Thread by @AyoBankole

I respectfully disagree Dr. The @AfDB_Group crisis is not about Nigeria. It IS indeed about Adesina & his development approach to Africa, irrespective of where it's coming from. It's also about fight for economic control & dependency of Africa between USA & China. I'll explain.

https://twitter.com/olu_fasan/status/1266727304681619456

During his confirmation screening at US Congress for the AfDB job, Stephen Dowd, AfDB's Executive Director & US Board representative made it clear that his mandate was to go expand & improve US trade interests in Africa, through AfDB, being a major investments channel in Africa..

In his words "I would lead the effort to leverage US contribution to AfDB in order to ensure that its finance efforts are used to the best benefit for Africa, that they are consistent with U.S. foreign policy interests there, & that US taxpayers get a good return for their money”

Since taking office, hin & the US have constantly expressed displeasure at China's increased investment and influence in Africa, and attempted to curb it via the AfDB and it's loans. But Adesina has adamantly maintained that Africa's annual infrastructure needs exceed $150bn.

And that the US should be more worried about its absence in Africa than China's presence. There media records of Dowd mentioning that AfDB is the major institution in Africa for trade and investment, and that the bank is not making it easy for the US to build an edge over China.

This was what sparked the initial attempt to rubbish AfDB by the World Bank President David Malpass, when he alleged that AfDB's lending patterns were adding to the debt problem of the countries. Adesina's rebuttal of that claim with factual data killed that narrative on arrival.

When that hit a dead end, Dowd & the US started the corruption narrative. It's worthy to mention that both Dowd and Malpass were nominated by President Trump, whose foreign policy agenda has been more anti-China than ever in US history, which hitherto was more anti-Russia.

So Adesina is a sacrifice for US economic hegemony in Africa over China & also against increased production in Africa, consequently reducing trade volumes with the USA. So Sir, this isn't just about Nigeria. It is about Africa and Adesina. That is why #iStandWithAdesina End