The Managing Director of the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Rt. Hon. (Barr.) Emmanuel Jime, has advocated the restructuring of the minds of Nigerians and their attitude to public office, saying that this is what is needed for the country to move forward. He gave this advice in a Keynote Address entitled “Using the platform of public office to reclaim the promise of our destiny”, delivered at the News Express 5th Anniversary Lecture held at Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos.

“We just need to restructure our minds and attitude to public office,” Jime, who was represented by a Director in his office, Barrister Richard Obianu, said. He spoke of how doing this has helped him to effectively run NEPZA and make it more result-oriented.

Below is the text of Jime’s speech at the event held last Thursday, September 28: “It is my honour and privilege to be invited to present a keynote address on the occasion of the 5th Anniversary of News Express Newspaper. I want to thank the Board of News Express for this opportunity extended to me. I also want to congratulate the entire management and staff of News Express Newspaper for their unrelenting efforts in keeping News Express newspaper afloat under the present harsh economic climate. This commendation is well deserved against the backdrop of the high mortality rate of commercial enterprises in general and newspaper organisations in particular, whether mainstream or online.

“The theme for this occasion namely; “National Unity and the Demand for Restructuring” is apt considering the clamour for restructuring across the country. This subject of restructuring is highly political in view of the hues and cries for national restructuring presently being heard everywhere in Nigeria today.

“I will therefore prefer to be silent on the issue of national restructuring as the areas to be restructured are yet to be defined. I will instead, focus on the corporate governance of restructuring and its salutary effect on national unity. Restructuring is about repositioning, reorganising for effectiveness and efficiency to achieve set goals. That is the challenge for management or leadership.

“Peter Drucker, a management scientist of repute, once said, ‘Management is doing the right things, and leadership is doing things right.’ So there is a nexus between management and leadership. Therefore, if you are a leader, you should be able to manage humans and other resources in such a way to avoid frictions that would truncate the wheel of progress and the attainment of the desired goal.

“Every institution, organisation or community of persons is a miniature country and all those in the position of leadership are not only leaders but also managers, which means they must not only do the right things but must always do things right the right way.

“When I took up my present appointment as MD, of NEPZA, I sat down with my wife to seek her opinion on how best to make a success of it, and she said, ‘if there is welfare in the house, there would be no warfare’. My wife is not a labour leader but that came from her experience on the home front.

“There are no institutions or organisations where there are no issues. It is the approach to resolving those issues that can make or mar the organisation. On assumption of office, I met myriads of problems on ground, ranging from promotion delays, conversion of staff from one cadre to the other, regularisation of appointments and appropriate grading. There was even pressure on me to transfer staff and move people around as that is the tradition when a new management is in place. But I have decided to doing things right and doing right things the right way. So I asked myself, would transferring people make me a better MD? Would moving people around for the sake of following subsisting tradition make NEPZA a better place or enhance productivity? What will be the impact of following tradition on staff morale and productivity?

“From my varied experiences in life, I have learnt that merit has no tribal marks and excellence has no religious toga. If someone is good, he is good – irrespective of everything else. And so, I followed my mind.

“Today, everyone is getting what they truly deserve; those that deserve to be promoted or converted have gotten their dues. People are happy, and this has engendered a culture of teamwork, togetherness and the organisation is better for it.

“If every leader begins to do things right or do the right thing, the right way, we will begin to make positive impact in every Nigerian village, community or zone. This, to me, is restructuring and we do not need to carry placards or hold press conferences either. We just need to restructure our minds and attitude to public office.

“I firmly believe that position and power come from Almighty God and those in leadership position should lead with the fear of God and be guided by the principles of justice, equity and fairness because they will ultimately give account of their stewardship to God.

“I thank you for your attention and want to wish you fruitful deliberations and journey mercies back to your respective destinations.”