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Korea is a model for Africa’s industrialization, says Adesina
53rd Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank opened in Busan, Korea, on Monday with a call on African Governments to create the right environment for the private sector to lead the continent’s industrial revolution. Participants also advocated for a balance between the role of the State and the private sector.
Korea was presented as a good model for industrialization which African countries can learn from.
“Korea’s example is incredible. Korea was as poor as any African country in the 1960s with a low per capital income. Today, thanks to the determination of its people and its commitment to industrialization, Korea is the 11th biggest economy in the world, an example Africa should learn from,” said African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina at a media breakfast.
Discussions around the media breakfast table focused on the theme of the 2018 Annual Meetings, “Accelerating Africa’s Industrialization,” and the need to tell the great stories of Africa – the story of a resurgent continent ready to take its rightful place in the industrial world.
“If you look at countries that have industrialized – China, South Korea, Singapore and many others – the role of the State was clear. One of the things that I think we need to take out of this conversation is that the State has a great role to play in Africa’s industrial revolution, particularly in terms of industrial policy, providing direction, support for infrastructure, and directing capital to particular industries,” he stressed. “Ethiopia is a very good example.”
Adesina explained that industrialization was selected as the theme of the 2018 Annual Meetings to further showcase what Africa can learn from a country like Korea.
“There is nowhere better than Korea to address this theme. Korea’s incredible success over the last 60 years provides a perfect model to the African Development Bank to redouble its efforts towards Africa’s economic development. Africa is a tremendously blessed continent, but it needs to industrialize, create lots of jobs, and be more competitive in the global market.”
For Africa to witness true agricultural transformation, technologies need to reach farmers to enhance productivity. This was the message of the Leadership4Agriculture Forum, held on Day 1 of the meetings.
“We cannot say we have leadership when we still have 65 percent of the land in Africa uncultivated. We must develop solutions to agriculture and ensure that the sector can grow to a US $1-trillion business,” Adesina said.
Participants in Monday’s Leadership4Agriculture session included Ministers and key partners involved in the development of agricultural industrialization of the continent. They emphasized the need to enhance the competitiveness of Africa’s agriculture sector and to develop industrial value chains required to power the growth of the sector to a world-class industry.
Mima Nedelcovych, President and Chief Executive, Initiative for Global Development, said the African agriculture sector required efforts to improve its competitiveness and called for reforms to ensure that low-interest rate lending is available to the agriculture sector.
“We have to take action as well as talk. Talk is important, but we also want to take people to task,” said Jennifer Blanke, the Bank’s Vice-President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, on moving past discussing agricultural challenges to executing solutions for them.
How to leverage the continent’s youth to accelerate economic prosperity through industrialization was the focus of a session on “Bridging innovation and industry: African youth solving continental challenges.”
Badr Idrissi, a young Moroccan industrialist, co-founded ATLAN Space, a start-up that uses artificial intelligence and drone technology to solve some socio-economic problems. The innovation has helped Morocco to effectively fight illegal fishing.
“They say that artificial intelligence is not meant for Africa. We are here to prove that wrong,” Idrissi said.
Idrissi used his 12-year international work experience at Microsoft and Nokia to develop and provide tech solutions, which have created employment for several young Moroccans.
In Kenya, a young banker, Lorna Rutto, quit her job to co-found EcoPost, a social enterprise that has created thousands of sustainable jobs for people in marginalized communities, in addition to conserving the environment.
“I was inspired by what I thought was going wrong in my community. Trees were being cut down and plastic waste was all over the place,” Rutto told the session. “It was very scary for me to resign a good bank job, but I had to fulfil my ambition as an entrepreneur. That was when I developed the idea that waste was a resource and not a thing to throw away.”
EcoPost has so far transformed over 3 million kilograms of plastic waste into plastic lumber, saved over 500 acres of forest and helped mitigate climate change in Kenya.
Adesina commended the young entrepreneurs for converting challenges into opportunities and urged them to continue representing the industrialization of Africa.
“Young people are not just the future of Africa, they are the present,” said Adesina. “They represent entrepreneurship and energy. This must be nurtured, harnessed and scaled up to propel Africa’s industrial revolution and the Bank is here to harness that.”
The lawmaker representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Engr. Aderemi Oseni, has mourned the death of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State and former member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Akeem Abimbola Oladipupo, popularly known as Able, describing his demise as a painful loss to the progressive family.
Oladipupo, who represented Ibadan North-West Constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly, was widely regarded as a grassroots politician and committed party loyalist until his passing.
Oseni, who is also the Chairman, House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency and the APC candidate for Oyo South Senatorial District, said the late politician’s death had created a vacuum within the party and among those who benefitted from his unwavering commitment to public service.
In a condolence statement issued on Monday by his Media Aide, Idowu Ayodele, and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the federal lawmaker described the late Oladipupo as a dependable progressive, humble political actor and loyal party stalwart whose impact would remain indelible.
He said the deceased dedicated his life to serving humanity, strengthening the progressive movement and supporting the aspirations of many at the grassroots.
Oseni said, “The death of Hon. Akeem Abimbola Oladipupo (Able) came to me as a rude shock. Oyo State and the progressive family have indeed lost a committed, loyal and selfless leader whose passion for service, humility and dedication to the people stood him out.
“He was not just a politician but a bridge-builder, a dependable ally and a grassroots mobiliser who believed strongly in the ideals of our great party. His contributions to the growth of the APC in Oyo State and his service to humanity will remain unforgettable.”
The APC senatorial candidate noted that the late former lawmaker remained steadfast in promoting peace, unity and political development, adding that his simplicity and accessibility endeared him to many across political divides.
According to Oseni, the late politician’s legacy of service and sacrifice would continue to inspire younger politicians and party faithful.
He, however, urged members of the APC, associates and family members of the deceased to take solace in the remarkable life he lived and the positive impact he made during his lifetime.
Oseni also prayed for the repose of the deceased’s soul and for God to grant his family the fortitude to bear the painful loss.
State governors have proposed a new national minimum wage of N100,000 for Nigerian workers as part of efforts to cushion them from the biting effects of inflation and the rising cost of living.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), disclosed the proposal on Saturday in a post by the state government’s official Facebook page. He said the move aims to improve workers’ welfare while ensuring that government finances remain sustainable.
“State governments recognise the urgent need to improve workers’ welfare in response to the current economic realities facing Nigerians,” AbdulRazaq said.
“We are actively engaging with the Federal Government and organised labour to arrive at a wage structure that is fair to workers and sustainable for government finances.”
The NGF chairman explained that ongoing discussions are focused on balancing the need to boost workers’ purchasing power with the capacity of governments to deliver essential public services and development projects.
“The goal is to improve the living conditions of workers while ensuring that states can continue to meet their obligations and sustain projects that directly impact citizens,” he added.
The proposed N100,000 minimum wage is expected to intensify national debates on salaries, inflation, and broader economic reforms as Nigerians continue to contend with rising food prices, transportation costs, and other living expenses.
Currently, Nigeria’s statutory minimum wage stands at N70,000 per month. Some states, including Lagos, Rivers, and Imo, are already paying above the national benchmark to support workers amid the country’s economic challenges.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has continued to call for a comprehensive review of salaries, insisting that workers deserve a living wage that reflects present-day economic realities rather than merely guaranteeing survival.
The average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, rose to N1,532.93 per litre in April 2026, representing a 23.69 per cent increase compared to the N1,239.33 recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, findings by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have shown.
The sharp rise in petrol prices came amid mounting inflationary pressure and worsening living costs, with Nigerians grappling with soaring transportation and food expenses that have continued to shrink household purchasing power.
The NBS disclosed this in its Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch for April 2026, released on Friday.
The report further showed that on a month-on-month basis, petrol prices rose by 18.97 per cent from N1,288.54 recorded in March 2026, underscoring persistent volatility in the downstream petroleum market.
A breakdown of prices across states revealed that Yobe recorded the highest average retail price for petrol at N1,599.05 per litre during the review period.
Edo and Bauchi followed closely with average prices of N1,595.74 and N1,589.07, respectively.
However, Niger residents paid the least for petrol at an average of N1,403.89 per litre, while Sokoto and Katsina recorded N1,404.16 and N1,406.28 respectively.
At the zonal level, the South-South recorded the highest average retail price at N1,566.76 per litre, while the North-West posted the lowest at N1,508.81.
The latest petrol price increase comes as millions of Nigerians continue to battle the ripple effects of rising inflation, with higher energy costs worsening transportation fares and the prices of essential commodities.
Similarly, the NBS said the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, rose by 13.73 per cent month-on-month to N8,706.93 in April 2026 from N7,655.73 recorded in March.
On a year-on-year basis, the price increased by 10.42 per cent from N7,885.60 recorded in April 2025.
Lagos recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder at N9,745.10, followed by Nasarawa at N9,451.70 and Bayelsa at N9,422.74.
In contrast, Anambra recorded the lowest average price at N7,204.76, while Ondo and Ogun followed with N7,239.49 and N7,825.75, respectively.
At the regional level, the North-West recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder at N9,025.07, followed by the North-East at N8,847.16, while the South-East posted the lowest average price at N8,224.37.
Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas increased by 13.89 per cent month-on-month to N22,382.20 in April 2026 from N19,652.83 in March.
Compared to April 2025, the price rose by 10.43 per cent from N20,268.06.
According to the NBS LPG Price Watch for April, Katsina recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder at N25,596.71, followed by Kogi at N24,558.25 and Gombe at N24,438.97.
Ogun recorded the lowest average price at N19,564.36, while Bauchi and Anambra followed at N20,178.87 and N20,511.90 respectively.
The North-West recorded the highest zonal average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder at N23,276.95, followed by the North-Central at N22,865.29, while the South-East posted the lowest average at N21,060.92.
The latest figures signal growing pressure on household energy costs, raising concerns over the implications for inflation and the cost of living in the coming months.
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