Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s resignation last week did not come to me as a surprise. I was rather dissapointed at how the Federal Government of Nigeria could have made such a mistake of putting a gem like her aside. Yes, she was moved from the Finance Ministry to the Foreign Ministry and later removed as Head of Nigeria’s Economic Management team. A honourable person would have seen the handwriting on the wall and resigned. She did just that.
Well, according to Joel Olatunde Agoi’s report for the AFP,
The sudden resignation of campaigning Nigerian minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala last week is a blow to the credibility of the government and places a question mark over future economic reforms, Nigerian economists and analysts say.
Former finance and foreign minister Okonjo-Iweala last year spearheaded reforms of the country’s finance and economic sectors and negotiated Africa’s biggest debt cancellation, worth 18 billion dollars (14 billion euros).
The former World Bank’s vice president, who has a doctorate degree in regional economics and development, joined the cabinet in July 2003 after President Olusegun Obasanjo was re-elected for another term.
How President Obasanjo’s government could have treated such an asset as Dr Okonjo-Iweala like this still baffles me.
Her removal as head of the Economic Management team might not be unconnected to her whistle-blowing over her claim that the Nigerian mission in Jamaica had illegally transferred 4.6 million dollars to the International Seabed Authority — an allegation the government denied.
What peeves me more is the fact that she was remmoved whilst on an official assignment in London (UK) last week. Are we still in the dark days of military rule? It was commonplace during the military regime to hire-and-fire on National radio. Why embarass her like that? This is not honourable.
She should simply take solace in the fact that many Nigerians appreciate her role and we love her (my humble self include). Some even want her for President! 🙂
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- Why Okonjo-Iweala was Reassigned
- Ngozi Iweala resigned for safety
- This Day report about Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
TIME Europe – Heroes 2004
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