February 15, 2021, in less than 24hrs, the World Trade Organization (WTO) unanimously appointed Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its first woman and African leader, handing her the tough mandate of restoring trust in a rules-based global trading system.

The 66-yr old Nigerian former Minister of Finance will be taking over the largest international economic organization in the world with an annual budget of $220m and staff of 640 in a time when the world is in great economic standstill due to covid-19 and when there is increasing friction between economic superpowers such as USA and China.

There is also the delicate issue of determining whether the U.S. broke WTO rules when the Trump administration, citing national security concerns, unilaterally boosted tariffs on steel and aluminum in 2018 as reported by Politico.

Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment to the top of the WTO comes just months after the Trump administration moved to block her candidacy and instead threw its support behind another candidate, South Korea Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee. However on 7th November 2020, the biggest backer of Yoo Myung-hee, Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden in what was described by many as the ‘never-ending election in America’s history’ to becoming the 46th POTUS.

Weeks after the victory, Biden-Harris administration issued a statement to express their “strong support” for Okonjo-Iweala:

She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven experience managing a large international organization with a diverse membership.

Earlier this month, the lonely South Korean trade expert, Yoo had no other option than to withdraw her candidacy, paving way for the history that has been made.

Speaking yesterday, Okonjo-Iweala said she was “honoured” to be selected to lead the organization, and vowed to take on global economic and health challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

“A strong WTO is vital if we are to recover fully and rapidly from the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. I look forward to working with members to shape and implement the policy responses we need to get the global economy going again,” Okonjo-Iweala said.

“Our organization faces a great many challenges but working together we can collectively make the WTO stronger, more agile, and better adapted to the realities of today,” she added.

Biography

Born: 1954 in Ogwashi Ukwu, Nigeria

Citizenship: Nigeria (1954–Present), United States(2019 — Present)

Spouse(s): Ikemba Iweala

Children: 4, including Uzodinma Iweala

Education: Harvard University (BA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA, PhD)

Okonjo-Iweala had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, scaling the ranks to the Number 2 position of Managing Director, Operations (2007–2011). She also served two terms as Finance Minister of Nigeria (2003–2006, 2011–2015) under President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan respectively.

Okonjo was the first woman to become Finance Minister of Nigeria, and the first woman to serve in that office twice. In 2005, Euromoney named her global finance minister of the year.

She is serving on over 30 boards including Twitter, Standard Chartered Bank, and the Rockefeller foundation.

Key Achievements

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club during her first term as Minister of Finance under the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, which led to the wiping out of Nigeria’s US$30 billion debt, including the outright cancellation of US$18 billion. This helped Nigeria earn its first-ever sovereign debt ranking and remains one of her biggest achievements.

In 2003, she led efforts to improve the macroeconomic management of Nigeria, including the implementation of an oil-price-based fiscal rule.

Another popular reform to date is her “no-nonsense-approach” to cracking down on corruption in Nigeria. She published each state’s monthly financial allocation from the Federal Government of Nigeria in the newspapers. This action went a long way in increasing transparency in governance. With the support of the World Bank and the IMF to the Federal Government of Nigeria, she helped build an electronic financial management platform — the Government Integrated Financial Management and Information System (GIFMIS), including the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), helping to curtail corruption in the process.

As of 31 December 2014, the IPPIS platform had eliminated 62,893 ghost workers from the system and saved the Nigerian government about $1.25 billion in the process

What her appointment means for the AFCTA

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement became the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of countries participating when it finally came into force in January this year. The pact connects 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion.

According to the World Bank, “It has the potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty, but achieving its full potential will depend on putting in place significant policy reforms and trade facilitation measures”.

However, there are huge challenges that need quick responses ranging from the dependence of African economies on commodity production and exports, a lack of diversification resulting in a mismatch between supply and demand, tariffs and non-tariff barriers (NTBs), inefficient transport infrastructure, poor trade logistics to high-security risk.

These challenges require huge direct funding in areas of infrastructure development and logistics to boost value addition, timely intra-african movements, and trade.

Africa’s infrastructure development requires investment in the region of USD130bn-USD170bn annually. However, in order to attract this investment, we need to address issues of good governance which affect quality and delivery of infrastructure— said South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr. Naledi Pandor.

Without effective remedial action and better infrastructure, recurring and non-actionable NTBs will not be eliminated- Tralac report, 2019.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala vast experience in trade negotiations and her anti-corruption track records will help boost investor confidence towards African economies and shall also go a long way to influencing more foreign investment into Africa.

With wide historical accounts of inequalities that exist between rich and poor countries within WTO, the AfCFTA (the biggest free trade area) together with an African spearheading the affairs of the largest economic organization, WTO must be the bridge.

NGOZI At World Bank

During her 25 years at the World Bank, Ngozi spearheaded several initiatives to assist low-income countries, in particular raising nearly $50bn in 2010 from donors for the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries.

In such a time when enough money is needed to be pumped into African economies and in such a moment when everyone wants AFCTA to work, Ngozi is of no doubt the best bet. If there is ever a person who can get the investment and money flowing across the African region today then it must be Ngozi. And, her previous achievements — both in Nigeria and at the World Bank speak volumes to this fact.

NGOZI and the Fashion Industry

On first sight, no one will tell you Ngozi is an African without even bothering to know her name. Her adornment in authentic African prints is conspicuous and silently-loud. She told the BBC in 2012 that she had in fact adopted such attire as a working mother of four to do the school run, an easy answer for a smart look — and a thrifty one at that, given she estimated each outfit cost around $25. A few hours ago, proud young women took onto the media to celebrate her historical milestone by dressing the ‘Ngozi-Way’.

Amongst such personalities include the Temie Giwa-Tuboson: Nigeria’s Director General at World Trade Organization.

See how fans dress like WTO new DG Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for chance to win N100k - BBC News Pidgin
Nigerian supporters of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, di first woman and first African to become World Trade Organization (WTO)…
www.bbc.com

The African print market is growing significantly with increasing daily patronage. In Sub-Saharan Africa, these textiles have an annual sales volume of 2.1 billion yards, with an average production cost of $2.6 billion and retail value of $4 billion.

Ghana has an annual consumption of textiles of about 130 million yards (120 million metres) with a market worth $200million. The three largest local manufacturers (ATL, GTP, and Printex) produce 30 million yards.

Ngozi’s fashion sense will go a long way to influence Africa’s fashion industry. It will inspire the many young women across the globe to whom she serves as an iconic role model to patronize our African prints. It will also communicate an alternative to our understanding of “formal or smart” corporate dressing and further attract new global market interests for the industry.

NGOZI influence on the Twitter board

Ngozi’s appointment to serve on Twitter’s board in July 2018, took the former president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan to tweet saying, “if anybody deserves the position, it is definitely a woman who helped her nation manage its finances most prudently.”

Barely a year after her appointment, Jack Dorsey and other top Silicon Valley giants in November 2019, toured Africa; visiting Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Ethiopia.

Before Jack departed back for the U.S., he did something more: he announced that he would return in 2020 to live somewhere on the continent for up to six months.

“Africa will define the future (especially the bitcoin one!). Not sure where yet, but I’ll be living here for 3–6 months mid-2020,” he Tweeted from Ethiopia

However, this decision was postponed due to Covid-19.

“I had been working on my plans where I’d work decentralized, as my team and I do when we travel, but in light of COVID-19 and everything else going on I need to reevaluate. Either way we’ll continue to pursue opportunities in Africa,” Dorsey said at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco.

Just this week, the Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey together with American singer-songwriter Jay-Z launched BTrust, an endowment valued at $25M that will fund bitcoin development starting with India and Africa.

It is of no doubt that ‘wherever Ngozi goes; Africa goes’.

And that her influence on Twitter’s board has grown the affinity of the company, especially Jack towards the African continent.

In her 4-year term, beginning March 2021, more will be expected of her than any other leader in WTO’s 26 years history because her time is unique and the situations prior to her entry are diverse. Africa will be graciously watching keenly, expecting long-needed favorable reforms and competitive investments on the continent.

Key References

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngozi_Okonjo-Iweala

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-56042860

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/02/jack-dorseys-move-to-africa-raises-questions-for-investors.html

https://techpoint.africa/2018/07/20/ngozi-okonjo-iweala-twitter-board/

https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-56073469