The new Minister of Finance, and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says Nigerians should not expect her to perform a magical feat in fixing the Nigerian economy. The lady who is being given a second chance to manage the Nigerian economy says it will take some time to transform the economy, and it will not be done by her alone. She specifically raises an alarm around the high domestic debt, and advises that the administration must be more prudent and disciplined. She reeled out a whole set of related challenges such as macroeconomic reforms and stability, the basic structure of the Nigerian economy; improvements in the management of the public sector of the economy; fighting corruption and the attraction of foreign investment in key sectors as areas which should receive priority attention from the administration. These sound very much like the challenges she set out to meet during her first outing; so Nigerians will wonder what good remains of that stint of hers from 2003 to 2006.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala could be said to be familiar with the Nigerian economy, but even she will be shocked by its current state since she was removed from her powerful position as Minister of Finance and re-assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. She resigned from that position within a few weeks, and returned to her job at the World Bank. Much has happened since those days between 2003 and 2006 when she led a virtual first-tier cabinet which had people like Nasir el-Rufai, Oby Ezekwesili, Bode Agusto, Mansur Mukhtar and Bright Okogwu among other imports and technocrats to negotiate a solution to Nigeria’s intimidating and debilitating foreign debt, and set in motion a whole battery of reforms in the management of the public sector of the economy. The world took notice of what appeared to be a spectacular success of the team in virtually wiping out our foreign debt, but many Nigerians also questioned its cost. Former debt owners gave back token amounts for routine intervention in selected sectors of the Nigerian economy, and Nigerians were told that there will now be more money to invest in capital projects, and the future of our children was no longer mortgaged. Reforms around the budgeting process, government procurement policies and the public service were also instituted, many with the potential to genuinely affect the quality of management of Nigeria
Perhaps Obasanjo felt that Okonjo-Iweala had served her purpose of gaining the confidence of the international community in the state and future of the Nigerian economy when he re-assigned her and appointed her deputy, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, as substantive Minister, but she was most disappointed by her removal. In the five years since she left, the Nigerian economy had earned a lot more revenue than it did during her time; but a weak leadership, run-away corruption and scandalous ineptitude in the management of the Nigerian economy have made the nation a lot worse off. Our social and economic infrastructure has deteriorated, and decay around key institutions of governance has become more pronounced. The nation literally stood still while we argued over who should lead the nation; and then conducted one of the most expensive elections per capita in the world. Hundreds of billions of Naira were thrown into electoral competitions, most of it from public funds. Then many parts of the nation went up in flames and hundreds of citizens were killed and maimed as a result of the elections. The administration that emerged from the ashes of those fires and the blood of mostly innocent citizens is still basically shell-shocked; and far from the bold and imaginative moves which Nigerians expect from President Jonathan, the nation is being fed with names and blueprints daily. It is no secret that our foreign reserves are severely depleted. The only areas still attracting foreign investment is the oil sector and telecommunications. Recurrent expenditure is still well above 70% of the budget, and economic infrastructure is in dire need of additional, quality investment.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala must have taken her time to wonder whether she is being re-engaged as a public relations stunt by the President Jonathan administration to gain some credibility and faith from Nigerians and some sections of the international community which believes World Bank executives are better than other Nigerians in managing our economy. It is also reasonable to assume that she took a peep at the current state of the Nigerian economy, and has convinced herself that she can make a major contribution and a difference. We must also assume that during her protracted negotiations with President Jonathan, she must have demanded, and secured a guarantee that she will have wide powers and a free hand to operate. President Jonathan says she will not be paid a jumbo salary in dollars to serve her country; and Nigerians have to believe him.
So Okonjo-Iweala’s caveat that she has no magic wand to wave towards fixing the Nigerian economy will not impress many Nigerians. On the contrary, it will raise the levels of concern and suspicion of many that the Nigerian economy is in a much worse state than it is being portrayed by the administration. The super-Minister needs to understand that much store was placed by the Administration in the manner she was cultivated and appointed. A President who was largely the handiwork of another former President who removed her form the Ministry of Finance does not risk political capital to reappoint someone who will not work like a magician. If Nigerians have an exaggerated expectation of the role of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, the blame is to be found in the manner the administration puts out the impression that she alone will make a huge difference. She should look around and see the quality and calibre of her colleagues in the Economic Management Team and the Federal Executive Council; and she will realise that the task of transformation will be that much more difficult with most of them as team-mates. She herself has fuelled the impression of being a superwoman by accepting to come back and fix an economy which she attempted to fix many years ago, and to have been selected to do this out of millions of other Nigerians.
The challenge before President Jonathan is to kick-start the Nigerian economy into genuine and positive transformation; and energise the political process by addressing major issues of governance, such as the growing distance between the citizen and the State, and between groups and sections of the country. At this stage flashing names and blueprints will not do; and it certainly does little good for an administration when those who are to fix the economy begin by making excuses. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has accepted to come and do a very difficult job. She must have convinced herself that she can do it. She should get down to business, and let Nigerians judge whether she was the right choice for the job.
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