Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria

by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Corrupt, mismanaged, and seemingly hopeless: that's how the international community viewed Nigeria in the early 2000s. Then Nigeria implemented a sweeping set of economic and political changes and began to reform the unreformable. This book tells the story of how a dedicated and politically committed team of reformers set out to fix a series of broken institutions, and in the process repositioned Nigeria's economy in ways that helped create a more diversified springboard for steadier long-term growth. The author, Harvard- and MIT-trained economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, currently Nigeria's Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance and formerly Managing Director of the World Bank, was a crucial player in her country's economic reforms. In Nigeria's Debt Management Office and later as minister of finance, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors that led to the cancellation of sixty percent of Nigeria's external debt. "Reforming the Unreformable" offers an insider's view of those debt negotiations; it also details the fight against corruption and the struggle to implement a series of macroeconomic and structural reforms.

Nigeria's efforts can be viewed as a laboratory for other countries--not just resource-rich developing countries like Nigeria, but any country interested in reining in debt, managing volatility, saving for the future, or building credibility with debtors and investors. This story of development economics in action, written from the front lines of economic reform in Africa, offers a unique perspective on the complex and uncertain global economic environment.

Genres: History, Africa, Politics

198 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was Nigeria's Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015, and Foreign Minister in 2006. She was Managing Director of the World Bank from 2007 to 2011, overseeing South Asia, Europe, Central Asia, and Africa, and is currently Senior Adviser at Lazard and Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. She is the author of Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria (MIT Press).

Reviews

[Derrill Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will assigning this book in my class on Public Choice economics. It does a very good job illustrating the vested interests that prevent public sector reform, while showing that progress can be made even in Nigeria. There is a useful set of lessons learned, the best of which boil down to that they should have taken the politics and political economy seriously.

[Yusuf Leinge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking memoir of the Nigerian state and its condition. Okonjo Iwela is one of soundest gifts we have in present-day Nigeria.

[Jonathan Rosenthal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating inside account by Nigeria's former finance minister of the difficulties of improving governance and fighting corruption during her first term in office.

[Mateusz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not recommend highly enough- a much 'lighter' economics reading than expected.

[Enny McSholly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okonjo-Iweala reflects on issues of development, reforms and economic rejuvenations in Nigeria during her years as the Finance Minister, where she faced stopping-blocks at bringing her experience and expertise, accrued over years from the World Bank as an economist, to fix a broken and rotten system. Her views on the status and progress reports are undoubtedly winning as the sub-sahara countrty has been in a ditch of social and economic retrogression. I found this book not only reflecting on the dilapidated state of a nation in chaos but also a subject of unreformed society on the brinks of political selfishness of leaders and masquerades of democratic rule.
'Reforming the unreformable' is pivoted on efforts to rejuvenate a collapsing economic state, attempts for surgical repair of the nation's sectors, and hitherto unforeseen strategies of the political class to subvert soccio-economic justices and diversifications towards unsuccessful implementations of policies. There is no doubt that, as a member of an economic team, Ms. Iweala laid sufficient plans and devised startegies to reform a broken system; hence, her separation of economic-will and political diplomacy cum societal ideologies and unbalanced ethics formed the basis for a non-continuous appeal. Overall, I would regard this piece as an accolades of economic reforms without strucking adequately the basis for failures of the government - bad leadership, selfish interests of the political class and endemic corruption.

[Luke Eure · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty dry and technical book, but interesting if you're interested in what it looks like to try to enact economic and financial reform in a poor country. My version has a Bono quote on the back, which is hilarious to me: How much does Bono know or understand about Nigerian financial reform?

Okonjo-Iweala (was the Finance Minister of Nigeria, now leader of the WTO) brings out the tension that exists between political and financial interests in rich countries and people in Nigeria who don’t want international bodies telling them what to do. And it's not only foreign "western" experts who are technocratic in development. Local experts can be too. So getting political buy-in is important, both from entrenched (and potentially corrupt) political leaders, and from citizens.

[Joseph Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book but really badly edited and proofed. Also love from the review below that Bono, the revered expert in Nigerian economics, was kindly able to provide a review for the cover.

[Sam Koiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

A must read by all Nigerians if you really want to understand the level of corruption in that country, in fact all Africans! Her 2 books should be part of the curriculum.

[Muh'd Tukur Aliyu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The capacity minister told us how she brought back the lost hope of the country's economic in early birth of democracy time in the country, in spite of injurious statements, news media headings from politicians and other vested interest.

[Lola Alli · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was such a disappointment, and the title is very misleading. It lacks thorough analysis of the actual economic policies that Nigeria implemented under Iweala. It says absolutely nothing of the way in which Nigeria got rid of its debts at the turn of the 21st century. I was really looking forward to learning about the negotiation process that Iweala led with The Paris Club. It was just a disappointment all round. Definitely do not recommend.