KOFI ANNAN, CHIEF OBASANJO:TALE OF TWO GLOBAL ICONS SETTING THE PACE FOR AFRICA
Launches 2014 Africa Progress Report –
Grain, Fish, Money
Chaired by former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, last year’s report Equity in Extractive – Stewarding Africa’s Natural Resources for all, made headlines with its analysis of the oil, gas, and minerals industries in Africa.
The stage was indeed set and it was most grandeur ,when the Africa Progress Panel released its annual Africa Progress Report -
Grain, Fish, Money – Financing
Africa’s Green and Blue revolutions, at the World
Economic Forum on Africa held in Abuja, Nigeria.
Chaired by former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, last year’s report Equity in Extractive – Stewarding Africa’s Natural Resources for all, made headlines with its analysis of the oil, gas, and minerals industries in Africa.
This year’s report went far to argue that Africa can and must
unleash green and blue revolutions in its agriculture and fisheries. It will
highlight the opportunities for Africa of the world’s
growing demand for food and the critical importance of agriculture and
fisheries for two thirds of people in Africa engaged in these sectors. The
report also recommended related policies, including policies to scale-up
Africa’s infrastructure and extend its financial services.
The report also outlined the urgent need to stop the plunder of Africa’s timber and fisheries.
The following Panel Members and Members of the Secretariat all attended the
WEF on Africa to outline findings shared in the report.
WEF on Africa to outline findings shared in the report.
Kofi Annan, Chair, Africa Progress Panel, and former UN
Secretary-General,
Olusegun Obasanjo, Member, Africa Progress Panel, and former
President of Nigeria; Peter Eigen,
Member, Africa Progress Panel, Founder of Transparency International, and
Founding Chair and Special Representative of the Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative (EITI); Bob Geldof, Member, Africa Progress Panel,
Musician, Businessman, Founder and Chair of Band Aid, Live Aid and live8,
Co-Founder of DATA and ONE Advisor and Advocate; Caroline Kende-Robb, Executive
Director, Africa Progress Panel as well as Max Bankole Jarrett, Deputy
Executive Director, Africa Progress Panel
The ten-member Africa
Progress Panel advocates at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable
development in Africa. The Panel releases its flagship publication, the Africa
Progress Report, every year in May.
FACTS ABOUT ANNAN/OBASANJO
* Kofi Annan - Biographical
Kofi A. Annan
of Ghana, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, is the first to
be elected from the ranks of UN staff. His first five-year term began on 1
January 1997 and, following his subsequent re-appointment by the UN Member
States, he will begin a second five-year term on 1 January 2002.
As Secretary-General, Mr. Annan has given priority to
revitalizing the UN through a comprehensive programme of reform; strengthening
the Organization's traditional work in the areas of development and the maintenance
of international peace and security; advocating human rights, the rule of law
and the universal values of equality, tolerance and human dignity; restoring
public confidence in the Organization by reaching out to new partners and, in
his words, by "bringing the United Nations closer to the people". The
Secretary-General has also taken a leading role in mobilizing the international
community in the battle against HIV/AIDS, and more recently against the global
terrorist threat.
Born in Kumasi, Ghana, on 8 April 1938, Mr. Annan studied at
the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi and completed his
undergraduate work in economics at Macalester College in the United States in
1961. From 1961 to 1962, he undertook graduate studies in economics at the
Institut universitaire des hautes études internationales in Geneva. As a 1971-
1972 Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Annan
received a Master of Science degree in management.
Mr. Annan joined the UN in 1962, working for the World
Health Organization in Geneva, where he later also served with the Office of
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. At UN
Headquarters in New York, Mr. Annan held senior positions in a diverse range of
areas, including human resources management (1987-1990), budget and finance
(1990-1992), and peacekeeping (March 1992-December 1996). He was
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping at a time when nearly 70,000 military
and civilian personnel were deployed in UN operations around the world.
Before becoming Secretary-General, Mr. Annan received a
number of special assignments. In 1990, he facilitated the repatriation of
international staff and citizens of Western countries from Iraq after it
invaded Kuwait. He subsequently led initial negotiations with Baghdad on the
sale of oil to fund humanitarian relief. From November 1995 to March 1996, Mr.
Annan served as the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the former
Yugoslavia. As Secretary-General, Mr. Annan has used his good offices in
several delicate political situations, including an attempt in 1998 to gain
Iraq's compliance with Security Council resolutions, as well as a mission that
year to promote the transition to civilian rule in Nigeria. In 1999, he helped
to resolve the stalemate between Libya and the Security Council, and to forge
an international response to violence in East Timor. In 2000, he certified
Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon. Since the renewed outbreak of violence in the
Middle East in September 2000, he has worked to encourage Israelis and
Palestinians to resolve their differences through negotiations based on
Security Council resolutions and the principle of "land for peace".
The Secretary-General has strengthened partnerships with
civil society, the private sector and others outside of government whose
strengths complement those of the UN. He has called for a "Global
Compact" to encourage businesses to respect standards relating to the
environment, employment laws and human rights. In April, 2000, he issued a
report on the UN's role in the 21st century, outlining actions needed to end
poverty and inequality, improve education, cut HIV/AIDS, safeguard the
environment and protect peoples from violence. The report formed the basis of
the Millennium Declarations adopted by national leaders attending the UN
Millennium Summit that September.
Calling the HIV/AIDS epidemic his "personal
priority", the Secretary- General issued a "Call to Action" in
April, 2001, proposing the establishment of a Global AIDS and Health Fund,
which has since received some $ 1.5 billion in pledges and contributions.
Since the terrorist attacks hit the United States on 11
September 2001, the Secretary-General has played a leading role in galvanizing
global action through the General Assembly and the Security Council to combat
terrorism. The Secretary-General has received honorary degrees from
universities in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, as well as a number of
other prizes and awards for his contributions to the aims and purposes of the
United Nations.
The Secretary-General is fluent in English, French and
several African languages. He is married to Nane Annan, of Sweden, a lawyer and
painter who has a great interest in understanding the work of the United
Nations in the field. Two issues of particular concern to her are HIV/AIDS and
education for women. She has also written a book for children about the United
Nations. The Annans have three children.
From Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 2001,
Editor Tore Frängsmyr, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 2002
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the
award and later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/Nobel Lectures/The Nobel Prizes. The
information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the La
EX-President Obasanjo Biography's fact File
Olusegun Obasanjo served
as President of Nigeria from May 1999 to May 2007. It was the culmination of a
life spent on the front line of African politics. In 2008 he was appointed by
the United Nations as a special envoy for Africa and has since overseen
democratic elections on behalf of the African Union and Ecowas in countries across
the continent. He has since emerged as an advocate for investment into the
country and with the launch of his Foundation will tackle issues critical to
advance across the Continent.
Obasanjo became President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
in 1999, following the demise of the military dictatorship of General Sani
Abacha. After fifteen years of repressive rule that saw Nigeria slip into
pariah status internationally, Obasanjo quickly emerged as the front-runner to
lead the country’s historic transition back to democracy. He had suffered
firsthand the brutality of the Abacha regime, having been imprisoned in 1995 on
fabricated charges of plotting a coup to depose him.
Leadership was first thrust upon him in 13th February 1976
when he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt that killed Nigeria’s
military ruler, Murtala Mohammed. As deputy he took over as head of state and
vowed to restore civilian rule once the conditions for democracy were
established. True to his word he gave way to Shehu Shagari , the winner of
elections held in 1979, to date the only voluntary handover from military to
civilian rule in Nigerian history.
Obasanjo’s elected term in office was characterized by a
commitment to the rule of law, economic and political reform. He worked to rebuild
institutions wrecked by decades of neglect, repression and mismanagement. This
included the appointment of key, reform minded technocrats such as the finance
minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and education minister Obiageli Ezekwesili – both
internationally respected leaders in their fields.
Selecting Charles Soludo as Governor of the Central Bank
paved the way for consolidation in the country’s banking sector, transforming
it into one of the most dynamic industries on the continent. Liberalisation of
the telecommunications sector has allowed Nigeria to become Africa’s largest
and fastest growing markets for ICTs.
He created the country’s first Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, which secured in excess of 275 convictions, including high profile
members of Nigeria’s elite, recovering a total of $5bn in assets. This was the
first time in the country’s history that public officials were prosecuted for
the misuse of state funds.
With high oil prices, Obasanjo’s government oversaw a
doubling of Nigeria’s average economic growth rate to 6 per cent.Foreign
reserves rose from $3.7 billion in 1999 to $45 billion in 2007. Sound economic
stewardship helped Obasanjo secure $18 billion in debt relief from Western
creditors and his government used burgeoning state revenues to pay down a
further $12 billion in dues leaving Nigeria almost debt free.
He is also a role model for the youth of Africa. He
established the African Leadership Forum, which organises workshops advocating
African solutions to African problems through better leadership, state capacity
building and the encouragement of private enterprise. The Presidential Library
complex he is building in his home town of Abeokuta will be the first of its
kind in Africa – an enduring testament to his leadership, and a model for the
rest of the continent.
Outside of Nigeria he has been central in the regeneration
and repositioning of the African Union. Together with former South African
president Thabo Mbeki he lead the creation of the African Peer Review Mechanism
designed to engender and promote the ideals of democracy and good governance,
and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
After serving his country for eight years and restoring the
respect of its continental peers and the international community, Obasanjo
stepped down in 2007. His role as Africa’s ambassador-at-large has continued..
In 2008 he was appointed special Envoy on the Great Lakes
region by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and continues to be an integral
actor in mediation efforts in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Obasanjo has also served as the African Union’s Special Envoy for Togo’s 2010
Presidential elections, as well as South Africa’s presidential polls in 2009.
As the Special Envoy for ECOWAS, his role in diffusing the
crisis that threatened civil war in Cote D’Ivoire 2011 was vital. When
democracy was once again threatened in Senegal during controversial
presidential polls in March 2012, he promptly led the joint African Union and
Ecowas mission to resolve the standoff, paving the way for a smooth transition
and pulling one of Africa’s oldest democracies back from the brink.
Outside the political arena Obasanjo has been a catalyst in
driving Africa’s economic transformation. The region is now amongst the fastest
growing in the world, rapidly becoming the destination of choice for
international investors looking to emerging and frontier markets. Using his
experience as a successful farmer and businessman in Nigeria he is actively
engaging this community to facilitate more investment into the continent.
Obasanjo will achieve this vision through the Africa Investment Council (AIC) a
platform of distinguished leaders working to provide advocacy,
thought-leadership, collaboration and best-practices on sustainable investment
into Africa. He is presently an advisor to New World Capital; an investment
advisory firm providing interested parties with market access, investment
advisory and co-investment opportunities across the continent.
President Obasanjo is also Founder of the Olusegun Obasanjo
Foundation, a UK based charity that has a mission of advancing Human Security
for All. The Foundation has wide ranging initiatives of Feeding Africa, Youth
Empowerment, Education for Girls and a health initiative focused on
non-communicable and water borne diseases.
Along with Kofi Annan, he is also a key member of the Africa
Progress Panel
As Africa assumes an increasingly central role in
international policy and business the continent will continue to have an
unwavering advocate in Obasanjo.
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