One of the most beautiful and inspiring news to come out of Nigeria in recent times is the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership bestowed on our own Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, for his exceptional and patriotic service to his beloved country Nigeria, and indeed Africa. It then becomes a double blessing when this illustrious son presented a seminal, thought-provoking lecture at the award event last week. Entitled, “Making a New Nigeria: Welfarist Policies and People-centered Development”, the address recast the nation in an incisive nostalgic note, back to the dreams of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, with salient instructions on how to make them come true even in present-day Nigeria.
However, it is sad to note that some analysts have nothing but pessimism about the possibilities of reinventing Awolowo’s dreams, as envisioned by the AfDB President. Some said Nigeria would not listen to him; as she never listened to Awolowo. Some others opined that it was a waste of intellectual energy to start dreaming so elaborately. But to me, Adesina’s speech has the ingredients with which revolutions are baked. Not just because it was a scholarly exegesis set against the backdrop of nostalgic longings for “the best president that Nigeria never had” but because this messenger is a man who practised what he preached. His upbringing, track record and mien radiate an inner sense of mission which only time unveils.
Again, we must also recognise that there is an almost imperceptible depth in Adesina’s character which makes him one of the most visible shining lights in the Awoist camp when it is no longer fashionable to be (a politician) like Awo. But, most importantly, he is that ardent admirer of the late sage, who arguably has ascended the platform with better leverage to achieve what his role model was never able to accomplish. This is why I am of the view that he should give the wall a little more push. This house of cards may just cave in, for the people to finally exhale.
Adesina was cited as one of the top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2015. In 2013, he was named Forbes Africa Person of the Year. In 2019, he was again named the Forbes Africa Person of the Year. Last November, the AfDB gave Nigeria a $1bn budget support fund for ongoing economic reforms. And at the moment, the continental financial institution plans another $2.7bn budget, agriculture loans for Nigeria, while approving $134m fund for emergency food production. The monies are broken down into two: $1.7bn economic and budget support loan and a launch of a $1bn agro-industrial processes in 28 states.
At the risk of sounding naïve, I think the AfDB president should invoke the influences of his office the same way other global financial institutions deploy them, when they wish to whip our political leaders into line. He should set the agenda for our leaders, especially for the state governors, and insist they toe the path of people-centred progress.
Adesina professed in his speech that given the high level of poverty in Africa, and Nigeria, what is needed are welfarist policies that exponentially expand opportunities for all, reduce inequalities, and improve the quality of life of people. He outlined five areas on which this new plan would be focused in order to ignite enough traction in generating public-centric policies and private sector wealth creation for all. They are rural economic transformation and food security; health care security for all; education for all; access to affordable housing for all; and government accountability and fiscal decentralisation for a true federalism.
Indubitably, these five points encompass the fundamentals of governance. When the people feel the impact of government, especially at the grassroots level, there is nothing remaining for the greatness of a nation to become a reality. This is the secret behind China’s rise. In contrast, the political leaders of today’s Nigeria have turned governance on its head. The local government system, which is at the core of rural economic transformation and food security, is non-existent. It is instructive to note that Adesina had itemised it as the first value in this pro-people proposal. When you get this right, every other thing falls into place.
Thankfully, he is not a stranger to the politics in our clime, having led one of the most important ministries under former President Goodluck Jonathan. It is just as well that, in his speech, he also referred to the visible impact he made in the sector he manned – agriculture and rural development, which obviously secured him the enviable position as the first Nigerian AfDB President. He said he was inspired by Awolowo.
“The decision by Chief Awolowo to start with the transformation of the rural economy was a very sound policy. The establishment of farm estates, and the expansion of rural roads, supported by professionally run marketing boards helped stabilise the prices of farm produce. It is worth noting that the prudent fiscal management of the cocoa revenues powered the economies of the states that then constituted the Western region. These revenues allowed the government to embark on an unprecedented idea – free education and free basic health care services. It was common then to hear the phrase “Agbe lo ba” (farmers are kings), uttered with great pride. We must give new life to our rural areas, “he declared.
I agree with Adesina. If Chief Awolowo could do this in the 1960s, there is no reason rural economies today should be immersed in extreme poverty. Clearly, rural economies have been abandoned, by politicians, planning and policies. Today, they have become zones of economic misery. The pauperisation of rural economies is what is causing the implosion of many countries across Africa. When rural economies (the fulcrum of the African society) falter, nations falter. This leads to the spread of anarchy, banditry, and terrorism.
The truth is that many citizens are actually tired of the cash-and-carry transactional power juggling that we call democracy today. Our elections have become a cycle of broken promises and our institutions are now clearing houses for personal aggrandisement and luciferic greed. We are so lost that we may not even know the best form of government for us; but one thing that we all know is that we want welfare and security. We want to feel what it is to be filled with hope. Hope that Nigeria will be great.
Hope that education will be free at all levels. Hope that there will be health for all. Hope that the remarkable transformation witnessed in the old Western region of Nigeria, in education, agriculture, health, and infrastructure, undergirded by a highly professional and disciplined civil service, could actually take hold in Nigeria – and rewrite our history for good. If we missed the opportunity to be great half a century ago, perhaps, today, one of us has opened our eyes to new possibilities.
Sometimes, history does not announce a revolution, but the most insignificant moments turn out to be the defining moments when Mother Earth announces her plans for her children. Most of the time, we can only appraise this with the advantage of hindsight. Adesina, a man who began early in his career with a sense of evangelistic mission – when he and his wife along with another couple, started the Christian group called the African Student Fellowship at Purdue University, Indiana, USA – may have just been called up by Mother Africa to fulfil another mission. Now, a political mission, the launch pad of Nigeria may just be the needed fulcrum to birth a new socio-political paradigm for the troubled and traumatised continent.
Credit: Greg Odogwu