British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Laing, joins #BeLikeNgoziChallenge

British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, joined the #BeLikeNgoziChallenge which has been trending online since the beginning of the week.

The #BeLikeNgoziChallenge challenge has attracted sizzling attention lately with the historic emergence of Nigeria’s pride, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.

The Nigerian development economist, known for her African print Ankara wears and peculiar headgear usually tilted at a convenient angle, said in a recent interview that she unabashedly “love being African and being Nigerian”.

The #BeLikeNgoziChallenge challenge involves social media users dressed up as Okonjo-Iweala. It was started by Temie Giwa-Tubosun of Lifebank, a platform that delivers medical supplies.

Giwa-Tubosun shared the first entry in the challenge on Sunday and promised to give a N100,000 prize to the best dressed person.

The challenge gained more traction on Monday as the WTO announced the appointment of Okonjo-Iweala as the new chief of the Geneva-based body. Okonjo-Iweala breaks a 26-year record as the first African and first female boss of the global trade and dispute settlement organisation.

In a video released via her verified Twitter handle, the British high commissioner who was clad in an Ankara print enthused, “Hey, my sister Ngozi, we are so proud of you, the new Director-General of the World Trade Organisation. Congratulations!”

“And all you young girls out there, see what you can achieve, you can be brilliant in your career but also be yourself,” Laing advised.

Happy to join #BeLikeNgoziChallenge initiated by ?@temite? with my #AnkaraArmy ‘gele’. For girls in Nigeria & all over the world ?@NOIweala? shows there are no limits and you can still be yourself. Congratulations to the first female DG of ?@wto? #NoiGoesToWTO pic.twitter.com/NnqU6VpTEi

— Catriona Laing (@CatrionaLaing1) February 17, 2021