Nigeria, U.S. mute as bid for World Bank boss ends today

Mazrui writes Jonathan on Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy

LESS than 24 hours to the close of nomination for the soon-to-be vacant position of President of the World Bank, the United States (U.S.) and Nigeria, which are highly favoured for the office, are yet to present any candidate for the slot.

As at last night, the American President Barak Obama and his Nigerian counterpart, Goodluck Jonathan, were reportedly under pressure to break their silence on the matter.Okonjo

Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been confirmed by sources within the Bretton Woods Institution, to have been nominated for the office while America’s Susan Rice, is also favoured for the slot.

But an African elder statesman and historian, Prof. Ali Mazrui, who does not believe that Nigeria’s silence on the matter is golden, has written a letter to Jonathan to forward Okonjo-Iweala’s name for the position.

Last Wednesday, Okonjo-Iweala through his aide, Paul Nwabuiku, publicly declared that she was not interested in the office.

The eventual occupant of the position would emerge through consensus by the global bank’s board.

On Wednesday afternoon at the White House, journalists pressed Obama’s Press Secretary Jay Carney on the issue of whom his boss might propose for the office since traditionally an American has always occupied the position.

As at press time yesterday, there was no clear candidate of the U.S. government although media reports mentioned Rice, the present American Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), as the country’s possible choice.

Carney, who dodged the question, simply said there are “no updates” as yet on the issue. World Bank officials said yesterday that the Americans have only one day to decide on their choice for the office.

Jonathan has allegedly come under international pressure from some eminent Africans, including Mazrui, who sent a letter through the Nigerian Embassy in U.S. to convince the Federal Government on the need to support Okonjo-Iweala’s nomination.

A source confirmed that the Embassy has forwarded the letter to Aso Rock, because according to the diplomatic source, “if a Nigerian gets the job, it will be a great honour for the country.”

The Guardian learnt that Jonathan might not be well disposed to releasing Okonjo-Iweala for the office because of her critical role in the administration’s transformation agenda, which informed her dual positions as finance and co-ordinating minister of the economy.

The World Bank Board of Directors, which includes three African representatives, will decide the next helmsman of the bank by consensus, according to a statement issued by the organisation.

Mazrui in his letter to Jonathan, which was copied to Nigeria’s Ambassador to the U.S., Prof. Ade Adefuye, the three African Executive Directors on the board of the World Bank (Mr. Agapito Mendes Dias, Hassan Ahmed Taha, and Renosi Mokate), all of whom are believed to be supporting Okonjo-Iweala’s candidature, said: “All contacts we have had so far consistently confirm that your Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is the best candidate for this position.

“We fully understand that Okonjo-Iweala only recently joined your team, and she is a major member with considerable responsibilities for supporting your agenda to help Nigeria’s economy grow faster and reduce poverty. We do not minimise this role.”

Mazrui, who is based in New York, added that “we also think that the current opportunity for Okonjo-Iweala to be considered for the position to head the World Bank – the world’s premier development institution – is an unprecedented opportunity for Nigeria, for Africa, and for the developing world to field a candidate of merit and credibility that would influence global
development considerably.”

He wrote the letter last week from his State University of New York in Binghamton.

According to him, “opportunities such as these come about rarely – and your support for Ngozi’s nomination will advance Africa’s and the developing world’s voice and leadership in global governance institutions significantly.”

Although World Bank sources confirmed yesterday that Okonjo-Iweala’s name is in contention, the time allowed for nomination ends today and a list of three short-listed candidates would be made public by the board, which is the appointing authority.

The World Bank statement explained that “nominations should be submitted by close of business on Friday, March 23, 2012, and may be made by Executive Directors, or by Governors through their Executive Directors.”

An earlier statement had hinted that “following the close of the nomination process, the Executive Directors will decide on a shortlist of up to three candidates, and publish the names of the short-listed candidates with their consent.”

It said “formal interviews by the Executive Directors will be conducted for all short-listed candidates with the expectation of selecting the new President by consensus by the Spring Meetings of 2012.”