President Muhammad Buhari on Monday appealed professional bodies, corporate bodies and well meaning Nigerians to emulate the kind gesture of NIM by lending their support to his administration saying the task of building Nigeria was the responsibility of all.
The President’s call is coming on the heels of knocks his administration has received from several professional bodies for poor handling of the economy.
Speaking at the 2016 annual national conference of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), in Abuja, with the theme, Building a new Nigeria: Strategic Options and Policy Imperative, the President represented by Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita, the Head of Service of the federation called for synergized effort by professional bodies to build the country instead of seating by to criticise every attempt at governance.
“I want to use this opportunity to urge other professional bodies, corporate bodies and well meaning Nigerians to emulate the kind gesture of NIM by lending their support to this administration instead of seating by to criticise every attempt at governance. It is by synergising with government that we can all build the Nigeria of our dreams”, the President said.
Describing the theme of the conference as being apt and relevant towards charting a new course and national reorientation due to the present state of affairs in the country and in line with the policy and working agenda of his administration, he noted that by choosing this theme as the focus of this year’s Conference, the Institute has further demonstrated in thought and deed that it is committed to supporting the Federal Government in achieving its drive to reposition and turn around the nation’s economy.
“You have indeed proven to be partners in progress with government. And I commend you for that”.
The President further challenged the Institute to improve its visibility at public sessions of the National Assembly when bills are being considered so as to make more robust professional management input that will be most relevant in the public domain.
To set the country on the path of greatness and prosperity, he explained that there was need to completely eliminate all forms of corrupt practices in the system adding that great nation is the reward of great leadership built on good governance.
“This is our motivation and value proposition. My administration will, therefore, continue to fight corruption and associated social vices at all levels until they are exterminated from our body polity”,he stated.
Earlier, Munzali Jibril, President and chairman of NIM council commended the government for its efforts to looking away from oil saying the initiative will afford an opportunity to develop other sectors of the economy which are potential foreign exchange earners.
Arguing that Nigeria is in crisis because it has failed to build strong institutions, he maintained that such incoherent practice have negatively impacted on the development that the country is supposed to have witnessed hence it is endowed with massive wealth that accrues from the oil sector.
“The need to build a new Nigeria is imperative, non-negotiable and very urgent. The apparent colossal mismanagement of the nation’s has been the reason for its abysmal performance in all indices of development over the years.
” It is also instructive to note that Nigeria has succeeded in building strong individuals but weak institutions. It is incontrovertible fact that real development eludes any nation which dissipates its resources in building strong individuals to the neglected of strong institutions because every progressive and rapidly developing nation is founded only on strong institutions”, he emphasized.
