Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Behind the scenes

My usual first thoughts about what's going on behind the scenes involve corruption, self-serving deal making, and political plotting. It turns out that behind the scenes, or at least out of this American's purview, there are other, much better things going on.

Nigeria's Akinwumi Adesina named Forbes African of the Year

Nigerian Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina has been named Forbes African of the Year for his reforms to the country's farming sector.

Akinwumi Adesina

"He is a man on a mission to help Africa feed itself," said Forbes Africa editor Chris Bishop.

Analysts say Nigeria's economy has long been dominated by oil, while agriculture has been ignored, even though it supports far more people.

Mr Adesina said he wanted to help people become rich through farming...

Aliyu Tanko from BBC Hausa says Mr Adesina has introduced more transparency into the supply and distribution of fertiliser, which had previously been marred by massive corruption…

In January, Mr Adesina announced a scheme to hand out 10 million mobile phones to farmers to "drive an agriculture revolution" so they can find out the latest market information.

However, our correspondent says this goal has not yet been achieved, noting there is no mobile network coverage in many rural areas…

Mr Adesina was chosen ahead of some of Africa's most prominent businesspeople: Aliko Dangote and Jim Ovia, also from Nigeria; South Africa's Patrice Motsepe; and Zimbabwe's Strive Masiyiwa…