Hardball
In the murky swirls of global communalism, any positive standard bearer from a particular country should be a representative to be celebrated by that country. This is especially so when the country, like Nigeria, tends to be more on the radar for negative profiling that is never a true reflection of the essential nature of the bulk of the citizenry.
Not that Nigeria lacks luminous icons on the global stage: like United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, current President of the United Nations General Assembly for the 74th session, Professor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, and African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina to mention a few. But there is this icon not attached to one office and is keenly sought after across international borders and by multilateral bodies, namely Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) penultimate week enlisted Okonjo-Iweala as special envoy for newly inaugurated Access to Covid-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator – an international collaboration aimed at hastening the development, production and equitable distribution of Covid-19 drugs, tests kits, and vaccines around the world. She is to serve in that capacity alongside British business captain and chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, Sir Andrew Witty. At the launch of the initiative via webinar from Geneva, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus said their mandate is to mobilise global commitment to that initiative.
It was the fourth international job for Okonjo-Iweala in under two months. On 7th March, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her a member of the country’s Economic Advisory Council comprising indigenous and international experts who advise Pretoria on economic policies aimed at advancing inclusive growth. Barely a month later, on 10th April, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva named her a member of the fund’s External Advisory Group, which has on board prominent individuals from around the world who will serve as Georgieva’s special advisers. And just two days after that, the African Union (AU) listed her as one of four special envoys charged with soliciting the support of the Group of 20 Nations (G20), the European Union and other international financial institutions for African response to the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Okonjo-Iweala is a globally reputed economist and development expert who was once Managing Director of the World Bank. Here at home, she previously served under governments of a political party now in opposition as economy minister and foreign minister. From the way she is being sought after, however, it should be obvious her expertise has neither partisan nor indeed nativity limitation. In these very difficult times in Nigeria – as elsewhere – isn’t there some value she could be enlisted to add, or is it a prophet being without honour in her own country?
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