Absence Of Corporate Governance Responsible For Corruption –––FADAKA
Tony Fadaka is the Registrar/chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), Lagos. In this interview with FRANK UDEZO, he speaks on the objective of NIM, the yearly National Management Conference holding today, what NIM has done
What is the objective of NIM? INCE its establishment in 1961, NIM has continued to serve as a platform for providing and promoting the practice of management. It has remained the prime driver of management standards and values, and a veritable change agent in strategic transformation of our country.
The NIM Establishment Act clearly spells out the objectives and powers of the Institute, which are: • Determining what standards of knowledge and skill are to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the management profession, and raising those standards and skill from time to time, as circumstances may permit.
• Securing in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the establishment and maintenance of register of members and publication from time to time. • Regulating and controlling the profession of management in all its aspects
Sand ramifications and; • Performing through the Council under this Act the functions conferred on it by this Act.
By what criteria do you judge NIM’S success?
NIM can be adjudged as successful, when the objectives I stated earlier are being accomplished. Specifically, we have gone a long way to ensure that our members observe the values we share namely: integrity, transparency, responsibility, accountability, equity, fairness, efficiency and effectiveness.
Through the Institute’s numerous training programmes, seminars and workshops, these values are continuously being instilled in our members and I’m glad to say that they live and operate in accordance with these values in all their endeavours. For me, this is success.
What makes NIM stand out from other management institutes?
The Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered) is the foremost multi–disciplinary professional body in Nigeria, because it houses people from various professions, who see acquisition of management skills as vital to their career growth. NIM stands out in the following areas:
• The only institute with the National Assembly’s mandate to regulate the practice of management in all aspects and ramifications
• Large membership base, which cuts across both the public and private sectors. • Wide coverage in terms Federal Government in the scheme of civil service.
Could you shed more light on corporate governance? The problem of corruption, which we face today, is as a result of lack of corporate governance in majority of our institutions. In the private sector, corporate governance essentially involves balancing the interests of a company’s many stakeholders, such as shareholders, management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and the community. In the public sector, it focuses on good leadership, by adopting the principles of transparency, accountability and responsibility towards the citizenry.
In view of the endemic management failure in the country, what is NIM doing to improve the situation? I would not totally agree that there is management failure in Nigeria. In the private sector, there are hundreds of companies that are very well managed despite the economic situation.
Even in the public sector, you find some states and parastatals being very well managed.
Having said that, there is a lot of room for improvement. NIM is doing so much to sensitise people in authority at all levels. The NIM Academy of Corporate Management has been able to generate five policy reports in the ‘Managing Nigeria Series.’ Through these publications, the Institute addressed the issues of security, unemployment, industrialisation, budgeting, oil wealth management, and more. Copies were delivered to the relevant quarters for action. I must confess that very little attention is being paid to our suggestions on how to move the country forward. What is the purpose of this year’s National Management Conference?
The yearly National Management Conference (ANMC), the flagship of the Institute’s numerous programmes and one of its contributions to nation building, is the largest gathering of professional managers in Africa and even beyond. Over 2,500 managers from various disciplines come together to rub minds and brainstorm on socio-economic, and other topical issues facing the country. They provide sound and informed recommendations and also proffer practicable solutions to leadership issues in the public and private sectors. This year’s conference, which will focus on the theme: Corporategovernanceandinstitutional Performance will see renowned authorities in the area of corporate governance presenting papers. A distinguished Fellow and Companion of the Institute and an internationally recognised authority in the area of Corporate Governance, who has served meritoriously in both public and private sector organisations, Dr. Christopher Kolade,will be presenting the main theme paper.