Present and past African Heads of governments and development experts converged on Lagos to examine the contributions of the late Executive Secretary Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Prof. Adebayo Adedeji, to pan-African development and integration. Speakers at the event agreed that his ideas and dreams for the continent must outlive him. Assistant Editor Bola Olajuwon reports
NIGERIANS and other Africans have been urged to ensure that the ideas and dream that the late Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Prof. Adebayo Adedeji, worked at tirelessly for the continent’s growth, prevail. The late Adedeji worked for the growth and economic development of Africa when he was ECA’s Executive Secretary.
This was the position of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Namibian President Hage Geingob; former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon; ex President of Liberia Prof Amos Sawyer; ECA’s Executive Secretary Dr. Vera Songwe; keynote speaker and Kisumu County Governor in Kenya Prof Peter Anyang Nyong’o; former Minister of External Affairs Prof. Ibrahim Gambari as well as many economic and governance experts, at the weekend.
They spoke at a memorial symposium in honour of the late Adedeji, tagged: “Africa’s development agenda: Lessons from the Adebayo Adedeji years and policy options for the 21st Century”, which held in Lagos.
Other sub sessions of the symposium included: Adebayo Adedeji in the trajectory of public administration and development in Africa, moderated by former Director-General, Administrative Staff College, Lagos, Prof Adele Jinadu; and Governance and the challenges of economic transformation in Africa (the governance context to economic development in Africa), moderated by Senegalese politician and diplomat, Abdoulaye Bathily.
Also at the event were former United Nations top official and non-Resident Senior Expert at Global Governance Institute, Brussels, Eloho Otobo; Director of Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, Prof. Adekeye Adebajo; Executive Secretary, Africa Capacity Building Foundation, Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie, as well as economists – Olu Ajakaiye, Temitope Oshikoya, Tamunopriye J. Agiobenebo and Afeikhena Jerome.
Others were Tunji Olaopa, Jide Balogun, Alex Gboyega, Prof Adigun Agbaje, South African diplomat, academic and Head, Secretariat of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Eddy Maloka; Gen. Ishola Williams (retd) and Femi Badejo.
Adedeji’s children – Doyin, Funso, Kunle, Leke, Niyi – other family members and friends also attended the event. Members of the diplomatic circle, the academia and other stakeholders were also in attendance.
At the symposium, organised by the Addis Ababa, Ethiopia-based ECA, which the late Adedeji worked for 16 years, speakers eulogised the Nigerian born pan-African scholar, economist and administrator.
They agreed that they must all work together to end or drastically reduce poverty, create jobs for millions of the teeming youth and unleash their creativity, address the challenge of corruption and economic leakages through illicit financial flows (IFF) from the continent, and inclusive transformation of the continent.
The speakers also called for effective democratic values, accountability and a sense of patriotism to overcome marginalisation and impunity on the continent.
They urged African leaders to ensure a deeper commitment to the social and economic growth of their people as preached by the ECA former executive secretary, through innovation, infrastructural development, fighting corruption and entrenching constitutional democracy.
Osinbajo, who was represented by Special Adviser on Economic Matters in the Office of the Vice President Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, a former Capacity Development director at the UN Economic Commission for Africa, said the late Adedeji was a towering figure of Africa’s immediate post-colonial period. He described him as an intellectual whose thinking and contributions continue to frame policy discourse in Nigeria, Africa and the world in general.
He said: “This is well-demonstrated by the ideas he propagated and the causes he advanced. Such is the breadth and scope of Prof. Adedeji’s contributions that recounting them can almost leave one breathless.
“Prof’s intellectual versatility was also reflected in the various books he wrote and authored across a range of subjects. He addressed topics ranging from conflicts, to governance, economics, democracy, public administration, education and social development. Indeed, for those who are interested in restructuring ofNigeria, I refer them to his work on Nigeria’s Federal Finance, which addressed the topic of fiscal federalism. Moreover, I can think of at least two defining reports that bear his name, namely, “The Adedeji Review of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy” and “The Adedeji Audit of African Union Institutions”.
The Vice President added: “It was, however, not the occupation of positions or the roles that he played that made Prof. Adedeji special. What was different was that he acted in such roles and positions to advance his pan-Africanist ideals. He was committed to improving the conditions of the African people, and by extension improving the governance and economic situation of their countries.
“Prof Adedeji’s interest in public administration was directly linked to the importance he attached to capacity-building of the public sector so that it could underpin the development of African countries. This was particularly insightful if we bear in mind that the success of the East Asian tigers has been attributed in great part to the fact that they built and sustained meritocratic bureaucracies.
“His interest in governance was manifested in various ways. For instance, his agreement to chair the APRM Panel of Eminent Persons in his advanced years was a reflection of a strong belief that well-governed democratic societies were essential to building a strong, prosperous and self-reliant Africa. It also accounted for his roles in tackling conflict and promoting peace in Africa.”
Osinbajo also eulogised the late Adedeji’s legacy for which many respected and called him father of African integration.
His words: “Under the leadership of General Gowon and the late President Eyadema, he did a lot of the heavy-lifting to create the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), an experience he would later on leverage to help establish the Preferential Free Trade Area of East and Southern Africa, now COMESA.
”Equally significant in this regard was the role that he played as Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa in articulating the Lagos Plan of Action and the Final Act of Lagos, which formed the intellectual and official lodestones for subsequent decisions to establish the African Economic Community, the African Union and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
”Of course the contribution that we most remember Professor Adedeji for was his principled stance and leadership in framing the African Alternative Framework for Structural Adjustment Programmes in Africa. As he told it to me, several African Presidents had expressed unhappiness that the ECA was standing-by while they were being compelled to undertake SAP programmes…”
He urged ECA and colleagues of the late economist to put his works and presentations in book form.
Dipeolu, also recollected how as a young diplomat covering the ECA for Nigeria, he attended the All Africa meeting of economists, which Prof. Adedeji convened in 1988 to begin the process of framing an African Alternative to SAP.
Gowon, who also hailed Adedeji as a selfless international civil servant, said: “Adedeji, though a global personality, always put Nigeria first. His key role in the formation of the Economic Community of West African States was worthy of emulation. Adedeji worked tirelessly with the Nigerian Foreign Affairs and all our diplomatic missions in the West African sub-region.
“His belief was that if ECOWAS was successful, it would be easier to recommend it to other sub-regions on the continent.The world recognises his achievements, making him more than a Nigerian product. We are exceedingly proud of him. Particularly, he will always stand tall in my estimation.”
Gowon noted that when Prof. Adedeji worked with him, he saw an immensely brilliant scholar, who perfectly fitted the role of manager of governments’ national assignment of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation (3-R).”
Gen Gowon added that despite being globally acclaimed, the late Adedeji remained proudly Nigerian and placed the interest of the country above self until his last moment.
”His exceptional intellectual depth, made Nigeria a small stage for him and the world easily took note of his accomplishments. We missed him when United Nations’ head-hunted him for the position of the Secretary of the Economic Community for Africa,” he said.
Gowon, however, defended the Udoji award to civil servants after the civil war. The former head of state, while reacting to the notion of one of the panelists that Adedeji disapproved of Udoji, said the former ECA Executive Secretary and other members of his council supported the award. He said: “Everybody, including the civil servants were very excited about the post-civil war award. We decided within ourselves that it was important to reward the workers for their support, loyalty and dedication during the difficult period of the war.”
Gown said after the Udoji award, many civil servants were able to send their children to school and build houses. He noted that it was foreign powers and countries, which imported inflation into Nigeria with preconceived price tags for their products.
Sawyer, in his contribution, said he encountered Prof. Adedeji at every important juncture in his intellectual growth and professional life over the past 50 years.
The ex-Liberian Head of State said: “He has been a major influence on my thinking, career choices and professional work both as a university lecturer and a practitioner. And interestingly, it was only in the 2001, 17 years ago that I first met him face to face to have a conversation with him.”
Sawyer, who said Adedeji’s scholarly works in African governance and University of Ife affected his own philosophy, told the gathering of his encounter with the top economist: “I had done a consultancy and had travelled to Addis Ababa to report. I heard that Prof Adedeji was in the same hotel where I had been accommodated. I called his room, introduced myself and sought an appointment to talk with him. He invited me to breakfast in his suite.”
During the encounter, Prof Sawyer said an awkward conversation ensued. “Prof knew all about me and wanted to know about my wellbeing; I wanted to know why the African Alternative to Structural Adjustment did not put African leaders on the spot, pressing them for major commitments on governance. I don’t know what his specific response was, but I was very impressed with how well he understood African leaders and how to get them around to his positions,” he recalled.
Dr. Songwe, in her welcome address, said: “Adedeji left us an unforgettable legacy of life, commitment and service to the continent, at personal, social and professional levels. As stated by President Geingob, Prof Adedeji was fully engaged in the economic independence of Africa, making of it his career flag.
“During the 16 years that he served the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa as the Executive Secretary, structural transformation was his mantra for Africa, a “good fight” that still guides the economic thinking of the institution that I currently lead. Adebayo Adedeji is remembered by all those who had the privilege of working with him as an intellectual giant, a bold thinker and a passionate believer in African Regional Integration, in the context of the advocacy for the continent’s development. It is impressive how the fingerprints of the Lagos Plan of Action echoes Prof Adedeji’s work on the establishment of the Abuja Treaty.”
She said the symposium complemented other activities that ECA undertakes in honouring the achievements and contributions of Adedeji apart from the annual Adedeji Lecture at the annual Conference of Ministers of Finance.
Gambari preached the need for African leaders to be innovative and adopt different approaches to issues that would grow the continent. Speaking on the contributions of Prof. Adedeji to the growth of Africa, he said: “Adedeji was a ‘Think-Tank’, an outstanding scholar and pride of Africanism, who even in poor health was always engaging, committed, concerned and creative on issues about Africa.”
He said the scholar thought him that to make impact in AU, one must fight and speak authoritatively.
“At old age, he was well-informed and creative. He believed in family first. He was an outstanding scholar and diplomat. He was great in name and contributions to Africa,” the former minister said.
Also speaking, Geingob said African leaders must put in place political mechanisms to strengthen its processes, systems and institution to engender effective leadership.
He said effective leadership is vital for the continent as the days of coup d’état are over, adding that political leaders must not mystify power, but understand that time limits must be put in place for those who crave to perpetuate themselves in power.
Prof.Adebajo gave an oratory presentation on the “African Cassandra”and said he had joined the ranks of African ancestors and become a member of the pan-African Pantheon.
Many, who worked with the late Adedeji and spoke at the symposium, said he had no patience for laziness and sloppy thinking and he kept ECA officials and those who worked him on their toes with respect to the quality of their intellectual output.
“His humanity shone through when he assisted his friends who had suffered grave injustice of arbitrary and unfair early retirement in various ways,” they agreed about the late ECA chief.
The late professor was a Federal Commissioner of Economic Development and Reconstruction; Executive Chairman of the African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies. He was past President and Fellow of the Nigerian Economic Society; pioneer Chairman of the APRM Panel of Eminent Persons; pioneer Chairman of the National Youth Service Corps. Adedeji was also member of the Senate of the United Nations Institute for Namibia.
He established the African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies (ACDESS) , a non-governmental independent continental non-profit think-tank, in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, where he continued to press and work for his dream of a better and self-reliant Africa until his last day.
