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Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala gets the nod, she is the first Nigerian and first African and woman to lead the WTO (World Trade Organization). Securing this elective position means that qualified Nigerians and Africans can still be elected to hold important economic offices worldwide regardless of the bad run of corrupt officials holding top positions and many corruption and money laundering scandals.
It is our hope that having an African hold this very important position, will help point out the productive and market opportunities in the continent and in a long run help improve the economy of the developing countries in continent by spear heading for the revival of multilateralism and better trade deals for the developing countries in the region.

I wish all the best to you guys. I don't know how huge is this going to be helpful to your economy but as long as it does, that's delightful to know.

There's just this thing that I've noticed. You made a new thread just after few minutes of posting this thread: Will Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala be able to step up to the task at hand (DGWTO) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5285050.0)

There's no need to make that if you already have this thread, it's best to lock the other thread as the topic is just the same as this.

yes, one thread is more than enough to have a meaningful discussion towards the topic. we wish all the best for african nations and if having an African woman in WTO will pave the way for some radical change, then so be it. she knows better than anyone about how to attack the long running problem from where she originated. her accomplishments are yet to be seen however.

I don't think that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will be able to do much more to the African continent, when compared to the current director-general (Roberto Azevedo) of the World Trade Organization. WTO is a global organization and the director-general is supposed to act without any regional bias. Also, having an African on the top posts in the past hardly had any impact on the well being of the region. A perfect example is that of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is the current director general of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Having a representative in the WTO from Africa might be a good leverage to bring forth some suggestions to better the economic scene in the continent for most African countries. While of course, getting that position does not only mean she'll only be working for the development of her land, but she could always present some interesting ideas that could include Africa to the global trading scene. Africa is a continent that is rich in natural resources and is ripe for the picking, but most huge (bully) countries such as China is taking advantage of the fact that the region is highly underdeveloped in today's standards.

Ikonja Iweala was the Finance minister between 2003 and 2006 during Obasanjo regime and I couldn't point her achievements for Nigeria even if European union has endorse her as the first female and a Nigerian Director-General of the WTO. The office she is occupying doesn't belong to just a single country but countries as whole that co-form world health organization, this might be an opportunity for African countries especially Nigeria but it's not done that way and beside, united states isn't giving her full support.
Trump will not support candidates who just became citizen of United States in 2019.

May the prosperity go on for the African continent, they are an untouched haven of natural resources and I think that they deserve to use that to boost their economy, I also hope that countries in Africa create a union to fight the terrorism brought by wars in some of their countries, especially South Sudan. If Africa is not rife with this famine, wars and capitalistic exploitation, it will be a prosperous continent like Europe, Australia and part of American continent. Hopefully, more project that helps African continent is launched to help the people, especially in terms of welfare, health and education.

Nice to hear this news. However, I think becoming a WTO head does not bring the economy of developing countries better. As you can see, an international organization only has a minimum impact on a country because no country wants to be affected by any element outside their country. Only the government has the power to change the current situation of their countries. Will you let a stranger step into your house and create a mess ?

On the other hand, the US does not seem to like this new information at all. They believe that China is behind everything and by letting a Nigerian becomes a WTO head, they can easily manipulate the world trade organization. Who knows. After all, we are just normal citizens who only want a happy life

I don't understand how she will be able to make a big change. Director-general of the WTO is a powerful position, but with limited decision making abilities. Even if she is able to push forward a few measures, I don't think the continent will benefit much. The biggest issue here is that Africa, dispute its abundant natural resources produce a limited amount of finished goods. It imports most of its demand. Unless this situation changes, I can't foresee any major improvement in the condition there.

Compared to the countries of Asia and America, Africa has either stopped or lagged behind in international trade, investment, per capita income and all other economic growth indicators. Poverty has reduced life expectancy increased violence and instability and pushed the economy further back. Although many initiatives have been taken in recent years to develop African countries in isolation they have failed. Recent data show that parts of the continent especially sub-Saharan Africa have begun to grow in tandem with the rest of the world which will help boost the economy.

Africa is a terribly wounded continent. I'm not sure the election of Miss Ngozi in the WTO would be enough to heal it. Even the WTO itself has its own enormous monsters that need slaying.

More than half of the African nations are some of the poorest in the world. African extreme poverty is multi-faceted. In many cases, the poor performance of many African economies are but offshoots of much larger and deeper problems such as the absence of rule of law, illiteracy, and so on.

I hope so, but the United Nations organizations will not change the reality of Africa, as they need political will and military strength to force some of the leaders of those countries who came with military coups to return to the referendum of the masses, national reconciliation and other things.
Even these people will have no influence because they are part of a system.

Trade to my knowledge isn't all about development. You need to have the right kind of system built under strong structures for things to work properly. So if she is at the top, she can only do the little she can in suggestion and nothing to it again.

Yup It doesn't help. Having someone as Director-general of the WTO isn't going to really make a difference. This continent needs more than that, it needs a total makeover.
The country had been corrupted for decades, there isn't unity to all of them despite having each country have its own government.  


If she figures how much China had helped them building infrastructures for the country, she knows how to take part by no choosing which side. But to be friends to both US and China

Africa who has been known of its low economy which resulted into a very poor continent should still be given a chance to prove to other continents that they can still be able to survive despite of the negative issues about them. And this is the best time to bring and introduce Africa that they can still make positive changes through the leadership of a Nigerian representative. This woman might bring positive impacts to Africa now that she's in control with the possible changes in their country.

That’s good, if this can create opportunities and help Nigeria and other developing countries in Africa, then I’d love to see it. That apart, the case of corrupt officials is a serious issue that I think they have to tackle. They might be getting better opportunities, but having corrupt officials will still hinder their progress. Believe me, whenever there are good things coming into the country, their corrupt leaders, due to their own selfish needs will be blocking those progress from coming into the country.

So, it’s best that they first take down these bad leaders any way they can to pave way for better leaders who will do better things. Having good leaders matters a lot in the progress of any country.

The corruption is already in their culture and it is the reason why most of the countries in the African continent are suffering into poverty but there is a good thing because Miss Ngozi became the first woman to head the WTO which is considered as good and development. The global trade is now being hold by a woman for the first time in African history, I think there will be good impact for those African countries that keep experiencing poverty. But still as a individual person, we still have a responsibility especially if we want to give a good and better future for the next generation. Miss Ngozi has skills and high intelligence to operate and sit into the position, for sure a lot of countries there are now celebrating even though it is just the beginning of the better days of the African countries.

Congrats to her and the whole African countries, indeed this is a landmark as she is the first African born to lead this very highly respective position.

Let's hope that she will hold her ground because her position is highly influential and in a sense she should open up more opportunities for African market and put some lax regulations so that at least it's time for Africa to really bounce back from years of corruption and degeneration.

She has been awesome in many international economic positions so far in her life and she really did manage to look like a powerhouse economist in the global stage for the past 2 decades as well so it is totally understandable that she would be picked as well.

When there is a good candidate for a role and everyone listens to whatever comes out of their mouth, you know you have to pick them, no matter their nationality, no matter their race, no matter their gender because if you decide to ignore that, this is not politics this is business and your emotional attachment would make you lose money. Hence, I believe she is the right candidate and WTO will be happy with this selection, she will lead them to a lot more productive negotiations and will try to of course help Africa as well as much as she can.

It is true that the appointment of Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization will help shift the gaze of world to Africa telling them that there are bright and qualified Nigerians and Africans at large who can hold important offices across the globe. I, however, think that only little can be done by her office in the African Continent to help improve the economy of the African countries simply because the WTO is an international body and not only for Africa.
One should not forget that the major problem of African countries is bad leadership and corruption. It is only until these two are dealt with can Africa countries have any major breakthroughs economically. There is very little the DG of WTO can do about this.

Her position is indeed quite powerless, the WTO supervises trade, they can act only when agreements are breached they have little to now saying when a new trade is singed as long as it matches previous agreements. Furthermore at this point international trade with fewer boundaries, fewer taxes are not really helping emerging economies, a lot of African countries would fare far better with a bit of protectionism, they have no way right now to compete in industrial manufacturing with either cheap imports from Asia or highly specialized equipment manufactured in the western world.
Pretty weird situation but in order for her to do something good for Africa she would have to go against what WTO stans for, which is not likely.


Yeah, no positive impact but look at the shitstorm that's happening right now because of his nomination.
In the event of Trump being elected expect the same for her once the trade war deepens.

Many are still holding their breath, waiting for politicians to fix all their problems, deliver them from their sins and save them. The harsh reality is, many politicians don't care about those they represent or serving the public good. They only care about money.

Real and lasting positive change seldom comes from the top. It has to come from the bottom, at a grassroots level. From the average and the poor. They can learn to communicate, educate themselves and work together. This gives them real collective bargaining and leverage. Which they can utilize to improve circumstances and elevate their standard of living.

Such a system as democracy was created by previous generations to choose politicians whose professional duty is to solve all problems and save sins and protect the population ;) You can engage in beautiful chatter as much as you want but if you are engaged in the creation of structures parallel to the state, then this will not lead to anything good in the end. Amateur is a great thing but professionals should do it better because it is their job.

A better day for the economies of developing countries in Africa will help to improve the economy of Africa. Used for underdeveloped countries and used for economic growth Many steps should be taken for the economic growth of underdeveloped countries in developed countries. There are also some other social and religious practices that are increasing day by day in the economic development of the country which includes many countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. With the help of these countries Africa is developing day by day.

It is good news for the African community, but in reality I also don't know if she will have vital impact in lifting the economy of her region. Her position is not powerful to make a radical change for her countrymen. But maybe, she will give inspiration to others to do good in their chosen career. Can she make a dent in African history that will change the status of most her fellowmen?

It may be an individual accomplishment for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, but I don't think it will benefit the Africans in a big way. I am not just talking about the WTO. Africans as heads for global organizations have historically failed to bring positive changes to the continent. I would even say that non-African heads have done more to the continent, when compared to individuals of African origin.

I don't think this is some wild breakthrough and a significant milestone-but rather another political move to collect more positive feedback from all the "right" people.
The head of the WTO = / = is the only one who makes decisions in the organization and not even the one on whom decision-making depends. Any such posts are just a place for a talking head and nothing more.
What is her education? Harvard Magna cum laude and Ph. D. in regional Economics at MIT. What does it mean? That this is another product of American education and the American economy.
I understand if she was with diplomas exclusively from her country / continent and with them reached the positions where she was and is now but no. This is another American woman with a high-quality education who "made herself" and nothing more.
I do not detract from the merits of Ms. Ngozi, but the key to her positions is her education - and education is not only knowledge/skills, but also the way of thinking of the educational environment. She's American and not "niharika" or "African".

And as for the" market opportunities and prospects " of Africa-while you are talking about what opportunities there may be, the world has already lost to China in this regard.
The " white world "(Europe + USA) had the opportunity to develop Africa into a normal continent, but then it was called "apartheid" and said that all attempts were just oppression and mockery.

Africa will go to China - just look at how much money they pour into it.

^ We cannot presume that it will be better days for African countries for economic development doesn't rely only on the hand of a single person but it is so unjust to belittle someone just because of her ethnicity or gender we don't even know her capabilities yet until she started working besides I believe that she had shown excellence in her field prior of becoming part of the list on the choices who will take the position as the new WTO leader. It will be fair if we will give her a chance by supporting her because I know the mere fact that she was appointed she has already shown most of the people in the trading world for her exemplary actions in the past.

Well, that is unpredictable.
Regardless of gender, -- race nor religion, it will still depend on the individual on his or her capabilities to perform the duties for the position. We will still know how good or bad she is based on the outcome of her actions after a few months leading the WTO but we should not judge her right away just because of her race and where she came from. Though she came from one of the poorest countries that don't mean that she is incapable to hold the position for there are some people who excel because they are able to surpass all the hardships that they went through and be recognized as a prize. But I am also looking forward that African countries will get a big leap with their economy in the years to come. Cheers for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

There is a lot more for Africa to recover from compared to just money. The sad part about Africa (and not just Nigeria, I mean all of Africa) is that you can spend 10 trillion dollars tomorrow and you are not going to suddenly make it like Europe, you can spend 100 trillion or even more and you won't have that, what they need is not sudden influx of money but more about building from what they have into something much bigger over long period of time and not just financially neither.

It is a continent ridden with dictators in the past (and maybe even today) that has been struck by a lot of trouble environmentally as well with drought as well, so it is going to take a loooong time before they can recover, you can have president of everything be African and it will still take decades of carefully planned improvement in the region to get it to a higher standard of living.

Let's be honest about, 1 in a million will think he's a role model while a hundred times more will look at athletes, singers, Instagram influencers. While the biggest part of your population is facing poverty most of them dream of a quick escape from it, making lots of money and that's all, unfortunately, poverty doesn't always make people want to help others once there are better off, a lot of them will turn worse than they were.
Besides, they know those places are limited, it's like all the children dreaming of being an astronaut.

And one thing people should understand, there is no way to make everyone happy!
If the WTO tries to change some of the trade agreements, those will be equal for everyone in this world, they will not only be in the advantage of Africa, some changes might be good for countries like Nigeria while at the same time hit Sudan, some might benefit agriculture in Egypt but at the same time crush exports in South Africa.


Well, we could make an idea of how things will go exactly because of the things you mentioned, She was finance minister in Nigeria for e and then 4 years...
Some people from there can tell us how good or bad she was at it behind words and projects, how it feels for the average Joe.

The first time I read about her, she was the minister of finance in Nigeria Economy, for her to be accepted to that position as the World Trade Organization, she might have done some accreditations on the Nigerian financial situation and that's perfect of her, but my greatest fear is that the US government under the leadership of Donald Trump is objecting her reason best known to them^[1]. However, her experienced as economics expert can not be undermined.

[1]. US blocking selection of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to be next head of WTO (https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/28/us-blocking-selection-of-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-to-be-next-head-of-wto)
[2]. US holds up Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala appointment as WTO Director-General (https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theafricareport.com/48021/ngozi-okonjo-iweala-is-new-wto-director-general-first-african-first-woman-in-post/amp/)

Her appointment will bring a sort of relief to debt ridden  economies of many African countries, she will influence and facilitate their debts to be written off, she was able to achieve the feat when was the finance minister in Nigeria however US was not in support of her candidacy as the director of World Trade Organization https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/business-54725681
How she is going to surmount this stiff opposition from the US is an Herculean task.

Dr Okonjo-Iweala was supported in the majority by the Caribbean, Africa, the European Union, China, Japan and Australia countries.
I sincerely wish her the best of luck in her new role and that she do a memorable job. She has a brilliant career having a 25-year career at the World Bank and has led important positions as a development economist.
We all want your administration to be the best because we need the best leaders to restore the economy left by the Covid19 pandemic.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngozi_Okonjo-Iweala (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngozi_Okonjo-Iweala)

No one is going to write off the debt. If the African nations refuse to pay back their loans, then I don't think that the international lenders will entertain them the next time when they ask for more money. The era of loan write-offs are over and none of the world nations are in a position to do that. All of them are facing rising expenses and widening budget deficit. Loan write-off at this point is just wishful thinking.

Back in the 2000s when India was starting to gain a foothold in the international arena, such "first time Indian" chosen as a head of some organization, corporation etc used to do the rounds. While the position itself may not be of much significance, what it speaks about is the growing importance and clout of a country and the recognition of its importance at international forums such as the WTO, in this case.
Nigeria is one of the growing growth spots in the world and similar news about Nigeria means that the world is taking note of the potential of Nigeria. What is important is that these countries will need to follow a much more balanced and sustainable approach keeping in mind the challenges in development vis a vis environment and ecosystem.

That would really be a great news that African countries now do have a representative within the World Trade Organization which will give hope for the continent and will expect to have lots of opportunities coming since they can now be voiced out within the world trading circulation that can give them improvement that can somehow ensure for the better days to come. Knowing Africa and Indian countries do have lots of resources but the main problem is that they are not maximizing such resources added by the fact that they are being ruled over by corrupt officials only concern on making themselves rich and not having any bit of concern on their constituents. May we have high hopes and expectations that such news will bring African countries to get along with other continents and nation when it comes to trading making the countries within Africa experience such a great improvement making their lives better compared from before.

The fact that some man or woman coming from an African country was elected as a director of some world organization doesn't mean anything to me.
The director of the World Healthcare Organization is from Ethiopia and so what?Did the healthcare systems in Africa improved just because the World Healthcare Organization director is from Ethiopia?I don't think so.
African countries have great potential for economic growth,but they have to rely on their own will and resources.The IMF or the WTO can't help that much for further economic development of the third world countries.

You have just hit the nail on the head. A big achievement for her as a person but not as a country or for Africa entirely.
This might be a stepping stone for African countries to tap in the development outside their region but the way OP described is far from reality.
Africa is bless especially where she hail from(Ikonja Iweala), Delta state is one of the largest oil producers in Nigeria and the same society equipped her youths(militants) to vandalise same oil refinery pipeline in the name and interest of political ambition.
It's high time Africa embrace, restructured and fight corruption so other nations can take them serious.

....

Could it be fair to say professionals and politicians work for those who pay them? Who pays them is neither you nor I.

Some may feel professionals or politicians owe them something. But at the end of the day, we're not the ones who pay their salaries or put food on their table. And so they do not owe their allegiance or loyalty to us. No matter what theories of how the world should work say.

Many politicians have a net worth greater than $100 million dollars. That is a remarkable sum of money for this day and age. There is a question of how it happens consistently without many seeming to acknowledge it.

Holding an office is one thing and doing the job and helping on improving these countries is another. I think we always see this situation when there is a newly elected official winning with all of these hopes and promises about how they can improve their lives but after a few years in the office you will still see that you are still stuck with what you are doing feeling little to no difference. Having a power is good just as long as you do your job on what you really need to do, if these elected officials can really improve these countries then I'll be happy that these people will finally have a the help they need but if these won't change anything this is that kind of news that is hopeless to give hope with.

It needs high appreciation for him as a figure who is able to carry a good name as a form and support for being part of the WTO. This is an opportunity for economic development in African states.
we who are outside the state of the continent wish the best for our brothers and sisters there.

Leaders of Africa are taking a good step to move African forward. I saw the article few weeks ago,where Nigeria woman was declared WTO, first in the history of Nigeria for a woman to received such honour from the world trading organization position.
With her position in the world trading organization she will not let African remain in hardship before she will do something great to surprise African. This is a welcome development to Nigeria and also to African continent.
What covid-19 has destroy in the area of African economy, i think this is an opportunity to help African out of low economy in the country. Many government are still finding it difficult to recover for what corona virus has collapsed in the country. With this world trading organization position giving to African woman will really help African to make a good record in their economy.

Firstly, Last I checked she was in the nomination list of candidates who were subject to voting on 7th November along with South Korean candidate. I don't know if he is selected already or not.

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Secondly, I really thought earlier that this was the case in any such international organizations. But unfortunately, this isn't really the case. If you see the history the top-level officials of almost any International Institution or United Nations organization there have been numerous instances of people being elected from backward economies and yet being of zero help to their home nation. This actually is due to structures these organizations have. The power of the presidents/ Top-level official is more or less fiduciary or administrative. Most of the decisions relating to policymaking and channelizing funds is done by a body of participants which generally comprises representatives from almost every country or most prominent countries who vote on the basis of their proportion.

Moreover, there is absolutely zero direct benefits for the individual sitting at the top to give preference to their country as they are not elected representatives of people they don't get votes from them. On the contrary, you are seen as a shady person if you give your home country any such privileges. That is why if you see generally these people don't give any benefits to home countries.

I have my doubts as well, we tend to have a top to bottom view about most things and think that those at the top should do more to help the people but they are so far away from the situation that is difficult for them to know what it is actually happening and then take effective measures.

This is why I think that people thinking about governments helping them in a time of crisis are mistaken, if the help comes then they should welcome it but they should look for ways to improve their situation by themselves and there is no doubt in my mind that the greatest problem in the African continent is that their local authorities are simply too corrupt and they can get away with anything and this is the first thing it needs to change if there is to be any significant change in the continent.

Good luck to them, but I still think they need to fix their issues of the corrupt leaders, although I do know that these days corruption is like something that's happening everywhere now, but as a country that is yet to be developed, having so much of these corrupt leaders who always wants to steal her money and run to other countries will affecting the country.

Funny thing is that I hear of how much their leaders keeps stealing from them, huge ridiculous amount of money and giving some weird excuses. For me, those men really has to go down or be taken down by force and people with intention making the country should be voted in. It's as simple as that.

I honestly felt happy about the better improvements in Africa. I believe that Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has all it takes to be the African leader and she has all the ability to develop the economy and heal the old wounds that this African countries had. Being called as the Nigerian Iron Lady is such a great power that this respectable woman have. I am wishing all the best for Africa and praying that their countries could shine and show the world the best economy and successful projects that they will have in the future. 

OK guys.. here is the latest news on the topic:

https://punchng.com/okonjo-iweala-wto-postpones-meeting-to-pick-new-wto-dg/


The bad news for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is that US is opposing her candidacy. According to Robert Lighthizer (American representative), WTO needs someone with hands on experience. USA is supporting South Korean candidate Yoo Myung-hee for the post of director general. Now we need to see how much impact the American presidential elections will have on this. There is a chance that the American position may change.

BTW, I have seen a lot of posts saying that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is Nigerian. She is not. She gained the American citizenship in 2019.

Having an African woman in World Trade Organization can help make changes in their continent’s economic position. Now that they already have a representative in WTO, they sort of have the upper hand to address whatever problems they currently have. Someone is already going to amplify the voices of their citizens shouting for plea.

In addition, as a representative, she can propose ideas and suggestions that could help their continent be placed in good position in the trading system globally. After all, Africa is rich in natural resources that they could use to boost their economic status. They can use their natural resources on their advantage. Surely if they would wisely manage what they have, their citizens will benefit from it, especially those who belong to the lower bracket of the society. This can help them develop their country, leading to more prosperous continent than before.

I wish all the best regarding the African nation. May you get what you truly deserve for the betterment of each communities in your continent.

so dont celebrate yet here coz it seems that Ngozi will not get the post. too much politics is at play here.
but in case she will not be picked for that position, i guess she can continue her mission to help the African region. her initiatives should not stop if she will not be voted for that position. she should use her influence to push thru some activities that will aid some change from where she came from. it should not be the dead end of things.