President Samia Suluhu Hassan praised Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, for his important contribution to the advancement of Tanzania’s main strategic projects.
In her comments at yesterday’s Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership award event in Lagos, Nigeria, President Samia stated that Tanzania is one of the African countries that has benefited immensely from Dr. Adesina’s vibrant leadership.
“Thanks to his extraordinary ability to work with people and get things done, Tanzania has seen significant progress in various sectors over the past eight years,” the president said.
She noted the AfDB’s significant investments in energy, transportation, agriculture, water and sanitation, and regional connectivity infrastructure under Dr. Adesina’s leadership. President Samia emphasised Dr. Adesina’s leadership in getting financial assistance for Tanzania’s ambitious Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project, which intends to connect Tanzania to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Burundi.
“This reckons to African Agenda 2063, which advocates for economic interconnectedness and people’s connectivity to ensure free movement of goods and services in the region,” she said.
Dr. Adesina has been awarded the coveted 2023 Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership after a rigorous screening process by a panel of prominent Nigerians. The medal, established to remember the memory of late Nigerian statesman Chief Obafemi Awolowo, recognises outstanding leadership.
President Samia hailed Dr. Adesina as a visionary leader who is unwaveringly committed to Africa’s development, praising his ardent advocacy for agriculture and efforts to assure food security across the continent.
She emphasised Dr. Adesina’s contribution in organising the 2023 Feed Africa Summit, which brought together leaders to discuss food security issues.
President Samia praised Dr. Adesina’s collaborative leadership style, highlighting his capacity to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including heads of state, government officials, commercial sector leaders, and civil society organisations, to advance Africa’s global interests.
President Samia acknowledged Dr. Adesina’s revolutionary impact on the AfDB and applauded his commitment to developing creative prospects for youth development, notably through large-scale farming programmes like Tanzania’s “Building a Better Tomorrow” project.
She also praised Dr. Adesina’s unwavering dedication, describing him as more than simply the AfDB’s President, but also a trusted ally and advocate for African prosperity.
Dr Samia underlined Tanzania’s commitment to working with the AfDB to implement transformative initiatives for the benefit of its inhabitants and the entire African continent.
“Dr Adesina is more than AfDB president, he is a dear brother who puts his heart fully into what he does. Facilitating, helping, supporting, advising and pushing to ensure every country succeeds, he is pushing,” Dr Samia said. She added:
“It is for these and other reasons that Dr Adesina is highly respected in Tanzania and across Africa. My presence here today attests to the impactful contribution of transformative leadership in my own country Tanzania,” Other AfDB supported projects in Tanzanian include the Centre of Excellence for Cardiovascular Science, the Dodoma City Outer Ring Road Project, the Africa Fertiliser Financing Mechanism (AFFM) and the construction of the Msalato International Airport in Dodoma to mention a few.