Nigeria’s own Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been named in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for the year 2021.
The list was released on Wednesday on Time’s official website. The list recognises “people whose ideas, example, talent, or discoveries transform the world we live in”.
Influential People
Others on the list include; United States (US) President Joe Biden, Angelique Kidjo, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan.
Okonjo-Iweala was named in the leaders’ category alongside US Vice President, Kamala Harris; Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
READ ALSO: AIB Submits Interim Report On Kaduna Crash Involving Former COAS, Attahiru,10 Others
Others who also made Time’s list include Naomi Osaka, Britney Spears, Donald Trump, and Elon Musk.
“As we face a constant barrage of vaccine misinformation, bureaucratic slowdowns across both government and industry, and the rise of variants that underscore the urgency of the situation, Okonjo-Iweala has shown us that to end the pandemic, we must work together to equip every nation with equitable vaccine access,” Prince Harry and Meghan wrote about Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance.
“Our conversations with her have been as informative as they are energizing. This is partly because, despite the challenges, she knows how to get things done—even between those who don’t always agree—and does so with grace and a smile that warms the coldest of rooms.”
The couple explained that with about a quarter of the world vaccinated against COVID-19 and the globe experiencing fragility at the moment, achieving vaccine equity is a “global duty of compassion for one another.
“Our hope is that guided by strong leaders like Ngozi, we can get there soon.”
