Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has once again made history by becoming the first woman and first African citizen to be appointed as the new chief of the World Trade Organization. However, this is just an instance out of many in which Okonjo-Iweala has made historical achievement.

Being a Strong powerful woman has always meant creating your own narrative while making decisions independently, breaking from the traditional status quo set up for women.

Women like Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala are rising and are setting the pace for more women to rise too.

MEET DR NOZO OKONJO-IWEALA  

    Born 13 June 1954 in Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State, Nigeria. Okonjo-Iweala was educated at Queen's School, Enugu, St. Anne's School, Molete in Ibadan, and the International School Ibadan, Oyo state. Okonjo-Iweala graduated from Harvard University in 1976 and earned a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is married to Ikemba Iweala, a neurosurgeon from Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria. They have four children- Three sons and one daughter, Onyinye Iweala.

Her historical achievements began when she was appointed as the first woman to take on the Nigerian finance ministry and the foreign ministry too. She was also the first female to run for the World Bank presidency, where she spent 25 years.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian-American economist and International Expert has challenged and inspired women all over the world, especially young African women, by becoming the first woman and first African to win the Director-General post of the 164-member World Trade Organization (WTO).

Five Lessons to learn according to Nkiru Olumide a Nigerian female enthusiast  on a recent post on her Instagram here are five lessons every working girl should learn from NOI, as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is fondly called (John, 2021)

"The first being how she helped her country Nigeria to come out of the $30 billion dollars of external debt from the Paris Club in 2005 as a Finance Minister. Which she termed accomplishments by impact. As such every working girl should strive to create an impact in whatever role they find themselves in.

Nkiru Olumide advised that people should stop thinking that politics is a dirty game. Young girls shouldn’t give up on their dreams on the grounds that they know nobody or they can’t penetrate the system. She noted that Ngozi Iweala engaged and lobbied at the highest level and as a result, many presidents backed her up publicly. She instructed young ladies to always try and wherever they find difficulties, they should get others to help them.

Olumide brought to attention how Dr.Ngozi Iweala used the power of the media to attain her goal. She was able to communicate her message to various people who not only heard her voice but also supported her and her beliefs. And when the race was tough, she kept her hope alive and continued with her life. So, every working girl should emulate her style.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala believed in herself by declaring to the whole world that she was the right person for the job. And despite other competing resume, she stood out with her faith and confidence. Thus, every lady working on something or aiming at anything should always believe in herself. Nkiru also noted that NOI declared herself just like any man would. A self-declared “doer”.

When women are given more opportunity to participate in building the economy, it gives rise to benefits and results that extend beyond the women’s community to impact societies and nations as a whole.

In past years, women were particularly concentrated in the more invisible activities and job roles but with the increase in the rise of more women taking up challenging roles in the workforce, the status quo has changed. And women like Dr. Ngozi Iweala have overtime become world changers and role models for growing and aspiring working girls'

We would like to Congratulate Dr. Okonjo-Iweala for this historical achievement. It is indeed a true victory and an inspiration to women all over the world.

Reference

John, J. (2021, Febuary 16). NairaMetrics. Retrieved from 5 Lessons from Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s win for the working girl: https://nairametrics.com/2021/02/16/5-lessons-from-dr-ngozi-okonjo-iwealas-win-for-the-working-girl/