The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that undertaking economic reforms in a country like Nigeria is very tough but there is no alternative if the nation is to witness the rapid socio-economic development that is the dream of Nigerians.

Speaking on her new book, “Reforming the Unreformable”, on the side line of the on-going Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, in Tokyo, Japan, she said she decided to write the book in which she shares her experiences in the effort to reform the Nigerian economy and put it on a firm footing for growth to spread the message of hope.

“The book is a message of hope.  The challenges of undertaking reforms are enormous but it is doable.  It can be achieved if one is committed to ensuring change that is necessary to free the economy and place it on the path of growth.  There is no alternative, really. This book shows that no matter how tough, with political will, you can undertake reforms.”

The minister said that the book has also been written to provide development practitioners a chronicle of first-hand experiences of what happens when one decides to undertake a reform, especially as it provides practical experiences of the works of the National Economic management Team which she headed under the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, when she first served as Minister of Finance.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who reviewed the book, commended the courage of  Okonjo-Iweala and her team as, according to him, “undertaking the reform agenda of the Federal Government, saying “it shows that reforms are difficult but not impossible”.

He described it as a story of self-sacrifice by the minister in the pursuit of a better Nigeria, especially in navigating through the delicate balance between political interests, interests of private sector operators and doing the right thing in the economic interests of the general public.

Sanusi said the book is timely especially now that Nigeria has entered the second phase of her economic reforms and that a critical lesson to learn is to avoid carrying reforms in too many sectors at the same time and that the book is an encouragement for those who want to undertake reforms in other countries of the world.