Who doesn’t know her? She needs no introduction – absolutely none. Her signature brand and classic style is unmistakable and often does not go unnoticed – chic outfit of different shades and colours of Ankara attires clad in simple but nicely done headgears, with the same Ankara material. “Mama Africa,” some call her. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is globally recognised for her outstanding impact on the world stage. A woman with a strong presence and personality, who has brilliantly succeeded in what some people would call a “man’s world” – her ability to navigate and overcome barriers and her unwavering strength and consistency are second-to-none, solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. 

As she’s fondly called in some quarters, NOI became the first woman and African to lead the World Trade Organisation when she assumed office as the Director General on March 1, 2021. A tenure of four years, which ends on 31 August 2025. The General Council of the WTO agreed by consensus of the 166 members to reappoint her for another term, which is set to start on 1 September 2025.

Her reappointment showcases the massive support for her leadership, emphasised by the Chair of the General Council, Ambassador Petter Olberg, who praised her accomplishments and was quoted to have said, “The General Council commends Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for her outstanding leadership during her first term.

Amid significant global economic challenges, she strengthened the WTO’s ability to support its members and set a forward-looking agenda for the organisation. Her leadership was instrumental in securing meaningful outcomes at pivotal moments, including the 12th and 13th Ministerial Conferences (MC12 and MC13), where major milestones were achieved.”

We cannot say her first term has not been without a couple of trade problems. However, she has succeeded in managing the risks and is steering the organisation away from the murky waters. While attempting to lead, for another four years, a troubled organisation that has been low in terms of reaching new agreements due to increasing tensions between the biggest players – the US, the EU, China, Japan, India, UK, etc, her attitude has been crystal clear: that all the major global trade players should approach all the issues constructively and creatively. Her disposition: “Avoid any kind of disputes that would be detrimental to the functioning of the world trade system.”

While insisting on the “importance of rules-based global trading”, she has pledged to work harmoniously with all the dominant stakeholders and the world leaders, especially with Donald Trump, whose economic reforms and steps taken to restructure the US bilateral trade relationships and agreements have been criticised by several global leaders as putting gasoline on the world economy with a potential to tank it, and whom a few experts think may not want to be on the same page with her – “I look very much forward to working with President Trump… I am eager for it.” Nevertheless, many observers suggested the decision of the General Council to speed up the process of her reappointment was essentially to avoid Trump-America from blocking her candidacy just the same way he did in his first term. Keith Rockwell, a senior research fellow at Hinrich Foundation and a former WTO spokesman said, “The unstated objective was to accelerate the process, because they did not want Trump’s team to come in and veto her as they did four years ago.”  And the decision hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Trump team. A former trade official under Trump 1.0 criticised it as “completely politically tone deaf.”

Just like with the World Health Organisation (WHO), which the US recently pulled out its membership from, Trump has not hidden his disdain for some of the policies and operational methodologies of the WTO, especially on what he alleged as its softness on China’s wolfish economic practices against its competitors and the classification of the Communist China as a developing country. You get a sense that in Trump’s view, the WTO’s purported squishy treatment of China and a few other members may be responsible for much of the trade malpractices – particularly the bulk of the non-tariff operations.

The global stage was inundated by what can be called the sensational events that greeted the declaration of the WTO chief’s candidacy in her first term. While she received an overwhelming support from member countries across board for her candidacy, America under the Trump 1.0 did not. This blatant and vehement opposition, which sparked widespread reactions, resulted in many experts trying to offer the probable reasons for the resistance. Quite a number of commentators believe it may likely be hinged on performance. The Trump’s team believe that being a development economist even with a profound track record spanning about a quarter of a century at the World Bank and as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, she knows little to nothing on trade. This position was underscored by Trump’s former trade representative, Robert Lighthizer who said, “His stated view was that Ngozi doesn’t know the WTO and is not a trade person.”

If the fears of her performance and delivery on the job was actually the reason she was not supported by Trump, then it is untenable now and goes without saying as her first four years have stood in sharp contrast to that, demonstrating over and over again that she is no fluke and does not fit the bill of a non-performer. It is clearly a smoking gun that even her deadliest critics cannot refute that she has done phenomenally well. In her current term, she has driven policies that allowed members to forge stronger trade and economic ties, and until a few months ago, the world had lived out a period of tranquillity and progress as far as trade relations were concerned.

Beyond doubt, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has been unapologetically trade-centric as the WTO Chief, against the speculations, which are legendary, of many that she would stonewall the smooth implementation of trade relations. She has proved them wrong as she has not ground the gears of global trade to a halt and her time at the helm of affairs of the WTO has not whiplashed the foreign trade community. Her masterstrokes, all of which are intricately intertwined, have been how she sustained and deepened trade alliances across geopolitical regions, easing tension and pushing for the de-prioritisation of the national interests of individual members on trade, instead, pushing for the consummation of trade transactions in the interest of global unity and prosperity – incentivising cooperation to minimise protectionism, a sticking point to seamless global trade.

To others, nonetheless, Trump’s penchant for racially-motivated rhetoric, considered discriminatory and offensive by a section of people of a specific race, may have influenced his decision not to back Dr. Okonjo-Iweala in her first term. Many folks believe his alleged remarks about the African continent, which at times have been nothing short of uncomplimentary, may have been responsible for his refusal to support her. Whatever it was, I strongly think the dynamics in his second presidency should take a whole new twist. In line with the assertion of Martin Luther King Jr, the WTO Chief’s time in office should not be judged by the colour of her skin but the content of her character, and I dare say too, that it should be evaluated by her achievements and profound credibility.

The ongoing unease in global trade relations, which has created apprehension and a feeling of restlessness for many countries as far as trade is concerned, is playing an enormous part in driving the WTO Chief to actively and passionately pursue collaboration with the heavyweights in foreign trade to relieve the concerns which are palpable and avoid getting into acts that would jeopardise the survival of the international trade community – a case of simply avoiding a situation of here today, gone the next.

Beyond question, the global trade network is looking forward to a monumentally successful second term of the WTO under the strategic leadership direction of Dr. Okonjo-Iweala. In all of this nonetheless, I am optimistic, cautiously though, that the biggest competitors in the global trade structure would not put a heavy thumb on the WTO but would be equitable, fair and balanced. It is equally hoped that the two largest economies in the world – the US and China, would close trade ranks and choose a path that will be uniquely focused on leading the pack and getting on a little bit better with the WTO under an African-American woman, who herself has not been sleeping on the wheels in her quest to provide unparalleled leadership needed to forge a new and prosperous future for all members and key stakeholders.

In conclusion, it is like a potter working on a clay pot, which ends up in a mess, as is often the case. The solution? The potter simply makes a fresh start using the same clay to make another pot. In like manner, there is a growing push to see a fresh, glowing start not just among the biggest global trading partners, but more importantly, these super powers enhancing their partnerships with the WTO to guarantee the success of the multilateral trading system. It is anticipated that for example, the attitude and disposition of Trump’s America in the second term of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will be dramatically upended. One would hope: he deploys the same amount of energy and resolve in opposing her candidacy in her first term to fully, unequivocally collaborate with her over the next four years and as the leader of the free world, demonstrate strong leadership required to obliterate any noticeable rifts that shape global trade patterns which normally arise due to wavering global priorities.

Ande, a financial and political economy analyst, writes from Lagos and can be reached via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.