Nigeria’s former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Wednesday, made a surprise appearance in Kenya as African leaders adopted the Nairobi Declaration to drive green growth, mitigation and adaptation across Africa.
On Wednesday, just when the summit declaration was to be announced by Kenya’s President William Ruto, the former Nigerian leader emerged among the crowd of leaders gracing the declaration.
Mr Obasanjo was seen exchanging pleasantries with other leaders and delegates at the summit, including billionaire Mo Ibrahim.
He joined the leaders as they walked to the “Court hall” stage—an open field at the Kenyatta International Convention Center, where the final summit address was delivered by Mr Ruto.
Mr Obasanjo served as Nigeria’s elected president from 1999 to 2007.
‘Grandfather of Africa’
While on the stage, Kenya’s president Ruto recognised the ex-president alongside other leaders, describing Mr Obasanjo as the “Grandfather of Africa”, amidst ovation and cheers.
“He was right here to make sure that we never try to do the wrong thing,” Mr Ruto said.
He said Mr Obasanjo has supervised African leaders all the way through the success of the summit and the former Nigerian president came to ensure that they don’t take the wrong steps at the last minute.
“I tried to persuade him not to bother himself and that we will complete the task, he said no, just in case you make the wrong step at the last minute,” the Kenyan president said.
Africa Climate Summit
Since Monday, climate change experts, organisations and over 12 Heads of State and Government across Africa have been in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, for the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) and Africa Climate Week (ACW) to advance conversation and solutions on the devastating impacts of climate change across the continent and the world.
The summit, themed: “Driving Green Growth and Finance Solutions for Africa and the World,” was championed by Kenya’s President William Ruto, the Africa Union and other partners.
The ACS 2023 which came to a close on Wednesday with the adoption of the “Nairobi Declaration” focused on delivering climate-positive growth and finance solutions for Africa and the world.
The aim of the summit was to address the increasing exposure to climate change and its associated costs, both globally and particularly in Africa.
As the ACS curtain was drawn on Wednesday, Mr Ruto in his closing remarks said various stakeholders, including governments, the private sector, multilateral banks and philanthropists have made substantial commitments totalling $23 billion for green growth, mitigation and adaptation efforts across Africa during the action-focused summit.
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