I Came from a Poor Background; Akinwunmi Adesina

Agricultural development expert with 24 years of experience in developing and managing successful agricultural programmes across Africa, Akinwunmi Adesina has revealed that he came from a poor background. The hard working minister made this known in an address while receiving an award for Extraordinary Achievement by Silverbird Television. The Vanguard said, The President only heard about him, read about his profile and invited him to serve as minister. 

Adesina's words:

“I just happened to be a public servant that was given the opportunity to serve my country which is an extra-ordinary country,”he said, while receiving his award.

He was one of Nigeria’s greatest exports to the outside world, who was relatively unknown back home until the Jonathan-led administration found him and consequently brought him back to serve the country.

According to him, “Obviously, you cannot serve unless somebody calls you to come and serve. I want to thank His Excellency, Goodluck Jonathan for his extra-ordinary gesture in actually asking me to leave my international career and come back home to serve my country. I never knew him and I never met him.”

“He simply heard about me and he brought me home to come and serve my fatherland. There are other people that played an important role in bringing me back to the country to serve my beloved country; former President Olusegun Obasanjo. But having arrived the country, I couldn’t have achieved anything without the extra-ordinary support I received from Nigerians. I am quite delighted that we have been able to reposition this sector well ahead of time before we got into the declining economic crisis that we are facing today.”

Adeshina also talked about his background which he said was a humble one. And since he hit the international limelight he has dedicated his life to helping the poor people around the world.

“Many of you may not know that I came from a poor background. I attended a village school. My dad, and grandfather worked as labourers in other people’s farms. My dad could not read and write until he was 15 years when an uncle of his took him to Lagos, where he went to Igbobi College and later, got a job as a civil servant. That was how I got educated, otherwise I wouldn’t be getting this award if I wasn’t standing on the shoulder of my father who sacrificed so much for me.”

“I have always dedicated my life to helping  the poor people around the world because poverty must not become something we are comfortable with. This is because I have followed the path, and I know that there is no comfort in poverty at all. I want to thank the fathers of Nigeria for their tremendous work. I want to thank the private sector that helped us to mobilized $5.6billion to this sector within three and half years. The federal government supported all the state governors in realizing our mission to make food like the democratic right of every citizen of this country. We are not going to play politics with it. And Mr. President asked us to go in that direction.”

As this administration prepares to hand over to the incoming one on May 29, one thing that it will be remembered for, is its ability not only to revolutionized the agricultural sector but also, restore the dignity of Nigerian farmers, bringing them to the limelight and to the attention of government, where previously it had been a master-servant relationship.