Kemi Ajumobi 
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Director General of The World Trade Organisation (WTO)
There is a smile on my face right now. The thought of writing this alone is giving me good chills. How do you begin to describe this great woman who has been part of the history, is part of the present and will be in the beautiful stories of the future of Nigeria. How?
In a class of her own, a ray of sunshine, blessed with grace and great aplomb, her essence naturally endearing. Her love for African textiles is evident everywhere she goes, wearing it graciously and making a statement that I translate to mean “Nigeria will always be home.”
Her signature head-tie adorns her with honour, custom-done by her and tilted to the direction she chooses. It has long become more than an accessory, whether she is in global meetings where history is being made, or at gatherings where work is light but the crux is about progressive change and positive impact, her head-tie comes along, it is her statement, her identity and it is recognisably hers.
Beyond the outward adornment, what is inside her is even greater. As the Managing Director of the World Bank, she had oversight responsibility for the World Bank’s $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.
Ask me one bold thing she did and I will respond with a question. Who dares to be the first female and African candidate to contest for the presidency of the World Bank Group in 2012, backed by Africa and major developing countries? She dared. That counts.
In IWA’s ‘Woman At The Helm’ column for this week, we celebrate an enigma possessing immense acumen, fortitude and wisdom of eons, the Director General of The World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
We admire how she influences global economic policies. We aren’t surprised she is able to achieve such a feat. Being a global finance expert, an economist and international development professional with over 40 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America, need we say more?
Dr. Ngozi’s voice is respected, convincing and powerful, a tune that resonates with authority and compassion. Her life inspires and it is proof you can achieve what you set your mind to irrespective of gender. It isn’t that her life has been void of challenges, we are not saying that her journey to becoming an international force to reckon with has been smooth, No. We are saying, despite all the hurdles, with grace she has become an inspiration to women and young girls globally, showing that, even in places mostly dominated by men, a woman has the chance to rise.
We speak of her at the global level, but like they say, charity begins at home and home is where Dr. Ngozi also proved her mettle. Dr Okonjo-Iweala twice served as Nigeria’s Finance Minister (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) where she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors that led to the wiping out of $30 billion of Nigeria’s debt, including the outright cancellation of $18 billion. Furthermore, she briefly acted as Foreign Minister in 2006, the first woman to hold both positions mentioned.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala is a recipient of numerous outstanding awards, she graduated magna cum laude in Economics from Harvard University and earned a Ph.D in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is married to neurosurgeon Dr Ikemba Iweala, and they have four children and beautiful grandchildren.