Okonjo-Iweala: How to Be a Friend of the Poor
The things that really matter in life are surprisingly the seemingly simple things. Small things like patting someone on the back in the event of some achievement or simply saying “Thank you” after a meal to the person who offers one such delicacy, really go a long way. In some cases, one might not even be aware of the countless lives one has saved as a result of a small smile directed at someone in deep pain in the hospital ward or a depressed soul in a refugee camp. Life can be this simple, but unfortunately, we often make it unnecessarily complicated! On June 13, 2016, the immediate past minister of finance, Dr (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala turned 62. One of the pictures of the events marking her birthday celebration was the one showing her husband and Senator Ben Murray-Bruce “kissing” her during an indoor party. Apart from the media attention that went with the “formal” aspect of the occasion (by which I mean, the “dining and wining”), the media (especially the mainstream or tra...