measures to enhance the sector’s contributions towards domestic energy needs and regional expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa”.
He emphasised that while IOCs have highlighted engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors as a challenge, “EPCs will not come unless they see strong commitments from industry players”.
“The government has done its part to provide the requisite and investment-friendly fiscals, the ball is now in the court of the IOCs and other operators to make strategic investment decisions that will drive increased production and sustainability in the sector,” he said.
“We must also recognise that domestic crude supply is essential to national energy security. The best solution to this challenge lies in increasing production, which will ensure a balance between domestic supply obligations and external commitments.”
The minister further urged industry players to explore collaborative measures, such as shared resources for contiguous assets and the release of underutilised assets to operators ready to invest in production.
The Progressive Students Movement (PSM), a leading Pan-African student body, has commended the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in Ogun State under Commissioner of Police (CP) Lanre Ogunlowo, PhD, for its commitment to security and community engagement.
In a statement released on Thursday, the President of PSM Nigeria, Comrade Ambassador Okereafor Bestman, highlighted the CP’s efforts in strengthening collaboration between the police, stakeholders, and other security agencies to maintain peace and stability in the state.
“It is worthy of note that CP Lanre Ogunlowo, PhD, has further fostered a harmonious working synergy between the police, stakeholders, and other security agents aimed at ensuring peace and tranquility in Ogun State,” Okereafor said.
The student leader expressed confidence in CP Ogunlowo’s leadership, stating that Ogun State is on track to becoming one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria under his administration.
He also praised the professionalism and dedication of the Ogun State Police Command in tackling crime, regardless of its scale.
Additionally, PSM acknowledged the Ogun State government’s continued support for security agencies, particularly in providing mobility and logistics to enhance their operational efficiency.
The commendation comes at a time when security remains a top priority for residents and authorities in the state, with ongoing efforts to curb crime and ensure public safety.