I just concluded my survey on some of the women in this country who has been appointed for some political positions in this country. I started from those whom at least i witnessed their tenure as an adult so i could also give my own assessment of them as a citizen of this country. Having watched the events in our political arena unfolding all kinds of stuff both good and bad but more of ugly, it is really hard to know when someone who is very capable can said to have done well in this country when appointed to serve.
One of such women who have been opportuned to be called upon to serve Nigeria is Prof. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She is my focus today. This woman from my understanding was somewhere else showcasing her intellectual capabilites and rendering good quality Economic service to some powerful country(s) and world economic/financcial establishments before being invited back to Nigeria to serve.
Those who pulled her back home to come and serve Nigeria must have done their home work very well and were satisfied she would perform. Maybe some of them were also angry/envious that Nigeria have such a worthy daughter who would have been been at home here with us helping to make Nigeria better rather than reforming other countries Economies while our own suffers.
This woman after lots of dragging from the World Bank for refusing to allow her leave what she was doing for them, becase they know her value finally left her to go back to Nigeria to serve her fatherland.
In the course of her job, there were so much controversy concerning her style of leadership and performance. She would come out to say something and her statement will be either be misinterpreted or even twisted to mean something else. Honestly Nigeria being a country where acquisiton of too much money..extremely too much money and showing it off to gain respect from others (which sucks to me by the way….big time) i personally cannot envy anyone sitting on top of Nigeria economy or managing financial activities of this highly materialistic country whose citizens who are suffering percieve as being poor country . Those of us who have seen Nigeria below the surface understand that this country is far –far from being poor in any ramification. Let me divert a little…have you gone to most foriegn Embassies here in Nigeria and see how Nigerians troop to other countries like they are going to their local rivers to fetch early morning cooking water? You do not travel out to other countries month after month without having loads of cash to spend there. Have you also noticed how much Visa money most embassies in Nigeria charge and which must not be refunded when they denied you visa and, how many thousands of people who pay for that visa application money year after year with hope of travelling but hardly get the visa? I once met a man with 6 green passports of his entire family and they were all at the same visa interview with me early this year and they were all rejected visa at that particular embassy(a very popular emabassy here in abuja) where i met them. This man must have paid the visa application fee multiplied by the number of members of his family he was supposed to travel with. I personally sat with the wife, the kids who were running all over the interview section because they were still young and trust me, i was monitoring every bit of stuff that happened at that embassy. Is this a sign of a country whose citizens are poor? That total money he paid for visa application could be used to feed the family for a complete year comfortably (depending on his social status)
If you still doubt me take time to survey our international Airports daily for a week and the see the numbers of Nigerians travelling out of this country daily.
Last night 22nd of May,2015, prior to the day i wrote this article, a good friend invited me to Transcorp for dinner which usually is a buffet. Check out the fleet of highly Expensive automobile machines called cars mostly with escorts/security from some of our force establishments….used by our citizens. If you are jobless and somehow stand outside Transcorp hilton entrance for good 30mins observing this parade of high affluence and materialism probably for the first time and go back home hearing people talk about how poor we are in this country, you might slap the crap out of such people for labelling Nigeria as poor. Mind you, this is just one day observance at one hotel in one city. How about other hotels like sheraton etc in other cities in Nigeria?…it is still same show. Trust me i have seen this over and over and i know what i have observed in this country. ( Let me stop here with this diversion and go back to madam Ngozi okonjo Iweala but am sure if you think deep, you will merge my gist very well and digest it.)
By the time this article is published, Madam Oknojo Iweala must have handed over to the new Government and all that she did while in office will continue to be remembered.
Am not writing this article to say that she did perfectly well or that she failed but i am trying to make Nigerians to understand how folly it looks and sounds that such a woman, who was highly respected and valued by most super power countries whose financial and economic reforms Nigeria copy saw this woman as very capable but down here in Nigeria, her own people saw her as being part of the failure of the Nigerian economy. What was actually the sin that Okonjo Iweala committ i have been asking? It is good BD is a business and Financial Newspaper and am sure lots of people in the Economic and Financial sectors in Nigeria will be reading it. So i stand to be corrected here if you feel i should not be asking this question. If you feel she never did anything good for Nigeria Economy in her entire tenure.
Nigerians always use countries like U.S, UK etc while comparing how our economy should be and, these are countries Ngozi have worked with in their economic sector and succeeded. So why did she fail in Nigeria? Ever asked yourself this question before crucifying her?
I wish her well where ever she is. The Nigerian women are proud of her for not allowing herself and image to be destroyed while at office and keeping her head high in the midst of high political confusion and leadership tussle in Nigeria. It is not easy for a woman in this country to handle such position for long without being disgraced out of office. Reactions to- voiceofworkingwomen@outlook.com
JACLYN IWU
