UNAN commiserate with the family and mourns with the Nation, on the death of Professor Adebayo Adedeji, a prominent and illustrious Nigerian and African who served the UN in many capacities. He recently passed away at age of 87.
Truly, the Nation has lost an illustrious son. Professor Adedeji was an intellectual giant in his field of expertise, economic and development planning. He served as Economic Planning Minister with diligence in the 1970s and initiated several Development Programmes which advanced socio economic development and infrastructural development of the Country. He would also be remembered for his role in the formation of the policy of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reintegration “the 3 R” initiative as part of the post conflict reconciliation and reconstruction after the Nigerian Civil War.
He worked tirelessly in the field of regional economic integration as evidenced by the role he played in the formation and eventual take off of ECOWAS and establishment of the Nigerian Trust Fund at the Africa Development Bank. UNAN accord particular recognition to the work of Professor Adedeji as a top Staffer of the UN and who served the UN family diligently as UN Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Addis Abba. He worked tirelessly to ensure that the mandate of the ECA as the Economic Institution of the UN created to serve Africa’s interest performed efficiently and in accordance with its mandate. This was evident in various continent wide initiatives he initiated during his tenure at the ECA. Most notable was the internationally acclaimed Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programme (AFFSAP), which he presented to the UN as an alternative to the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), a Programme which was impacting negatively on the people in Africa in the late 1960s.
Professor Adedeji was indeed an illustrious Nigerian and African who served the UN at the top echelon. He demonstrated that the UN works and function well as an Organization created to maintain international peace and security and promote the well-being of the through people oriented economic and development policies for the well-being of the people. He will be sorely missed. We sincerely hope those of us left behind will continue to be inspired by the legacies he left behind. May his soul rest in peace.
Engr. Ganiyu OWOLABI
Secretary-General
UNAN, Lagos, Nigeria