Meeting someone you’ve admired for ages can seem both dreamlike and thrilling. It might turn into an instant when your individual respect for their achievements or traits becomes real, possibly resulting in a sense of wonder or a wish to build a deeper connection.
This perfectly captures my enriching experience with Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, renowned for his forward-thinking leadership and dedication to transforming Africa.
The main insight I gained from meeting this remarkable African figure is that bravery is crucial for our existence. In fact, bravery is fundamental to life itself.
At the 2024 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C., I reached out to the African Development Bank group to ask for a short meeting with Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.
I didn’t receive a favorable reply to my request, so I decided to use my connections with the Executive Director’s office at the World Bank to facilitate the situation.
Rather than doing otherwise, I opted to join one of the World Bank’s major gatherings.
\xa0
which had
\xa0
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina as a panelist under the theme ‘Energizing Africa; What Will it Take to Accelerate?’
Despite numerous challenges, I eventually made my way to the waiting area for speakers at the event, eagerly anticipating a chance encounter with Dr. Adesina, who champions the idea that a fresh approach to youth entrepreneurship and investment banking could revolutionize opportunities for Africa’s underserved young population. While waiting, I enjoyed some refreshments and sometimes offered up a silent prayer, fully immersed in the excitement of potentially meeting him.
While awaiting my turn, I reached out to several members of the organizing team, making them conscious of my intent. When the moderator concluded the panel discussion, I subtly brought attention back to my objective and ensured my tie was neatly positioned and presentable for this significant moment.
Behold, Dr. Adesina approached me, flanked by one of the organizers, sporting his usual Duchenne grin. You can picture the sheer joy I felt at that instant.
We greeted each other cordially, and I promptly praised him for his outstanding performance at the panel. I highlighted his proposal about nurturing Africa’s youth so they can significantly contribute to the continent’s economic growth.
This surely grabbed his notice when he was holding my hand and sharing how the continent presents an enormous opportunity because of its large young demographic.
He inquired about my objective during the Spring Meetings and urged me to approach all tasks deliberately and intentionally as I responded to his query regarding how he became a renowned global authority in development economics and agricultural development, boasting over three decades of international expertise. The discussion concluded with us swapping contact information and him introducing me to one of his team members for scheduling an additional meeting.
Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, honored with both the World Food Prize and the Sunhak Peace Prize, stands out for his ambitious efforts to revamp the African Development Bank and hasten progress across the continent.
He serves as the eighth elected President of the African Development Bank Group and was awarded the distinguished Rockefeller Foundation Social Science Fellowship in 1988, propelling him onto the global stage.
Dr. Adesina, a highly productive author, has penned more than 70 academic papers focusing on policies, agricultural progress, and developmental challenges in Africa.
He\xa0caught my attention in August 2020 when he was re-elected to serve a second five-year term as President of the African Development Bank Group by the Board of Governors of the bank with a record 100 percent of votes of all regional and non-regional members of the bank.
After his re-election, I’ve closely followed the former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture from 2011-2015, who transformed Nigeria’s agricultural sector in just four years.
In May 2015, he was initially chosen as the President of the African Development Bank for a five-year tenure, throughout which the bank consistently retained its top-tier AAA ratings from all leading international credit rating organizations for five consecutive years.
Dr. Adesina graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Nigeria, in 1981.
He became the inaugural student to achieve a First Class Honors in Agricultural Economics at the institution following its founding in 1960. Furthermore, he earned both his Master’s degree in 1985 and his PhD in Agricultural Economics in 1988 from Purdue University, United States. At Purdue, he also received the prestigious Outstanding PhD Thesis Award in 1988.
Under Dr. Adesina’s guidance, the African Development Bank was placed first by Publish What You Fund in their ranking for 2021.
th
the most open organization globally.
Furthermore, the African Development Fund, which serves as the concessional lending arm of the African Development Bank Group, was placed at number 2
nd
among all 49 multilateral and bilateral lending institutions globally, encompassing every institution from developed nations as well.
>>>Chris is a thought leader in Marketing Communications, Stakeholder Relationship\xa0Management Professional and International Cooperation Specialist. Over the last 15 years, he has made tremendous impact within Africa’s corporate communications\xa0and creative arts sectors.\xa0He can be reached at\xa0chriskoney@gmail.com / +233 20 854\xa01480
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