Professionals demand sound management, stronger institutions for Nigeria’s growth

• Gov should engage professional bodies – Ayuba

By Henry Uche

Administrative, management and leadership professionals at the 2026 Annual National Management Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM (Chartered), has called for prudent management, stronger institutions and continuous investment in human capital as requisite for Nigeria’s development.

The stakeholders, including the conference theme speaker, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, and the keynote speaker, His Royal Majesty Oba (Dr.) Olufolarin Olukayode Ogunsanwo, Alara of Ilara Kingdom, Epe Division, Lagos State, stressed the need for competence, integrity, accountability and continuous training and retraining of personnel to strengthen institutions and improve national development.

Peterside, who spoke on the theme, “Sixty-Five Years of Management Excellence: Strengthening Institutional Governance in Nigeria,” argued that Nigeria’s major challenge was not a lack of human and material resources, but the weakness of the institutions responsible for managing them.

He said Nigeria had talented citizens, intellectual capacity and entrepreneurial energy, but had failed to translate these resources into sustainable development because of weaknesses in institutional governance, managerial capacity and human capital development.

According to him, Nigeria must move from personality-driven leadership to institution-driven governance, with emphasis on competence, merit and continuity.

He said, “It is not enough to say you are a professional manager. Appointments don’t reward competence,” stressing that managers must be selected based on competence and their ability to deliver results.

Peterside said political transitions should not continually lead to the abandonment of institutional knowledge and systems, arguing that every administration should build on existing institutions rather than starting afresh.

He called for a culture of merit where competence, character and track records determine appointments, while also advocating the professionalisation of public management and stronger systems for measuring the performance of public institutions.

He urged professional managers to play a more active role in transforming resources into value, policies into effective programmes and programmes into measurable results.

The former NIMASA Director-General also called for greater investment in human capacity, saying “institutions could only become strong when the people running them were adequately trained and developed”

L-R: Commodore Abimbola Ayuba (rtd.), President/Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered); making a presentation to His Royal Majesty, Oba (Dr) Olufolarin Ogunsanwo (Telade IV), the Alara of Ilara Kingdom, Epe Division and Keynote Speaker in the company of Dr. Taiwo Olusesi, Registrar/Chief Executive, NIM, at the Institute’s 2026 Annual National Management Conference in Lagos.

Similarly, the keynote speaker, Oba Ogunsanwo, said no nation rises above the strength of its institutions, stressing that Nigeria must deliberately build institutions capable of surviving changes in leadership.

The traditional ruler identified competence, integrity and accountability as the three fundamental principles of good governance.

He explained that competence determines whether a person can perform a responsibility effectively, integrity determines whether the person will do it rightly, while accountability ensures that the person remains answerable for decisions, resources and outcomes.

According to him, “Where there is authority, there must be accountability; where there are resources, there must be transparency.”

The Alara of Ilara Kingdom also called for continuous training, retraining, mentoring and development of human resources, stressing that institutions were ultimately built by people.

He urged corporate leaders to look beyond titles, positions and certificates and focus on setting objectives, managing resources, solving problems, developing people, managing risks and delivering measurable value.

Oba Ogunsanwo further called for greater investment in young Nigerians through education, practical skills, entrepreneurship, innovation, mentorship and professional development.

He also urged traditional institutions, government, the private sector, professional bodies, universities, civil society and citizens to work together, saying Nigeria’s development should be a partnership rather than a one-sector project.

He said institutions should be judged by what they deliver rather than by ceremonies, promises or activities, calling for a shift from “governance by intention” to “governance by results.”

The monarch called for institutions that outlive personalities, non-negotiable accountability, continuous investment in people, responsible adoption of technology, and the restoration of integrity and professionalism in leadership.

He urged NIM, as it marks 65 years of management excellence, to continue developing professional managers, promoting ethical leadership and institutional governance, mentoring young professionals and providing intellectual leadership to the country.

Earlier, the President/Chairman of Council of the aforementioned Institute, Commodore Abimbola Ayuba, called for stronger engagement between the Federal Government and the Institute in developing policies and management strategies for national development.

Ayuba, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the conference, said NIM had the expertise to contribute to national policy development and urged government to support and engage the Institute more closely.

He said the Institute had also established chapters in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as the United States, to maintain links with Nigerian professionals abroad and tap into their expertise when necessary.

Ayuba said the conference would also produce recommendations aimed at addressing national challenges and shaping the country’s development.

Pix:

L-R: Commodore Abimbola Ayuba (rtd.), President/Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered); making a presentation to His Royal Majesty, Oba (Dr) Olufolarin Ogunsanwo (Telade IV), the Alara of Ilara Kingdom, Epe Division and Keynote Speaker in the company of Dr. Taiwo Olusesi, Registrar/Chief Executive, NIM, at the Institute’s 2026 Annual National Management Conference in Lagos.

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