By Uwa Eghomeka
We live in
an unusual world – a world where vices are seen as virtues, where ignorance is
strength, freedom is slavery and war is peace. (apologies to George Orwell).
I recall
that when I was growing up, my mother often told me to strive at all times for
honour. She believed that ultimately, people will celebrate honour in a person.
I took this lesson and lived by it. However, as I grew older, this message
appeared not to make sense anymore. Why?
To many
people in Nigeria, having women in leadership is a taboo, a vice and a
sacrilege. Some even consider it a crime for a woman to be educated. Has anyone
ever wondered why women suddenly become targets of heavy public criticism once
they assume important positions? This, I fear, is the case with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
the Minister for Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy.
To the best
of my knowledge, her major offence seems to stem from the fact that she is a
woman. For the record, Dr (Mrs) Okonjo-Iweala had, before her appointment as
minister, served in several capacities in the World Bank, yet many people seem
to believe that she is still not good enough for the position she currently
occupies in government. Some of us are like Oliver Twist, always wanting more!
In the area
of unemployment, we need to be reminded that if not for the hard work of this
great economist, many of our youths today would have been roaming the streets.
Programmes like the Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P),
which has components like the Graduates Internship Scheme (GIS), providing
year-long productive engagement for over 200,000 jobless graduates in areas
like Agriculture, Information Technology, Education, Engineering and Finance
are proof that she is not only tireless in her drive to reduce the rate of
unemployment, but has also been successful so far.
Speaking on
agriculture, SURE-P, in partnership with some state governments, has developed
the Pro-farmers and Agropreneurs Sustainable Scheme (PASS) to boost food
production and reduce rural-urban migration.
This
programme was launched first in partnership with the Ondo state Government
under Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who had nothing but commendation for the
initiator of this lofty programme in the person of Dr Okonjo-Iweala.
Still on
SURE-P, the young and enterprising artisans have not been left out of the
party. The system provides for the Technical Vocational Educational and
Training Programme (TVET) which is aimed at reducing unemployment and poverty
in Nigeria through development of skills, building of institutional capacity
and investing in training Infrastructure. What more can we then ask for?
Though some
people want us to believe she was not responsible for reduction in our national
debt, what these people clearly fail to see is that even though they served at
some point in their careers as CBN governors or in other capacities,
Okonjo-Iweala’s role in the debt relief granted by the Paris Club in 2006 was
monumental.
Has any
other finance minister recorded such achievement ever since? If not for her
influential role in the World Bank, would Soludo or other loquacious elements
like him have gone to Paris Club on their questionable moral authority to ask
for debt relief?
Before Okonjo-Iweala’s success, hadn’t other
African countries been asking for reparations from the Western world without
much to account for in terms of their success rate?
As far as
this writer is concerned, the finance minister is only being vilified
unnecessarily. There is nothing she does that is good in their eyes and this is
because they are deluded; blind, even though their eyes are wide open.
Her critics
are people who failed abysmally in the areas of their core responsibilities.
They failed in their bid to get back to mainstream politics, which probably
accounts for why they have chosen to ride on her back straight to relevance,
but they’ve hit the rocks.
They
launched vociferous personal attacks on her person, because she chose to serve
her nation.
Thankfully,
her stoic disposition has helped her keep her cool while delivering on her
duties.
So many seem
to have forgotten that Dr Iweala left a lucrative appointment at the World Bank
to work for her country, yet some people decided to make a living by criticizing
her. So much for gratitude.
For me,
Madam Okonjo-Iweala is royalty, though no one is bowing at her feet. She is
beautiful, though only few admire her. She is a warrior, though no one sings
her praises. She is a hero, though no one is telling her.
You are a
hero madam, albeit an unsung one. This was perhaps why Jesus Christ said in the
Holy Bible that a prophet is not appreciated in his own country!
Uwa Eghomeka is a teacher and budding
writer. She resides in the ancient city of Benin.
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