American weekly magazine TIME, has named the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance of Nigeria, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in its 2014 TIME 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Okonjo-Iweala was listed under the “Leaders” category alongside China’s President Xi Jinping; United States Secretary of State, John Kerry; Russia’s President Vladmir Putin; Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, among others.
One of Nigeria’s richest business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton; Chair of the US Federal Reserve Board, Janet Yellen and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were also mentioned under other categories in the list.
In an accompanying profile, respected global activist and founder of ONE campaign, Bono eulogised Okonjo-Iweala’s role in settling the nation’s Paris Club debt and her fierce fight towards eradication of corruption in the country.
Bono applauded her work as finance minister, noting that it is one of the toughest jobs on the planet.
“Humour and joy spill out of her. She is fiercely intelligent; everyone wants her to work with them. I couldn’t be prouder to work for her”, Bono said.
Responding, Okonjo-Iweala, described the award as very delighting, especially because it has come very soon after the Rockefeller Leadership Award she was bestowed with recently.
“I am grateful to God for his blessings and I appreciate the privilege and honour of working for my country”, Okonjo-Iweala said.
“I am thankful to my teams that worked hard to help me achieve. I appreciate the support and prayers of millions of Nigerians and friends around the world. This is vastly encouraging.”