Don’t expect any special favour from Okonjo-Iweala – Ex-Envoy

A diplomat and former Per­manent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambas­sador Joe Keshi, has told Nigeria not to expect any special favour or help from the newly appointed Direc­tor-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Keshi, who was a guest on The Morning Show on Arise TV on Tuesday, maintained that Okonjo-Iweala will not offer any special help to Ni­geria, except the country is productive and has some­thing to sell.

The former Nigeria’s consul general in Atlanta, explained that the WTO is an organisation that regulates global trade and therefore, Okonjo-Iweala’s role is to en­sure that every country gets a fair deal.

According to Keshi, “I need to make this point, which I made to some peo­ple who asked me yesterday that how will Ngozi help Ni­geria, and I said no, she will not help you. She will not help you except you are pro­ductive, she will not help you except you have something to sell.

“Her role as the Direc­tor-General of the World Trade Organisation… The WTO is an organisation that regulates global trade and except you have some­thing to sell and to put into the world market, her role is to ensure that you get a fair deal, and that you are not cheated in the whole process.

“But when you are not trading, where you have nothing to trade, where you are doing anything, whether it is in commerce or the oth­er side of it… The most im­portant thing is if you want to benefit from her being the WTO Director-General, we need to up our game by being productive.”