Akinwumi Adesina stepped down from the African Development Bank presidency with a striking number attached to his tenure: 7 billion dollars in grants and concessional financing delivered to Nigeria between 2015 and 2025.
The former AfDB president made the disclosure recently, putting a firm figure on what a decade of his leadership meant for Africa's largest economy. The funds, secured over the course of his two terms, represent one of the most substantial flows of development financing Nigeria has received from a multilateral institution in recent memory.
Adesina, a Nigerian himself, led the Abuja-headquartered bank through a period of significant expansion on the continent. His tenure was not without turbulence, but the financial record he is pointing to as he exits the role is hard to ignore.
With a new AfDB president now taking the reins, the question Nigeria's development watchers are already asking is whether that momentum holds.
Originally published by BusinessDay.