Mr. Ike would have been a happier Nigerian citizen savouring some of the gains of democracy but for the recent chains of avoidable losses recorded by his family. One of such is the passing away of his father that would have been averted if he had N10,000 to send back home for two pints of blood to be transfused on him in good time. Mr. Ike ran out of money because of the ongoing reconstruction project work on a street in Lagos, where he had been running a book store for the past 10 years. He was forced to shut down last year to make way for the project.
But the contractors handling the multi-million naira project failed to meet the expected date of completion. This made nonsense of Mr. Ike’s survival plans. His resources have now been fully over-stretched. His inability to pay his children’s school fees forced them to drop out of school. The landlord has been mounting pressure on him for rent that was long overdue. To worsen his predicament, his father died because he could not pay for two pints of blood.
Mr. Ike’s sad story is a reflection of the effects of poor project management that has been the bane of Nigeria for quite some time now. Bad scoping, bad stakeholder management, undocumented risks, and embezzlement of funds, all contribute to project failure. Almost all projects in Nigeria today appear to have encountered one or more of these factors.
Some very recent examples of mega projects that have run into stormy waters include the $600 million Chinese loan meant for the construction of a standard gauge rail line linking Lagos with Kano; and the N183 billion Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) project funds meant for the development of the Niger Delta area. These are projects that were conceived to bring needed relief to the common man.
When a good project meant to deliver benefit to the masses derails from its purpose, the government incurs a number of costly losses. First, the credibility of the ruling government begins to erode. Second, the leadership ability of those in position of authority comes to question, while the trust gained during electioneering becomes shaken.
All these issues border on some important aspects of project management. Let us look at the following three: stakeholders’ management, risk management and project budget and contingencies.
Stakeholders’ management is the process of identifying, analysing, planning and controlling all project stakeholders during a project lifecycle with the aim of addressing all concerns and cushioning negative impacts, if unavoidable. This means that a measure should have been in place to ensure that Mr. Ike’s small business does not suffer further losses when it became obvious that the timeline for the project would not be met.
The process of stakeholders’ management has four relevant steps that any sincere government could take advantage of during any project lifetime. They include the following: identifying stakeholders, planning stakeholders’ management, managing stakeholders’ engagement and controlling stakeholders’ engagement. These are strategies that could be employed to gain the required support for projects. These listed strategies could easily bring about a win-win situation and deliver benefits to the common man.
An approved project management methodology on all government projects is the answer, if none currently exist, and the methodology must ensure that at the preparation stage, the following are covered: documentation of all stakeholders’ concerns as risks or issues; adequate mitigation of risks and issues; and special focus on the project budget to ensure that all costs are covered. The possibility of projects funds diversion must be treated as risk, while readiness checks must be done and certified before any project commences.
Therefore, in the spirit of change, which is the mantra of the current administration, every effort must be made to ensure that the era of abandoned projects in Nigeria becomes a thing of the past. The government can do this by ensuring that it follows through all projects from conception to delivery. That is the only way the ordinary Nigerian can begin to enjoy the dividends of democracy.
Justin Adah
