Goodbye Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala

The word out there is that Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has resigned.  This is definitely another sad commentary on how Nigeria is run by this inept government. Perhaps, there are other reasons for Ngozi Iweala's resignation which will be transparent in the coming days, but the shocking manner with which Obasanjo has treated her suggests nothing positive about him. After negotiating the largest debt relief in Africa, it seems rather microcephallic that this government would reward such by demoting her from the Finance Ministry to some less prestigious foreign affairs ministry.

This unannounced transfer to some lesser ministry, in my opinion, should have been the clear indicator that having achieved the goal for which Obasanjo secured her, he now deems her a burden or worse, a possible cog in the wheel of his tall ambitions regarding Nigeria's finances or his other yet-to-be-manifested designs. This is certainly a wake-up call for all the technocrats in this administration who have spent and are being spent so that some patina of progress or accountability can be slapped on to Obasanjo's feckless administration. When it suits the 800-lb gorilla in Aso Rock, you may find yourself unceremoniously demoted or worse dismissed. Afterall, there is no shortage of malicious pretenders who are only to willing to lend themselves as vicious tools for the manipulation of a supervindictive helmsman.

Ngozi is reputed to have separated herself from Baba Iyabo's third term madness. She has also been showered with praises which her feeble-minded boss would very much have loved to receive. Once you begin to wield considerable political power, or you begin to steer clear of Obasanjo's script, then you are marked for persecution or elimination. This is the wisdom that has sufficiently explained Obasanjo's vacuous posturing as a fighter of corruption: especially his use of state instruments to pursue political opponents. I will even go as far as saying that despite the "official" reasons which may emerge in the next few days to explain Mrs. Ngozi Iweala's decision to leave Obasanjo's sinking ship, you cannot discountenance the idea that Obasanjo's vindictiveness over Ngozi's disapproval of his diabolical scheme to perpetuate himself in power played a vital role in Obasanjo's furtive measures designed at relegating Mrs. Iweala to the background. So much for clarion calls for technocrats to come back to Nigeria. This has shown the intransigence of the bizarre bunch in Nigeria's corridors of power and the futility of trying to work constructively with visionless, egotistical, clannish imbeciles.

Mrs Ngozi Iweala should do herself a favor. She has proven that she has the capacity to perform at the highest levels of government; Nigerians of all shades can testify that she was a voice of reason and a vessel of gold in a cupboard of cobwebs and bones. I have no doubt in my mind that she can sleep well at night knowing fully well that she has done her part. However, if she ever decides to get back into Nigeria's political circles again, she owes it to herself to critically assess the characters at the helm of government to see if indeed the occupiers of the loftiest positions are of the same persuasion and ideological bent. If she does this self-evaluation before the end of Obasanjo's tenure in 2007, and she still wants to be in the political arena, then I expect her to begin now to surround herself with other sincere and capable professionals who are desirous of lasting change in Nigeria. No more striving for excellence amdst the rankling collegiality of unabashed misfits. My sympathies are with ordinary Nigerians who will undoubtedly continue to suffer while the corrupt bunch in Nigeria's administrative circles continue their devious cut-throat politicking liberally sprinkled with unrivalled avarice. In my mind, one thing is definitely certain--ominous things are in store for Nigeria as we approach the end of Obasanjo's tenure in May 2007!

tags: ngozi okonjo iweala  obasanjo  nigeria  

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