By Leke Baiyewu
A body of Nigerians in the diaspora, Diaspora Support Group of North America and Europe, has called on the President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, to join the race for the President of Nigeria in the 2023 general elections.
Adesina, a former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, was urged to go for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress or the Peoples Democratic Party, even though he enjoys the goodwill of Nigerians to run as an independent candidate.
The group made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday by Convener of #DiasporaSupport4Adesina and Founder of Shine Bridge Global Inc., Chesapeake-Virginia, USA, Dr. Tony Bello, titled ‘A Clarion Call to Draft AfDB President Adesina into the 2023 Nigerian Presidential Race!’
The statement partly read, “We, the Diaspora Support Group of North America and Europe, hereby beckon to all well-meaning Nigerians and co-patriots, at home and abroad, to join us in drafting Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina into the Nigerian 2023 presidential race.
“By the way he has endeared himself to the generality of Nigerians across the board, we would have preferred having him run as an independent candidate if such was possible. It’s, therefore, necessary that he contests under any of the two major Nigerian political parties, the APC or the PDP. The announcement of his candidacy, no doubt, will be a revelatory message to the world that our democracy has come of age.
“Yes, the name Adesina featuring among the presidential candidates is something of excellent value to our democracy. It is a signal that we are about to leap into a stable par with mature democracies across the world.”
The group said knowing Adesina, it was sure his presidency would usher in a robust economic resurgence “that will, for example, put an end to our children drowning in the high seas of Africa and Europe in their quest for a better life.”
The group recalled Adesina’s performance at the 2021 Midterm Ministerial Performance Review Retreat when the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), invited him to articulate a roadmap for Nigeria’s economic resurgence.
It added that Adesina has successfully led the AfDB and by implication, Africa, to withstand the global economic shocks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the global food crisis due to (Russian President, Vladimir) Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
It also recalled how Adesina fought back against the assault of President Donald Trump on Africa, when Trump branded Nigeria as a “shithole country,” even when his re-election as President of the AfDB was on the balance.
The group noted that Adesina was afterwards unanimously re-elected with 100 per cent of the votes and remains President of AfDB.
It pointed out that Adesina has become “a national and global influencer of our time,” whose global achievements, awards and recognitions have become a thing of national pride for all Nigerians.
The statement partly read, “Judging from the calibres of those who have shown interest in the presidency of Nigeria after President Buhari, there’s no one better placed than Adesina to mount the seat. He’s an embodiment of leadership in all its ramifications. Be it setting the vision, taking actions, gaining alignment, leading, influencing, inspiring, building, collaboration, partnership, humility to learn, charisma, investing in people and processes, etc.
“Things can no longer remain the same, business as usual for Nigeria in the next election. The time we are in now requires a career technocrat…
