{"id":11472,"date":"2016-09-13T18:41:07","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T18:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=11472"},"modified":"2016-09-13T20:56:05","modified_gmt":"2016-09-13T20:56:05","slug":"how-nigeria-can-come-out-of-recession-okonjo-iweala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=11472","title":{"rendered":"How Nigeria can come out of recession &#8211; Okonjo-Iweala"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><code><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<p><code><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=10513&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/code><\/p>\n<p>The immediate past Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said on Monday that having a handle on Nigeria\u2019s spiralling inflation, foreign exchange problem, fiscal deficit and debts control were key to resolving the country\u2019s current economic crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke on Aljazeera TV programme, The Stream, said focusing on the basic issues of macroeconomic stability was crucial to fixing the country\u2019s economic challenges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you don\u2019t pay attention to the fundamentals of having a stable and good exchange rate policy, inflation under control, manageable fiscal deficit and debts, there will continue to be trouble in the economy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades. The economy slipped into recession after contracting in the first two quarters of 2016.<\/p>\n<p>Inflation jumped from 16.2 per cent in July to 17.1 per cent in August 2016, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.<\/p>\n<p>Since the introduction of the floating foreign exchange policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which freed the Naira from a band of N197-N199 to the dollar, the currency has been in a free fall against other international currencies.<\/p>\n<p>From about N281 to the dollar at the beginning of the policy in June, Naira crashed to about N420 to the dollar shortly before the Sallah holidays on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, a former World Bank Managing Director, told Al Jazeera that she remained optimistic that solutions to the country\u2019s economic decline could still be found.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cat.nl.eu.criteo.com\/delivery\/lg.php?cppv=1&amp;cpp=BaCtXnxvYUUrY3dMbFVxY28vNXVXZWdGNjJhZ1A1MTBEZi91ZXBzVjFrVitGbjJPb05UaXltUUJNU29tMHF2VWZhSVJHK2ZpRW9mNnNZWjRUUkNIMFJ1czQwSFJMVmxWUEhud1BOc3EvNjFGZlJXRVFXek52YWlkaHZMR3JhU3c5ZzB1RUZVV1NqSkdReHBwNHh3ZU5JKzFmYlRWWjRJNUpHU2g3UmFCajN6dVQvS214aWZId3AxOUVpOXIyOU5yS1RsNHd2T041MUZrZmVicWFXSXYrYVE4eWE0Uk5EY2tNcDZiMXJzMi84RDRPekJJPXw%3D\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ssum-sec.casalemedia.com\/usermatchredir?s=183697&amp;cb=https%3a%2f%2fdis.criteo.com%2frex%2fmatch.aspx%3fc%3d25%26uid%3d%25%25USER_ID%25%25\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Asked what would be her top three priorities to resolve the country\u2019s current economic crisis if she had remained the finance minister, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said she would prefer the current managers of the economy talk about it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have contributed the best I could to the country. It is still the most interesting country in the world. It is better to leave those who are managing now to say what they would do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll I can say is that there are solutions. Nigeria is a vibrant country. I love it so much. I know it is going to come out of this one way or another,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>On if President Muhammadu Buhari were to ask her to come and help in resolving the country\u2019s economic crisis, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said: \u201cOne of the things you learn as you get wiser is to talk less as you grow older.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have spent my time contributing to the country. It will be better to leave those managing the economy to do what they know how to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI served my country for seven years and it was a great honour. The second time was very tough, but it was still an honour. I am not the only person who is a repository of knowledge. There are other people who can equally try their hands in running the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the continental scale, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, expressed regrets the economic gains recorded in Africa have started being eroded in the last two to three years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the continent, we have seen a period when the economy was doing relatively well. It\u2019s only in the last two to three years that things have started to go a bit south.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She spoke about the job initiative of the Goodluck Jonathan government, YOU-WIN.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole idea was to have a business plan competition. Beneficiaries were expected to create jobs to employ six people or more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach created 9-10 jobs. The World Bank did an evaluation of it and found it good. I do believe the government should come in. We started a peer to peer mentoring. Now, one of the things I want to say is that creating employment is not only about struggles, it is about managing success,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>On how the anti-corruption war was fought during her time in government, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala described it as \u201ca very tough fight\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was tough. I must thank my team. You don\u2019t do it alone. I had the support of an economic team in the Ministry of Finance. At the end of the day, you need to have some principles,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Ngozi.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-8680\" src=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Ngozi-300x251.jpg\" alt=\"Ngozi\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Ngozi-300x251.jpg 300w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Ngozi-768x644.jpg 768w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Ngozi.jpg 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Alayo-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9619\" src=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Alayo-2-300x250.jpg\" alt=\"Alayo 2\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Alayo-2-300x250.jpg 300w, http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Alayo-2.jpg 559w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Source: Premium Times<\/p>\n<p><code><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=10513&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The immediate past Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said on Monday that having a handle on Nigeria\u2019s spiralling inflation, foreign exchange problem, fiscal deficit and debts control were key to resolving the country\u2019s current economic crisis. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke on Aljazeera TV programme, The Stream, said focusing on the basic issues of macroeconomic stability was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[362,267,154],"class_list":["post-11472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-cbn","tag-dr-ngozi-okonjo-iweala","tag-muhammadu-buhari"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Ngozi.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-2Z2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11472"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11476,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11472\/revisions\/11476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}