The recession is biting hard; this is no news. The economy is in a state  of quagmire and Nigerians are groaning under the heavy burden of  skyrocketing cost of basic commodities. What has brought us to this  state is the greed and selfishness of corrupt leaders; they have eaten  their future and that of their children, that is why Nigeria is where  she is today. It is sad, but we are here anyway and we need to find our  way out. Thank God one way or the other there is a means of escape.
We need a competent leader; a saviour who can rescue us from the  economic doldrums in which we have found ourselves. We need someone who  can first lift us out of this pit and then possibly begin to lift us to  greater heights. I say ‘_begin’_because the truth is that to begin  to rebuild Nigeria will take considerable time; time and effort. Who  better fits into this position than our very own Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala?  Yes, Madam Ngozi, by all metrics and measurements is the woman we need  at this moment. Time and time again she has proven her stuff; she has  shown she knows her onions and can deliver. Obtaining a debt pardon of  about $18 billion from the Paris Club is not child’s play; yet she and  her team did it seamlessly. That was the beginning of good economic  tidings for the country; it was the bedrock of the economic boom that  Nigeria began to experience during Obasanjo’s time.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala is not a fluke; over and over again, she demonstrated  her skill with the introduction of sweeping economic reforms that  catapulted the nation from stalemate to prosperity; inflation was  reduced to single digits; ghost worker scams were uncovered. Also, with  foresight, she had made provision for Nigeria to save through the Excess  Crude Account, which was a buffer the country fell back on.
Calls have been coming from several quarters asking Okonjo-Iweala to  come and rescue us from this recession. Let us not beat about the bush,  she is the kind of person we need right now as president. It would be  recalled that a poll taken by _Post-Nigeria[1] _put Okonjo-Iweala in the  lead with a total of 5, 639 (69%) votes, out of a total vote of 8,136,  followed by the former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, who  gathered 14% (1,138) of the total votes. This is a pointer that good  times are around the corner if we allow Okonjo-Iweala to become  president.
She has been tried, tested and proven and we have seen her deliver. To  paraphrase what the Holy Book says if you have been tested and found  faithful in that which is little, more will be committed in your hands.  This is the time we need to commit more into Okonjo-Iweala’s hands;  she has delivered on a ‘smaller’ scale, she will deliver on a  ‘bigger’ scale.
As Finance Minister, she did great exploits; Nigeria will not forget her  in a hurry for turning our economy around for good. I believe she will  even do better as a President; she seems to have this golden touch for  resuscitating a dying or failing economy. What better time than now do  we need her to touch our economy which is the area that needs focus the  most? We need to wake up to the reality of the moment.
Although, she has no such goals and ambitions and would likely turn down  any, if the power to select the next president was vested in me, I would  undoubtedly choose Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Written by Bade Adebolu, an accountant and social commentator.
