Nigeria: Akinwumi Adesina's Travails and the Failure of the Post-Colonial State

opinion

Adesina is the first Nigerian to head the bank and all the fluff presently surrounding him is about his plan to wean Africa from consumption and jumpstart production. Apart from the proclivity of President Trump to upend and rip apart every world order that has brought relative peace and prosperity to nations, the conspiracy to oust Adesina is disrespect served to Nigeria a là carte.

A bankrupt post-colonial elite fixated on the two Cs - Corruption and Conspicuous Consumption - failed to embark on the continuous capitalisation of the African Development Bank (AfDB). President Shehu Shagari, an unlikely nationalist, sensibly expressed his foreboding that Africans should own the African Development Bank in 1981. Now, the chickens have come home to roost. Allowing the Western world to hold significant shares in the bank was a strategic blunder and a surrender of the vital lever of economic development. The mistake was complete when the board of AfDB, in its resolution, overruled Shagari in 1983.

...

AllAfrica publishes around 400 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.