Adebayo Adedeji

Adebayo Adedeji was born on December 21, 1930, in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State. Educated at University College, Ibadan, Leicester University, and Harvard University, he became Nigeria's Federal Commissioner for Economic Development and Reconstruction in 1971, directing post-civil war reconstruction and spearheading the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1975.

Appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in 1975, Adedeji served with distinction for sixteen years. He courageously challenged the austerity-driven Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) imposed by the IMF and World Bank, championing self-reliant endogenous development through the landmark Lagos Plan of Action (1980) and the African Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programs (1989).