By UCHE NWOSU

The maiden and marital relations of Dr Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the newly elected Director-General of World Trade Organization (WTO), have pleaded with the United States of America (USA), the only opposing country against her victory over South Korea Minister of Trade, Yoo Myung-hee last week to soft-pedal and endorse her on November 9, 2020, the day of her formal presentation as WTO DG.

When the Daily Independent visited them at their country home, Umuda-Isingwu, Ohuhu in Umuahia North LGA of Abia State, the birth place of Ngozi’s spouse, Dr Ikemba Iweala, the community in a festive mood at the weekend, described Ngozi as a renowned development economist that has helped the world economy to blossom through her managerial skills as Managing Director of World Bank some years ago.

Faulting the claims that Okonjo-Iweala is not a trade specialist and may not be endorsed by the US, Chief Godwin Ebisike Okengwu and Chief Chris Onwuegbu said an economic expert is an expert in trade, commerce, industry both micro and macro economics, stressing that the most important aspect of it is to get on board an economic expert that specialized in economic development to galvanize the world economy. This, they held, is Ngozi’s specialty.

Okengwu is an economist, while Onwuegbu is a journalist. They were individually former president-general of Ohuhu Welfare Union and Umuda Isingwu Community Union all in Umuahia North LGA respectively. Both saw Ngozi as a nonracial personality with no bias on any nation, tribe, ethnic origin, colour or section, even as the Nigerian Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy where she grew the Nigeria’s economy from point zero to a level of buoyancy.

Said Okengwu, “Ngozi, our brother’s wife is a development economist. We all know that you cannot do that without looking at the trade. Trade like everybody knows is a central part of development.

“Recall that she devoted her entire career at the World Bank to working on trade policy reforms in middle and low income countries”.

But Onwuegbu opined: “she gave the world economy what no economist at that level of the world politics was able to give to it in the history of the World Bank. She is down to earth, unassuming, kind and humane; she is a woman leader par excellence.

“Ngozi okonjo Iweala is a woman that can always deliver, she has been tested and trusted and has dual citizenship; she is American as a Nigerian citizen. If there’s any country that would benefit from Okonjo-Iweala’s economic expert, it’s USA, after all she is an American trained development expert.

On her not specializing in trade, Okengwu explained, “it’s a surprising thing to me because someone that is an expert in world economy should be able to galvanize trade because trade is encapsulated in economics. She not racial or sectional and in fact does not segregate.

“She knows her job and wouldn’t suppress or retard any economy in favour of another, be it underdeveloped, developing or developed. The world economy will be the beneficiary of Okonjo-Iweala’s dexterity in world economics”, Okengwu fuether enthused.

The two community leaders echoed that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as a humanitarian, lover of her people attracted the Ngbaja-Ossah-Umuda-Umuokoro road from the World Bank which was built by Heartland Construction Company Limited. This road, they explained, is one of the best roads in Abia State. “All for the interest of her people”, they added. (Daily Independent)

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