The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MANAGEMENT

  • Management, doctors quarrel over N280m salary shortfall

    Resident doctors at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) at Owo in Ondo State have accused the management of withholding their 2016 salary arrears shortfall, which the Federal Government reportedly released last April.

    The centre’s president of Resident Doctors Association (RDA) Dr Ibikunle Fakorede said over N280 million was released to the management in April to pay doctors’ last year’s salary arrears shortfall.

    He said the Acting Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr Liasu Ahmed, allegedly failed to release the fund to the doctors.

    The union leader said the doctors got relevant documents, mandating management to pay the arrears, adding that the CMD has not made the payment.

    According to him, the document emphasises that the shortfall arrears were for resident doctors.

    Fakorede said the Federal Government released the money to the centre, as it did for others across the country, but wondered why the CMD did not release the fund.

    The union leader said RDA members would begin a work-to-rule action from 8 am to 1 pm daily before going back to their offices until their demands are met.

  • NEITI, others partner on extractive revenue management

    Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) have agreed to work together in the areas of oil revenue savings and promotion of better attitude to public office.

    The agencies reached this agreement at separate meetings with NEITI Executive Secretary, Waziri Adio.  The meetings focused on exploring areas of inter-agency mutual cooperation. Adio explained that while NSIA manages the Sovereign Wealth Fund derived from extractive revenues, the NOA leads national campaign for attitudinal change and ethical values in the country.

    At the meeting with the management of NSIA, the NEITI Executive Secretary expressed regrets that “our paltry oil savings defeat the rationale for having such savings in the first place. Nigeria does not have enough oil savings to finance even the fifth of a year’s budget at the federal level, not to talk of having enough for investments or for the future generation.”

    The occasional paper recently released by NEITI, largely focused on the “Case for a Robust Oil Savings Fund for Nigeria”. In the publication, NEITI drew public attention to the fact that Nigeria failed to save enough oil revenues to sustain economic activities when oil prices were quite high. From the paper, “also problematic is the level of consumption relative to non-oil exports. Nigeria typically responds to high oil prices with equally high but manifestly unsustainable level of consumption. The absence of sufficient savings left Nigeria severely exposed when the price of oil, Nigeria’s main source of government revenues and foreign exchange, started to plunge in 2014.”

    The Executive Secretary reiterated that the occasional paper released recently by NEITI was within its legitimate mandate as an agency charged with the responsibility of ensuring prudent management of revenues derived from natural resources. He clarified that in carrying out this function, NEITI focused mainly on Nigeria’s strategic interest and not necessarily on the work of any agency including the NSIA.  He, however, commended the NSIA for finding the publication valuable which perhaps influenced the visit to NEITI.

    In his remarks, the Managing Director of NSIA, Dr Uche Orji, commended NEITI for taking the initiative to produce the occasional paper. He said the paper has helped the NSIA to tell its own story in an independent manner.  According to Orji, “NEITI has a voice that resonates with policy makers and its other stakeholders.  We found the publication exceptional and commendable”. The NSIA boss applauded the fact that the report was produced without the inputs of his agency. He described the recommendations in the publication as very succinct and apt.  “We are here to ask for closer collaboration between the NSIA and NEITI in the discharge of our individual mandates while working together for the common good of our country,” Orji added.

    Meanwhile, NEITI and NOA are to establish effective platform for collaboration especially in the areas of information sharing, public education and enlightenment. The Director General, Dr Garba Abari, gave the assurance while receiving the Executive Secretary of NEITI. He announced that 813 offices of NOA will be made available to NEITI as a platform for dissemination of NEITI reports to all nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

    Abari described NEITI as an island of excellence among government agencies in terms of reputation and focus. He commended the Executive Secretary for his leadership.

  • Cash flow management

    Introduction:

    Cash flow management is very critical for all SMEs in this period of recession. The companies that have been able to survive in this trying time are the ones that have been able to manage their cash very well.

    Cash is the lifeblood of a business and also critical to the growth of any business. Businesses are highly dependent on their cash flow and must either cut cost or look for alternative funding when they are not being paid on time. When cash is not readily availableand bank loan is hard to get, a company can be pushed to the brink.

    Cash flow impacts on a company’s liquidity. Liquidity means cash-in-hand and convertibility of assets into cash. A company is said to be liquid if it’s able to pay up its obligations in the near future.

    Access to cash gives company the confidence to take expenditure decisions whenever it wishes to with less concern on how to source for funds. Healthy cash flow and cash availability put companies in a strong position to make some decisions.

    Understanding cash flow focuses on the cash going in and out of your business.

    Cash management should have an organizational framework that clearly defines who is to be responsible for:

    1. Cash Collection
    2. Authorizing Payments
    3. Cash Surplus Investments

    Ways to manage cash flow:

    Effective cash flow management is important to the survival of any business. The following ways must be combined together to achieve the best in cash flow management.

    Measuring cash flow

    Preparing cash flow projections for a period (monthly, quarterly or yearly) is the first step in managing your cash flow.It is also called cash budget. An accurate projection can alert you of trouble before it strikes.

    Understand that cashflow projection is based on a number of factors, including your customer’s payment histories, finance, operations and administrative expenses. You can prepare the cash flow on the assumption that receivables will continue coming in at the same rate they have been recently, and payables can be extended as they have in the past. Ensure you have included expenses such as fixed assets, loan interest and principal repayment and also account for seasonal sales fluctuations.

     

    Improving Receivables

    Instant payment for sales made will never have a cash flow problem. Unfortunately, credit sales are inevitable but your cash flow can be improved on by managing your receivable.

    The basic idea is to improve the speed with which materials and supplies are turn into products, inventory into receivable and receivable into cash.

    Here are some techniques to use:

    • Offer discounts to customers who pay their bills rapidly
    • Prompt issuance of invoice and immediate follow-up if payment is slow in coming.
    • Ask customers to make deposit payments at the time orders are taken.
    • Get rid of old, outdated inventory for whatever you can get
    • Track account receivable to identify and avoid slow-paying customers, by instituting a policy of cash on delivery as an alternative to do business with slow-paying customers.
    • Ensure you have many payment platforms available to your customers such as POS terminal, online transfer, quick-teller etc.

     

    Managing Payables

    When managing a growing company, expenses should be carefully watched in order to avoid complacency by simply expanding sales. Whenever expenses are growing faster than sales, examine cost carefully in order to cut or control them.

    Here are some more tips for using cash wisely:

    • Take full advantage of creditor payment terms.
    • Communicate with suppliers so they know your financial situation. If you ever need to delay a payment you will need their trust and understanding.
    • Carefully consider vendors offers of discounts for earlier payments.
    • Don’t always focus on the lowest price when choosing suppliers. Sometimes more flexible payment terms can improve your cash flow more than a bargain basement price.

    Surviving Shortfalls

    Situation occurs, where there will be lack of cash to pay bills. This does not mean failure as a business person. The future can’t be predicted perfectly.

    The key to manage cash shortfall is to become aware of the problem as early as possible.

    If you assume from the beginning that you will someday be short of cash, you can arrange for a loan of credit with your bank. This allows you to borrow money up to a limit any time you need it. Arranging a credit loan before shortfall is vital.

    If your bank won’t help turn next to your supplier they are interested in keeping you going and probably know more about your business. You can get extended terms from suppliers that amount to a hefty low-cost loan. This can be true if you have been a good customer in the past and kept them informed about your financial position.

    Consider using factors, these are financial service businesses that can pay you today for receivable you may not otherwise be able to collect, for weeks or months. A discount will be demanded by the factor and you will receive less than expected as receivable, but the hassle of collecting and be able to fund current operations without borrowing will be eliminated.

    Ask your best customer to accelerate payment, offer a reasonable percentage of discounts, persuade your worst customer and offer them discount if they pay early.

    Choose the bills to pay carefully, don’t just pay the smallest one and left the rest slide, pay the necessary bills, pay crucial suppliers next, ask the rest if you can skip a payment or make a partial payment.

    tomiomojuwa@gmail.com

  • Many injured in LUTH management, resident doctors row

    Many injured in LUTH management, resident doctors row

    MANY people were injured in a physical confrontation yesterday between officials of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and the hospital’s resident doctors under the aegis of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD).

    Those injured are receiving treatment at the hospital’s emergency unit.

    Confirming the incident, the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, (CMAC), Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade, said the resident doctors mobilised their members and other unknown persons to lay a siege to the apartment that serves as the ARD Secretariat and inflicted bodily harm on the security agents and Civil Defence men.

    Fasanmade said one operative sustained facial bruises and another was stabbed.

    It was also confirmed that many ARD members were injured.

    Fasanmade said: “They are receiving treatment at our Accident and Emergency Department. The Police were thereafter invited to restore law and order and prevent damage to Federal Government’s property.

    “By the time the police arrived, the resident doctors had destroyed the locks on the secretariat’s doors  and manned it with their members and other paid thugs.”

    Narrating what led to the crisis, Fasanmade said: “LUTH has been repeatedly invaded by unknown, non-LUTH persons invited by some persons in LUTH with the intention of causing trouble within the hospital. This group, acting under the directives of Dr. Adebayo Sekumade, one of our trainees, brazenly threatened senior officials of the hospital in the name of the Association of Resident Doctors (LUTH Branch).

    “They have been holding clandestine meetings in the ARD Office at the Marble Hall of LUTH. The Management of LUTH had given the ARD a six-month notice to quit the premises about six and a half months ago.

    “They were to relocate to over six alternative locations (which are being used by the resident doctors at no charge) within the hospital. A reminder and seven-day notice was sent to them over a week ago and the management made effort to repossess the premises used as ARD Secretariat two days ago. They resisted and that is the reason behind the fracas.”

    A member of the ARD, LUTH Branch confirmed that the hospital served the association notices to quit.

    “But since the establishment of this hospital, the space had been assigned to the Association of Resident Doctors (LUTH Branch). So, why is it that Prof. Bode’s administration wants to eject us?” asked the source rhetorically.

    The source said the hospital is dead as most of its functional high-tech equipment have packed up.

    “Not only that, Chief Medical Director, Prof. Bode, is withholding union monies to cripple unionism. It is sad,” said the source.

  • Appeal to NOUN management

    SIR: On behalf of my colleagues, I commend the management team of the NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA (NOUN) led by Prof. Abdalla Uba Adamu, seasoned administrator per excellence for his recent meeting with the Senator Samuel Anyanwu -led Senate Committee towards proffering long-lasting solutions to the rejection of NOUN law graduates in the law school . His name will be written in the sand of time if a breakthrough is recorded.

    Specifically, let me appeal to the School’s Directorate of Exams and Assessments to immediately review the just released second draft time table which schedules more than two examinations for students in a day. Although, it’s well known to all and sundry that the school has an elongated calendar this semester, kindly put in place student friendly measures to ensure a hitch free examination period and not gateway to failure again!

    However, while concerned students await the quick refund of their hard earned fee that was swept away with the old portal, may I also on behalf of others call the attention of the institution, particularly, the Management Information System to the non-availability of some Tutors Marked Assignments (TMAs) as examination is fast approaching with the recent release of two sets of draft timetables.  It will be appalling if there is a replica of inefficiency on the part of the management in the assessment of TMAs like that of the previous semester where mass failure was recorded by serious minded students due to the inability of the school to allow the submission of TMAs.

    We hope for quick action in response to these complaints.

     

    • Adelanwa Quadri,

    Abeokuta, Ogun State.

  • Using facility management to boost GDP

    Using facility management to boost GDP

    Unlike what obtains elsewhere, facility management (FM) is still in its embryonic stage in Nigeria. Stakeholders are worried that except urgent steps are taken, this real estate sub-sector may remain in limbo. They, however, predict that fortune may begin to smile on the local FM industry at the forthcoming World Facility Management Day. MUYIWA LUCAS reports

    It is not really be a major cash-cow for global economies for now; but, compared to its contributions to economies in more developed climes, its contribution remains a sore point for operators in the local industry, giving many a source of concern. This is the unpalatable but true situation of facility management (FM) sub-sector of Nigeria’s real estate industry.

    Facility management, experts say, encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure functionality of the built environment by integrating people, place, process and technology.

    According to the International Facility ManagemenAt Association (IFMA): “FM is the practice of coordinating the physical workplace with the people and work of the organisation. It integrates the principles of business administration, architecture and the behavioral and engineering sciences.”

    While globally, the FM sector contributes at most between five and seven percent to developed economies’ GDP, it is estimated that in Nigeria, it is just a mere 0.01 percent.

    For instance, the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) valued the United Kingdom’s (UK) FM industry at approximately E111 billion, and employed almost 10 per of UK’s working population as at 2015.

    Similarly, BUILDINGS.com, a community of facility managers and building owners responsible for the operation of commercial and public buildings, reports that a survey from BOMA: “Where America Goes to Work: The Contribution of Office Building Operations to the Economy, 2014,” showed that in 2013, the 10.4 billion square feet of office space within the areas covered by BOMA International’s local associations created $82.4 billion in operating expenditures to the benefit of local businesses and workers. It further explained that the study, which covered workspaces for around 46.6 million people, demonstrates that for every dollar spent on operations and maintenance, the national economy gained $2.76, resulting in a contribution to the American GDP of over $227 billion in 2013. The study further showed that the operating costs also supported over 1.8 million direct, indirect, and induced jobs, including nearly 32 per cent directly related to building operations. BOMA’s study submitted that additionally, each dollar spent in the FM process helped American workers realise an additional 87 cents in personal earnings. The study covered a wide variety of buildings, including those occupied by tenants, owned by tenants, and government facilities.

    “While the construction of new office buildings is often noted as providing important economic benefits, once this construction is completed and these new buildings are occupied, the economic benefits of their operations continue for the life of the building,”says Stephen S. Fuller of George Mason University, lead author of the report.

    The Managing Director of Alpha Mead Facilities (AMF), Mr. Femi Akintunde, while lamenting the low contribution of FM industry to the nation’s GDP, explained that for the nation’s GDP  to reap from the sub sector, both the government and the private sector should engage in  massive investment in  infrastructure development. This should include but not limited to roads, bridges, telecommunications, airports, waterways and seaports. He added that investment in social infrastructure such  as health, education, judiciary  and  legal system, among others, remain very germane.

    “The number of  activities and jobs generated  in London’s underground; water treatment , production and distribution, road networks, electricity production and distribution has witnessed  a lot of investment. But it is not like that in Nigeria,” he regretted.

    According to Akintunde, the low contribution of FM  to the nation’s GDP can also be traced to the low level of awareness on the part of many stakeholders, a situation he noted has left real estate management on the fringes. For instance, he said, several numbers of commercial and public buildings are without efficient fire equipment and functional lift system.

    He also blamed the government and owners of commercial real estate assets for  low budget for facility management. “Budget for facility management is very low, but in abroad, there is framework. We are not paying enough to allocation to security issues and asset . There is need to put structure in measuring the level of FM development in the country,” he said.

    The AMF boss also identified lack of regulatory and statutory provision that would compel owners of assets to be alive to their responsibility of improving the quality of  their assets, pointing out that many are without efficient fire equipment, clean toilet and functional elevator, among others.

    “There are certain statutory requirements in advanced countries  that  make you  pay  more attention to the quality of your asset, especially if it is seen as a commercial and public building  where people go in  and out. How many times have we had fire incident in high rise buildings which do not have functioning fire equipment to fight the fire? How many offices and government’s ministries have you gone to and feel comfortable to use their toilets?” he asked rhetorically.

    The Chairperson, BIFM,  Nigeria  Region, Mrs  Wale Odufalu, agreed with Akintunde. She explained that there was a need to drive a culture of compliance through self discipline, healthy competition, knowledge sharing and benchmarking to grow the FM industry in Nigeria.

    Urging professionals to adhere to standards and global best practices, Odufalu said that is the only way Nigeria  as a country, and practitioners as a body, can fully benefit from the practice. Property owners, she advised, should also pay attention to maintaining their assets because doing so will guaranty them good and steady returns on their investments.

    And as part of its awareness  cross  Africa, Akintunde said it was the reason his firm held its FM roundtable in Accra, Ghana, as part of the commemoration of 2017  World FM Day with the theme:  “Enabling positive experiences.” He said the forum provided opportunities to highlight how the industry plays an integral role in positive customer, client and employee experience in all sectors.

    The key highlights at the event included media interaction, social media engagement, and award of excellence and recognition for individuals and corporate bodies that has contributed significantly to the development of the profession in countries where the event has held in the past.

    The keynote speaker for the event Archbishop Duncan William, noted a deep quality experience in how to create wealth from building quality real estate assets and sustaining them.

    The forum also featured technical paper presentations from Akintunde; the Managing Director of NTHC Properties Limited, Mr. Jerome Eshun. It offered a viable platform for key stakeholders in the Ghana real estate sector to share ideas, strategise and deliberate on issues affecting the industry and practices in the country.

    FM covers these two main areas: ‘Space and Infrastructure’, that is, the physical built environment with focus on work- space and building- infrastructure (such as planning, design, workplace, construction, lease, occupancy, maintenance, furniture and cleaning) and ‘People and Organisation’ (such as catering, ICT, HR, accounting, marketing, hospitality-that is the people and the organisation and is related to work psychology and occupational physiology.

    The World FM Day is an initiative led by Global FM – a worldwide alliance of member-centered Facilities Management organisations, providing leadership in the advancement of the FM profession through institutions such as the BIFM, IFMA, Facilities Management Association, Australia; and several others around the world.

  • Free management training for Lagos community

    Free management training for Lagos community

    The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Province 58 Ginti-Ikorodu has organised free project management training for members of the church and the public.

    The province Pastor, Godwin Obadan said the training was initiated by the spiritual head of the church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye to meet the needs of people of the community where the church operates.

    “This programme was at fulfilling one of our cardinal missions, which is to affect members of our host community positively, to be a blessing to our community which is a directive from our spiritual head, Daddy Adeboye. As a church, we must not only impact on them spiritually; we should also impact on them physically.

    “That was why we felt we should organise a programme that will improve the well-being of members of our host community,” he said.

    Speaking further on what motivated the church to organise the seminar, Obadan said: “We discovered that most people don’t know how to manage what they have and everything about life is a project. So, your ability to manage yourself will always rub off on your ability to manage minute unit of project in your life.”

    Explaining why he chose project management training for the church and the public, he said: “Everything about life is a project, so, once you learn about project management, you can manage business, you can manage your life and you can manage your community. So, we feel that way we will improve life and improve our society.

    “Last year, we organised skill acquisition programme in which about 800 people participated. The participants were Muslims, Christians and non-believers. Those who were empowered then have become employers of labour.

    “But this time, we are thinking of having it when students would be on vacation, so that they can participate.”

    About 400 people participated in the project management programme.

    The Managing Partner of Oak Interlink Company Limited, a project management firm, Seye Kolawole said: “I think they’ve received sufficient knowledge about project management. They’ve gained some useful project management skills that they can immediately deploy on their businesses.”

    A participant Fumilola Dan-Agboola thanked the organisers for giving her the opportunity to get the knowledge of what project management is all about.

    On what she gained at the seminar, Dan-Agboola said: “I may not be a project management expert but I am sure I can now stand by an expert and talk about project management. There are five processes in project management; namely initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling.”

    The convener of the programme, Deacon Tosin Akande said the response and turnout shows that people are willing to learn, adding that they only need the opportunity and information to learn. Deacon Akande, who is also the church choir coordinator said: “We create much awareness about the programme and that is why you can see this huge crowd. We went on social media, distributed handbills, media publication and sustained announcement during our church services.

  • SEC, others push for new framework for unclaimed dividend management

    SEC, others push for new framework for unclaimed dividend management

    Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other stakeholders in the capital market have called for a review of capital market laws and creation of a framework to enhance the process of dividend payment and management of unclaimed dividends.

    SEC, the apex capital market regulators and other stakeholders including Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), Nigerian Stock Exchange and shareholders’ associations among others called for the removal of the 12-year statute of limitation on unclaimed dividends as contained in Section 385 of the Corporate and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) to enable shareholders claim their dividends in perpetuity.

    They also called for the establishment of a trust fund as a body corporate, with a board of trustees, for the administration of unclaimed dividends. The fund will be managed by an independent fund manager, supervised by the board of trustees and regulated by the Commission.

    In separate positions at the public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Capital Market, stakeholders urged the National Assembly to review existing laws and create the Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund to address the recurring problem of unclaimed dividend.

    SEC’s position was based on the report of a committee earlier mandated to look at the problem of unclaimed dividend.

    Speaking at the public hearing, Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),  Mr Mounir Gwarzo noted that establishing the unclaimed dividend trust fund would be in line with international practices and further remove unscrupulous practice of delay in dividend payment.

    “Going by the practices in other jurisdictions, we believe that it is apt for the Nigerian capital market to have a platform for the utilization of unclaimed dividends funds,” Gwarzo said.

    Other stakeholders also aligned with Gwarzo. The CAC in its submission advocated for repeal of Section 385 of CAMA and the establishment of unclaimed dividend trust fund.

    According to the proposal for the unclaimed dividend trust fund, the members of the board of trustees should be selected from the capital market with representation Federal Ministry of Finance, SEC, ICMR, shareholders’ association, Nigerian Employees Consultative Association and such other persons as may be determined by the Minister of Finance.

    Upon establishment of the fund, the Minister of Finance shall issue a directive for all forfeited unclaimed dividends domiciled with the companies and  all subsequent unclaimed dividends, 15 months and above to be paid into the fund. It shall be the responsibility of SEC to enforce this directive.

    The stakeholders argued that the trust fund is the viable option for injecting the forfeited unclaimed dividends into the economy.

    They noted that as the financial regulators continue to push for greater levels of financial inclusion and encourage more Nigerians to invest in the capital market, the issue of unclaimed dividends must be tackled holistically.

    In a bid to mitigate the situation, SEC had in September 2015 issued a directive to all registrars of companies to return 90 per cent of unclaimed dividends in their custody for a period of 15 months and above. Similarly, in November 2015, the Commission launched the E-Dividend Mandate Management System (E-DMMS). The E-DMMS is an E-dividend payment portal that ensures the payment of dividends directly into a shareholder’s account. It is believed that these steps taken by the Commission would help to reduce the increase of unclaimed dividend which stood at N117 billion as at December 31, 2016.  Out of this figure, N86 billion is in the custody of the paying companies while N13.7 billion is in the custody of the registrars. However, from November 2015 when the SEC flagged-off the campaign on e-dividends to February 2017, about N42.2 billion has been paid to investors.

    Ironically, the provisions of CAMA might have contributed to the issue of unclaimed dividends. Section 382 (2) of CAMA allows the issuing companies to retain the unclaimed dividends and invest them for their own benefits. The danger with this provision is that the paying companies in lieu of the benefits they stand to gain may be enticed to implore all tactics within their reach to ensure dividends are unclaimed. This may include connivance with the registrars of companies.

    More worrisome is the fact that Section 385 of CAMA makes dividends recoverable from the companies only within a period of 12 years.  As such any dividend not claimed by an investor within 12 years after it is declared is deemed as forfeited and can no longer be recovered. Although CAMA is silent on who should have custody of the funds when it becomes statute barred, the issuing companies being already in custody of the funds, retain custody, and stand to make huge benefits from the funds at no extra cost.

    Market analysts said the current push for unclaimed dividend trust fund is on the right direction and it will be a major achievement for the current Director General of SEC to have recorded this success within a short period of time.

    They noted that the issue of unclaimed dividend is one of the initiatives stated in the implementation of 10 Year Capital Market Master Plan which has been recording substantial successes in different areas.

  • Lagos trains 400 butchers on abattoir management

    Lagos State government has trained no fewer than 400 butchers and live cattle dealers from various abattoirs and slaughter slabs.

    The training was aimed at ensuring a hygienic environment within abattoirs and wholesomeness in the red meat value chain business.

    The programme was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture.

    Presenting certificates to the participants at the end the programme, Commissioner for Agriculture Oluwatoyin Suarau called for attitudinal change among stakeholders and concessionaires in the red-meat-value chain business especially in the areas of operational procedures and abattoir management.

    He said the government in addressing these challenges sponsored some butchers, live cattle dealers and other stakeholders on a study tour of Kenya and Botswana Red Meat Industry.

    “The aim of the tour then was to expose the butchers to the international standard of operation in the industry towards improving the hygiene status in all the approved abattoirs and slaughter slabs and to ensure wholesomeness in the meat that is locally consumed,” Suarau said.

    Lagos State Butchers’ Association Chairman, Alabi Bamidele Kazeem praised the government for the capacity building programme, saying it is a sign of things to come.

    He implored the participants to train other butchers not opportune to participate so that the programme’s objective can be achieved.

  • The professions, management consultancy and institutional reform in Nigeria

    My induction as a Fellow Institute of Management Consultant (FIMC-Nigeria) underscores a double imperative. On the one hand, given my nuanced researches into the professions, professionalism and the concept of service as a calling, I do not take inductions and Fellowship with levity.

    They constitute a burden of responsibility to reassess what one (at an individual level) and the professional body (at institutional level) have done so far, and what more is required to push forward the frontiers of institutional reform and professional practice. On the other hand, being a Fellow also gives one the needed platform to further advocacy and reform agitation within a recognized body whose institutional template has a lot to do with the reform of the public service that I have dedicated more than twenty years of my career life pursuing.

    Nigeria is in a huge quandary. And every one who retains some pride and patriotic attachment to this nation ought to feel some measure of alarm at the direction things are moving. Politically, economically and administratively, things are falling apart, and the centre has lost its stabilizing effect. I will situate my worry within the context of the failing mandate of the civil service in a failing state, because I have long held the staunch belief that the public service constitute a sine qua non for democratic governance in Nigeria.

    In fact, if we are to succeed as a nation, the public service must first succeed through an inviolate reform framework that will enable the civil service system deliver on its briefs. But between the present institutional predicament and the objective of optimal productivity that will give functional teeth to Nigeria’s experiment of democratic governance, we need to address and combat the breach in expertise and professionalism which has turned our institutions to mere generalist congregating point.

    In generational terms, the most critical of Nigeria’s problem is the protracted failure to harness her professional and expert knowledge, skills and competences required to transform her institutional worries. From one generation to the other, in our very eyes, we have laid the talents and potentials and endowments of our great nation to waste.

    And this is where management consultancy, and the IMCNigeria, become a critical force in the (re)articulation of what is to be done. All across the globe, management consultancy has always been one of the core competence that supported innovations in high performing public services. Indeed, within the context of the Nigerian public service and public administration discourse, management consulting professionalism became the proxy by which modern management techniques, smart, good and best practices are imported, deployed and institutionalised in the public sector. Permit a brief historical excursus to ground the significance of management consultancy within the framework of the reform of the public service in Nigeria. As a strategy of dealing with reform management which, right from independence, had always been on ad hoc basis, there was a concerted effort at establishing some permanent or quasi-permanent organs to strategize and manage reforms on an on-going basis.

    This led to the setting up of the Organization and Method (O&M) Unit in the Treasury shortly after independence. The setting up of the Public Service Review Unit (PSRU) in 1975, as a management structure, followed with the report of the Udoji Public Service Review Commission. The Udoji Commission recommended that the O&M Unit be rechristened the Public Service Reforms Unit (PSRU) which should then provide technical support to government in the implementation of the new public service management system conceptualized by the Udoji Commission and the Unified Grading System that the Commission recommended. It would be recalled that the PSRU’s establishment derived from the prevalence, in the 50s, of the organization and methods (O&M) framework in the public service.

    The PSRU eventually metamorphosed into the Management Services Department (MSD) and later into the Management Services Office (MSO). The PSRU’s core mandate was management consultancy support to install new systems for MDAs as well as introduce Job Standard Development and Grading. Some component of the latter responsibility of MSD was subsequently upgraded with the establishment of the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC). Yet, the PSRU and the MSD never really served as a proactive reform outfit in a holistic sense other than undertaking specific structural reviews as requested by MDAs or directed by government. I have had the opportunity to write a lot about the mismanagement of the Udoji Commission Report. There is more to say about it because it constitutes, for me, a significant watershed in the attempt at transforming the public service in Nigeria through the installation of a performance management system that would have pushed the system towards optimality and productivity.

    It is however grossly unfortunate that even in the 21st century knowledge and technological age, the core of management consulting skills and strategic HRM is yet to be adopted widely in the Nigerian civil service through the professionalisation of human resource function and the adoption of known though dynamic professional skills for running government. Apart from the many public education articles on the civil service that I have dedicated myself to on the reform of the civil service system, I have recently embarked on another “Key Drivers of Change” series that is meant to highlight those significant issues, dynamics and reform processes that are at the core of transforming Nigeria. One of such is productivity, and specifically, public service productivity.

    I have highlighted the severe absence of a core of competences and expertise required to shore up the gradually eroding professional template that is crucial for reinventing the civil service in Nigeria. To achieve this reinvention of professionalism, we require urgently a scheme of re-professionalisation that will not only stem the competence and skill flight to the private sector, but provide proper and solid incentives for such skills and talents to stay and restore the civil service professional status. And this is where the IMCN and all its Fellows become strategically relevant as a key player and stakeholder in the mandate of advocacy to reinvent and ignite the critical structural shifts the civil service institution require to beef up policy intelligence and deliver efficient and effective service to Nigerians.

    The array of mission and objectives advertised on the IMCN website play right into the critical need for a paradigm shifts that must happen if the public service will become strategic partner in the development process and overall national transformation. And IMCN provides a community of professional partnership that could be deployed to backstop the imperative of making Nigeria work. For instance, the Institute could initiate a strong relationship with a reconstituted National Association for Public Administration and Management (NAPAM) and in concert with the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and other relevant professional bodies, to further widen the community of expertise and professionalism that could be deployed to deepen advocacy and reform activism to rejuvenate the public service in Nigeria.

    There is a lot that these professional organisations can do to redefine professionalism and the responsibility of rethinking the intellectual foundation of knowledge, skills and practices in the running of the business of government as the critical inner dynamics to reinvent the public service and its operating system. While once again appreciating this unique institution for this landmark honour, I want to take the liberty of pledging, on behalf of all the honorees, our unreserved commitment to the codes of service of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria. This is indeed an organisation whose wide range of expertise should play a significant role in re-professionalizing the public administration system in Nigeria. •Olaopa, Executive Vice-Chairman, Ibadan School of Government & Public Policy (ISGPP), delivered the above at his investiture as Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria (FIMC-Nigeria) at Ikeja Airport Hotel, Ikeja on Wednesday. tolaopa@isgpp.com.ng;