– Ex-Finance
minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said she is unavailable to serve in
President Muhammadu Buhari’s govt if she gets an offer
– She says
the president has competent hands in his cabinet
– She says
there can be solutions to the present economic decline in the country
The former
Finance minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said she is unavailable to serve
in the present administration if approaches were made to her by President
Muhammadu Buhari.
According to
her, Nigeria boasts of competent people, who would offer their services when
called upon, hence it was better to allow those managing Nigeria’s economy to
do the best they could, Vanguard reports. Ex-Finance minister Dr Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, has said she is unavailable to serve in President Muhammadu
Buhari’s govt if she gets an offer. Okonjo-Iweala made this known while
participating in an Aljazeera programme: The Stream.
She added
that there can be solutions to the present economic decline in the country. In
her words: “One of the things you learn as you get wiser is to talk less as you
grow older. I have spent my time contributing to the country. It will be better
to live those managing the economy to do what they know how to do. There can be
solutions.” Okonjo-Iweala regretted that the economic gains recorded in Africa
started eroding a few years ago. However, she noted that solving macroeconomic
question was key to fixing the continent’s economic challenges, adding that having
a firm control over the rate of inflation in addition to ensuring a stable
exchange rate should be prioritised by African governments.
She said: “I
am not a typical politician. I went in as a technocrat. I think on the
continent we have seen a period when the economy was doing well, in the last
two years we have been experiencing challenges. We need to focus on the basics
which are macro-economics. You must get the fundamentals like having a stable
exchange rate and having inflation under control. “I served my country for
seven years and it was a great honour. The second time was very tough but it is
still an honour. I am not the only person who is a repository of knowledge.
There are other people who can equally try their hands in running the economy.
“I will
advise young people not to wait for employment. They should create jobs to
employ six people or more. During my time in government, we had a programme
called You Win designed to support young entrepreneurs. The whole idea was to
have a business plan competition. “The idea was that they should create jobs.
And each, created 9-10 jobs. The World Bank did an evaluation of it and found
it good. I do believe that the government should come in. We started a peer to
peer mentoring. Now, one of the things I want to say is that creating
employment is not only about struggles, it is about managing success.” “Also,
counseling people on accounting, bookkeeping and not falling apart is very
important.”
On her roles
as a Finance Minister, Okonjo-Iweala said: “The average life span of a Finance
Minister is two year in a country. No one likes a Finance Minister because it
is the business of saying no. It is very difficult and challenging. It was
interesting for me. I wish I had seen myself as wielding power. All I saw was
the job because I was seeing myself working for the country.” In her response
to a question on how the anti-corruption war was fought during her time in
government, Okonjo-Iweala said: “It was a very tough fight, I must thank my
team, you don’t do it alone, I had the support of an economic team in the
Ministry of Finance. It was tough because at the end of the day you need to
have some principles.” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala earlier this year advised President
Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that those who steal must be made to pay for their
deeds. The ex-minister made this known while speaking at the Africa CEO forum
on Monday, March 21 in Ivory Coast. She added that the best way to fight
corruption is by employing technology and building institutions.
By Naij.com
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