Okonjo-Iweala: Profile of a financial ‘magician’
In their 2006 citation on her Forbes said: “In a cabinet reshuffle in June, Okonjo-Iweala moved from her post as finance minister to foreign affairs, but nonetheless remains in charge of the economic team of the oil-rich nation, the most populous in Africa. Okonjo-Iweala, 52, a former World Bank official and economist, is known for […]
In their 2006 citation on her Forbes said: “In a cabinet reshuffle in June, Okonjo-Iweala moved from her post as finance minister to foreign affairs, but nonetheless remains in charge of the economic team of the oil-rich nation, the most populous in Africa. Okonjo-Iweala, 52, a former World Bank official and economist, is known for her prudent debt management and calls for fiscal discipline. Okonjo-Iweala led the negotiations that resulted in cancellation of nearly two-thirds, $18 billion, of Nigeria’s $30 billion Paris Club debt, the second largest debt cancellation in the Paris Club’s 30-year history. Okonjo-Iweala is now supervising the withdrawal of Nigerian troops from the southeastern Bakassi Peninsula and the transfer of the disputed territory to Cameroon. Nigeria is now abuzz with talk of her anticipated presidential run in the 2007 general election.”
While of course she never ran for the elections as was speculated, her profile had remained high over the years, something which could have prompted the Jonathan administration to invite her yet again to manage the economic team of the government.
But her path in the corridors of power have not always been smooth, even though her rise had rather been meteoric. In an interview with the London Guardian, she said: “When I became finance minister they called me Okonjo-Wahala – or Trouble Woman. It means ‘I give you hell.’ But I don’t care what names they call me. I’m a fighter; I’m very focused on what I’m doing, and relentless in what I want to achieve. If you get in my way, you get kicked.”
Mrs Iweala was 18 when she left Nigeria to the US to study economics at Harvard, before she later joined the World Bank, where she rose to become vice-president. When she was appointed finance minister in 2003, she was then only one of three women in the world to hold such position. She returned back to the World Bank in 2007 after resigning as foreign minister from the Obasanjo administration.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was educated at Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude with an A.B. in 1977, and earned her Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is married to her husband 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 Harvard Medical School in 2010. Her son, Uzodinma Iweala, is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Beasts of No Nation (2005).
Part of her past achievements is introducing the practice of publishing each state’s monthly financial allocation from the federal government in the newspapers. She was instrumental in helping Nigeria obtain its first ever sovereign credit rating (of BB minus) from Fitch and Standard & Poor’s. Nigeria is considered to have defaulted on its sovereign debt in 1983 (debt rescheduling is considered a type of default by rating agencies).
Some controversy surrounded Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment as finance minister, and that of former Foreign Affairs minister, Olu Adeniji, as other ministers were resentful of their United Nations salaries of over US$240,000, compared with their own $6,000 base salary. The controversy was spearheaded by reform-minded media reports, although Okonjo-Iweala felt that her critics were unjustified because of the temporary nature of the payment, which came out of the donor supported Diaspora Fund negotiated by the Nigerian government. On Friday, 20 July 2007, the Court of Appeal ruled that the salary payment was not done within the ambit of Nigeria’s laws, and directed her and Adeniji to pay back the excess to the account of the state.This controversy could have prompted President Jonathan to clarify recently that she has agreed to take up appointment with his government without any payment of dollars salary.
Given the recent challenges faced by Nigeria on how to manage the macroeconomic policy in such a way to achieve the country’s vision 2020, Okonjo Iweala was seen as the reformer who can actually lead Nigeria to attain her goal. During her recent confirmation as a minister, she stressed the need to reduce the country’s recurrent expenditure which is presently 74% of the National Budget and embark on capital projects which could improve the 14% unemployment rate in the country. One of the conditions she gave to the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, was an additional power to influence/exercise power over the economic team. This power includes the appointment of credible and proven staff to head departments and ministries under her portfolio.