World Bank Job: Lawyers Commend Okonjo-Iweala

Some lawyers in Lagos have described Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s failure to win the World Bank presidency as a sign of greater things to come for the country, saying her attempt was worthwhile.

The lawyers made their thoughts known in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday.

In his reaction, Mr. Femi Falana, a Lagos-based lawyer and former President of the West African Bar Association, said though the defeat was regrettable, her participation was for the good of the bank.

Falana added that Okonjo-Iweala had proved a worthy ambassador of Nigeria, and expressed the hope that the new president of the bank, Dr. Jim Young Kim would bring development to bear on the bank and developing countries.

He urged Jim to be alive to his duty and foster trust and reliance on the bank.

“Having regards to the state of the world economy now, the United States and her allies preferred a candidate with a background in combating poverty around the world and they find that quality in the candidate they have chosen.

“I do hope that Mr. Kim will influence the bank having regards to his work in the area of poverty reduction around the world,” he said.

On his part, a founding member of the Africans in Democracy and Good Governance (ADG), Mr. Edwin Nebeolisa, said that the loss was not a defeat but a challenge for Nigeria to intensify efforts at developing all spheres of its life.

He urged Nigerians not to allow themselves to be discouraged from working hard and contributing to the development of the global community.

He observed that Nigeria had qualified manpower capable of serving in any capacity on the world stage.

Nebeolisa said with her 20-year experience at the World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala could have held sway at the global bank creditably.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wole Fapohunda, a human rights activist and lawyer, has described Okonjo-Iweala’s failure to win the bank’s presidency as a wake-up call.

He said there is need for Nigeria to develop an Afro-centric approach to assisting “our candidate for any world position.”

“What has always been the tradition in the World Bank is for its president to be selected by the United States; and so the appointment of a candidate of their choice should teach us Africans not to blindly follow European policies,” he said.

According to him, Okonjo-Iweala is qualified to head the bank but lost out because she is not America’s candidate and cannot serve its interest.

Mr. Spurgeon Ataene, another lawyer, said Okonjo-Iweala’s loss should not deter other Nigerians from aspiring to such positions as that of the World Bank president.

“This is not the first time we are losing out on such issues. If we knew we were going for that presidency, we should have started preparing and lobbying the different groups and associations interested in the post at least a year before.

“The United States of America has the majority shareholding in the World Bank and we should not have expected it to let that position go without a fight,” he said.

NAN reports that Kim, 52, was elected the World Bank’s 12th President over Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Okonjo-Iweala.