When Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala left the
World Bank in 2011, where she was
a managing director and the secondin-command, to become the Finance
Minister of Nigeria, eyebrows were
raised. So it was no surprise that she was
on the short-list of candidates when the
organization conducted an international
search for a new leader. The top spot
went to President Obama's pick Jim Yong
Kim, but many say Okonjo-Iweala was
by far the most qualified candidate. This
is her second stint in the Ministry of
Finance; from 2003 to 2006 she served
Nigeria under President Olusegun
Obasanjo, whose administration was
known for liberalizing the Nigerian
economy, building close ties with the U.S.
and closer ties with prominent Nigerian
businessmen. Okonjo-Iweala's main
achievement was to secure a debt writeoff of $18 billion from Nigeria's creditors.
"Today, the European Union
is busy transferring aid. If they
can build infrastructure in
Spain, roads, highways …
why do they refuse to use the
same aid to build the same
infrastructure in our countries?"
Source: www.forbes.com
Under Obasanjo, Okonjo-Iweala
spoke out so vociferously against
corruption that she earned the
nickname "Okonjo the Troublemaker."
She was proud of the notoriety. "If
I was regarded as trouble to the
establishment because of my desire to
clean up our public finances and work
for a better life for Nigerians, then so
be it," she wrote in her book.
Source: www.technologyreview.com
Ngozi is married to Ikemba Iweala from
Umuahia, Abia State and they have four
children. The eldest, Onyinye Iweala,
received her Ph.D. in Experimental
Pathology from Harvard University
in 2008 and graduated from Harvard
Medical School in 2010. Her son, Uzodinma Iweala, is the author of the critically
acclaimed novel Beasts of No Nation (2005) and the newly released thoughts on
the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa [Our Kind of People] (2012).
Her book Reforming the Unreformable offers an insider's view of her debt
negotiations; it also details the fight against corruption and the struggle to
implement a series of macroeconomic and structural reforms.
Nigeria's efforts can be viewed as a laboratory for other countries - not just
resource-rich developing countries like Nigeria, but any country interested in
reining in debt, managing volatility, saving for the future, or building credibility with
debtors and investors. This story of development economics in action, written
from the front lines of economic reform in Africa, offers a unique perspective on
the complex and uncertain global economic environment. w
w
Just as the former British colony has
transformed itself into a dynamo for
growth on the African continent since
independence, the 59-year-old's life has
changed markedly from humble beginnings.
"Nobody is indispensable," she answered.
"If the African leadership want me to [lead
the World Bank] and they think this would
be good for the continent and my country,
and the president is willing, then I will look
at it, because it's an honour," she added.
Source: www.amazon.com
Source: www.bbc.co.u
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