JIME: DOING NEW THINGS AT NEPZA

It is the Chinese who say “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step!” Meaning: it all starts with the proverbial first step! That first step may not tell the complete story or give a definitive ending, but it defines the journey-man: his first impressions, his seriousness, his focus, his direction, his zeal and his pace. All the foregoing can conspire against him or cooperate with him. They can conspire against him by exposing his first impressions as non-impressions and they can, on the other hand, cooperate with him by making his first impressions lasting impressions.

For Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime, there is no noise or ambiguity about the kind of first impressions he has made – it is very evident that his impressions are not only lasting, but would reverberate for a long time!

Already, staff of the authority, in appreciation of some of his innovative interventions, have taken the liberty of using his surname “Jime” to coin a pharmaceutical brand: “Jimedol” (a cure for low-staff morale) – thus, making a powerful addition to the pharmacological lexicography.

But salutary as his stance on welfare is, his biggest impression yet is in the areas of building investor-confidence, inter-agency cooperation, administrative and governance structure, and a strategic engagement of industry specialists.

The direct and immediate outcome of these positive moves is the establishment of three new Free Trade Zones under his superintendence i.e. i.e. Nasco Town Free Zone, valued $2.086billion; Quit Aviation Services Free Zone, valued at $215million and Tomaro Industrial Park, in Lagos, valued at $450million. Upon completion, these new FTZs envision creating direct and indirect jobs in tens of thousands.

So, Jime’s nine months have been innovative, dynamic and action-packed. Although nine months may be too brief to make a comprehensive review of his stewardship, his purposeful steps so far can be described with a plurality of adjectives like: dynamic, innovative, eventful, pragmatic and unusually promising.

For someone who came into office with zero executive experience, his grasp of the Free Zone scheme has been described by many as phenomenal. And since dynamism is one of the qualities Jime has always brought to the public service table, the effervescent Jime is dynamically redefining public service with the spirit of dynamism and the power of his personal example.

This is 2018, and Jime is determined that things keep looking up at NEPZA. And it does not look like a vain determination. After criss-crossing the country last year on fact-finding and familiarisation tours to the Free Zones, he has all the needed facts to make a difference, and, indeed, take NEPZA to the next level.

And with the appointment of a new board, with a former of Ekiti State, Mr. Segun Oni, as chairman, the handsome hope of many is that things can only get better.