Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is not a name that is new to any Nigerian. She was born on the 13th of June 1954 in Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State where her father was an Obi (king).
The young princess grew up to be arguably one of the most intelligent and successful women in the country and probably the continent. She served as the Nigerian Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2003 and 2015. She has worked for over 2 decades in the World Bank as a development economist and later on as the Managing Director, Operations and is now not only the first female but also the first African Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
Contrary to what some have grown up thinking Ngozi is not a medical doctor. A lot of people often mistake her doctorship with that of her late friend, Dora Akunyili, who was a pharmacist and the Director-General of NAFDAC the same period Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was a minister. Ngozi is an economist and one of the world’s most brilliant economists, who studied economics in her undergrad and Master and also earned her PhD in regional economics and development in from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Being a first born Igbo daughter of an overachiever, I was forced to work towards being just like her. After years of learning about her and her work, it was a chore or a bore because she truly a fascinating woman. Unlike many leaders in our country, she seems to actually think about Nigerians and their wellbeing. Taking almost every group and subgroup of Nigerian into consideration. Her achievements and track record is remarkable and admirable and dare I say, enviable.
Asides from her many many accomplishments, there are two things that I have always loved about her.
The first is her support for women. I have watched numerous speeches and talks by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and she has never failed to include women into her ideas about economic development, even if it’s for two seconds. Be it, advocating for a change in the method of education of the girl child, using women as instruments for economic profession, or promoting the creation of quality jobs for women, she has also made sure to make it known that women are a part of the labour force and can impact the growth of global economy.
The second is that this woman is not just an economist, she is a fashion icon, probably Nigeria’s biggest fashion ambassador. I’m 22 years old and in all my years of knowing her, I’m 99% sure I have never seen her not wear, African textile. With her signature head ties and matching tops and skirts and kaftans, Ngozi has single handedly placed African designers in global spaces. She has also spoken severally on the Nigerian fashion industry being a potential instrument for economic progression as we have one of the largest, if not the largest, fashion markets on the continent.
Without taking any of her incredible achievements from her Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in my opinion, has still been placed in a box which doesn’t ordinarily allow people to see that she’s more that a high flying economist, and blocks her ideas on the potential impact that women and fashion can have on the economy.
I would love to meet her and her stylists at some point in my life. I find them to be very phenomenal women that have the capability to change the trajectory of the Nigerian economy.
plus we’re both June geminis so we’d click so bad🫶🏽🤭