Jime at NEPZA: Looking back, looking forward

It is about nine months since Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime took office as the 7th Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA). And if the truth must be told, it has been nine or so months of action, innovation, eventfulness, pragmatism and unusual promise.

In truth, nine months may be too brief to make a comprehensive review of a tenured appointment of four years and come up with an objective score, but even Jime’s first steps can give Nigeria a peep into how his full tenure would look like. After all, the Chinese say “the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first steps.”

And, so far, Emmanuel Jime’s sure-footedness at NEPZA is a pointer that the thousand-mile destination is possible. Although he is best described by such adjectives as “cosmopolitan,” “urbane,” “cultured,” “articulate,” and “principled,” the reality that confronted him at NEPZA was beyond adjectival distinctions it was a challenge that required pragmatic, hands-on experience; and it bothered on the urgent. But Jime had none!

A complete stranger to the executive side of governance, Jime’s handicap was compounded by the fact that, perhaps, like millions of other Nigerians, he knew next to nothing about NEPZA! The vibrant Jime was, nonetheless, decided on hitting the ground running. And he did.

When he met with staff shortly upon the assumption of office in May, to outline his vision, sue for cooperation and sketch innovative, staff welfare schemes, he confessed as much. It was at this maiden meeting that he gave NEPZA two of his quotes that have today become staff favourites: “If there is welfare, there would be no warfare” and “If there is a celebration in the house, there would be no solidarity songs.”

So, right from Day One, Jime took the initiative of connecting with staff of the Authority - and even going beyond the bounds of propriety to give out his private cell-phone numbers and his e-mail addresses!

Since one of the unique things about his service in the public space is his dynamism, Jime has brought to NEPZA all that dynamism can offer in its broadest sense i.e. dynamic quality, dynamic energy, a dynamic mission, a dynamic vision and a dynamic pace. And this dynamic side of his public stewardship became practical on April 25, 2017, when he began the first leg of his tour of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) across the country just six days after taking office. A man with a mission or on a mission is a missionary; and every true missionary must walk the field and do field-work!

Being a politician, many thought the managing director would fancy the glamorous side of governance over and above the executive side. As such, there were pressures on him to meet the press and unveil his vision immediately upon assumption of office. But being more of a chief executive than a chartered politician, the NEPZA helmsman deferred meeting the Fourth Estate of the Realm to 8th December 2017! By then, it was not just to unveil his vision - it was to showcase to the pressmen something concrete. And there was indeed: three FTZs, and FDI inflows of $2.8billion.

Today, the salutary outcomes of that back-to-school move are evident in the restructuring of the corporate governance structure, the injection of life into the free zones while licencing new ones, the rebuilding of investor-confidence, the introduction of innovative staff welfare schemes, the cementing of inter-agency relationships as well as a robust and sustained engagement with industry stakeholders on multi-levels.

And it is the handsome hope of every NEPZA staff, and, indeed every industry stakeholder, that the new board would solidly stand by Jime and offer him the critically needed support in his repositioning, rebranding and reinvigorating agenda at NEPZA. And with Engr. Oni’s rich, composite and cosmopolitan experience as a public officer, teacher, unionist, journalist engineer, bureaucrat, technocrat, grassroots mobilizer, entrepreneur, sales specialist, international consultant, former governor and honorific chieftaincy title-holder, the Asiwaju of Ifaki-Ekiti, the hope appears well-invested!

Simon Imobo-Tswam, Abuja