Finally, the President-elect ended on a note that touched me. He said, "I am not asking you to come and work for Jonathan. This is not about Jonathan. It is about helping your country." This made his argument even more persuasive than Atedo's. I thanked him for the great honor and repeated some of the points I raised with Atedo,
emphasizing that my position at the World Bank entailed many responsibilities from which it would be quite difficult to lcave. Nevertheless, I would consult with my family, and my boss, the President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, and get back to him. I would need a little time. The President-elect left a phone number where I could reach him directly.

The request to return home to Nigeria from Washington threw my mind-and, in fact my life-into turmoil. I was truly enjoying my job in the international development arena. Although my first term as Finance Minister had been highly rewarding in terms of the opportunity to give back to my country, working with a strong team, and recording many achievements for the economy, it also had been politically and personally difficult, especially toward the end. I resigned when I felt no longer able to serve under adverse conditions, and the resignation was seen as a bold and controversial move on my part. No Nigerian minister resigns; they are only fired. Stepping down from my post had earned me their of those at the top. Would it be wise to return, given the tough politics? What exactly were the current circumstances in the Ministry of Finance, and would they be conducive to achieving further advances for the economy? I would need to do some homework and a great deal of reflection.

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If I said no, as I was inclined to do, I would have to back it up with strong arguments as it can be quite difficult refusing your President a request I remembered just how tough it had been to say no to President Yar'Adua, who had done me the honor of asking me twice to return as Finance Minister. But that had been in 2008 and I had very strong reasons to say no, among them the fact that I had just returned to the World Bank a few months earlier in a very senior position and it would be unprofessional to leave after such a short time. I was relieved when he kindly accepted my regrets the second time and asked me to suggest someone else. He took up my suggestion and appointed as Finance Minister Dr. Mansur Muhtar, an economist, a colleague, and former Director General of Nigeria's Debt Management Office. Although that tricky situation had been resolved relatively well, I had no idea what would happen if I said no again. In the main time, I decided to consult with my family because Iike a move without their support. My husband and child gone could not made through in my would support me. My was especially my siblings. in Nigeria and had suffered from a lot of false accusation when I was Finance minister. Only my parent and felt I might have another real chance to make a difference in
country's creating jobs, and fighting the poverty that surrounded him every day in the village where he and my mother lived. My mother noted that another benefit of accepting the position would be that she would see
me more often. But they said if I decided to do it, the extended family was definitely not in favor, Three of my brothers had their own businesses Minister. They did not want a repeat of that parents were positive. My father was very supportive economy by stemming leakages, improving peoples' lives My father's support and reasoning influenced me greatly. He was someone who believed so much in Nigeria and in giving back to the country of our birth, and his influence on me in this matter was profound. He had also always given me good advice and guidance. I decided to find out more about what was going on at home with the economy and finances.


On the finance side, I was surprised to learn that work started in 2004-with the help of the World Bank, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-to build institutions, systems, and processes to stem revenue leakages from the budget had slowed considerably after I left and had in fact stalled. Government transactions were still largely cash based, leaving plenty of room for corrupt diversion of funds. The three technology-based systems that we had initiated, designed to modernize our payments system, and translated to an electronic platform-the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management Information System (IPPIS), and the Treasury Single Account (TSA)-had not been built. The vested interests benefit from the old system still seemed to have the upper hand. This was part of the unfinished business of our finances that those familiar with these issues were talking about The other serious economic and financial issue was the oil subsidy program that was creating a big hole in the country's finances, costing DP about $11 billion a year, equivalent to about 3 percent of Nigeria's GDP. This was happening at a time when resources for investments in infra structure or in social safety nets were limited. There were suspicions of fraud in the implementation of this program, with monies being diverted to members of the elite. So not only were the poor people who were the main justification for the subsidies benefitting very little, but they were being cheated twice over by the fraud perpetrated by a privileged few.

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NGOZI Okonjo-Iweala