Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
By Adeola Akinremi
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has received rave reviews for her new book, ‘Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria’.
The 192-page book, which provides an honest, down-to-earth and expertly woven story of development economics in action, was published by MIT press and captures in detail the “team effort” of the Economic Team, which she chaired under the leadership of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Okonjo-Iweala, who had the benefit of unfettered access to Nigeria’s financial records during her first stint as finance minister, tells the tale of reform for growth and social trust in a governance system faced by a trust deficit.
An account that took four years to be released to the market, Joseph Stiglitz, renowned American Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences, in his review, wrote that the book, “an insider's account of the valiant attempt to reform Nigeria's economy will inspire anyone committed to changing the course of their country."
Liberian President, Mrs. Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, added that Reforming the Unreformable is an extremely informative and thought-provoking book that provides a masterful account of the interplay of technical economic management and political will constrained by vested interest in undertaking changing reforms in developing countries.