Economic Crisis: Institute Advocates Establishment Of Strategic Management Offices

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The Institute of Strategic Management of Nigeria (ISMN – Chartered) has called on the government at all levels to establish strategic offices and appoint officers to execute strategies.

The Chairman/CEO, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Dr Tayo Aduloju, made the appeal during the induction of new members and investiture of fellows of the institute on Wednesday in Abuja.

Aduloju said the recent survey showed that nine out of 10 businesses on the African continent fail to execute their strategy in 75 per cent of the cases of strategic failure.

He said that the problem was not good strategy, but execution, adding that the body of strategies now transcend the capacity to build ground strategies at the continental, regional, national, corporates or even team level.

“It seems as the challenge of our time is strategic execution.

“Back home here, the answers to difficult questions like what are the plans? Everybody has plans; what are the ideas? Everybody has greater ideas until you try to execute it.

“Therefore, my challenge to our generation of strategists is may be we must now deepen the second leg of translating strategy into tangible outcomes that becomes not only the focus of the practice, but may be the deliberate intent to show that our profession and our practice matters.

“I have a few recommendations that key government institutions and programmes must go beyond having Project Management Offices (PMO) to having offices of strategic management and I think we must push for it.

“The imperatives of an office of strategic management is the challenge of our time, that strategic managers must transcend also, not just in the institutions but in their minds and role that will produce results.

“We will not fail, because if this generation calls for solutions that count, ideas that become impact and outcomes, then few professions are better prepared, few practices are better equipped and few communities of professionals are better empowered,” he said.

The President of the institute, Mr Alex Enebeli, said the event had opened a new chapter for the institute, adding that high ranking individuals drawn from different sectors had joined the institute.

Enebeli urged the newly inducted fellows to see themselves as leaders, difference makers, anywhere, anytime and must distinguish their career and be prominent in performance.

“Remember that strategy is about output, it is about results you have to show.

“It is not what you know that distinguishes you, it is how to deploy strategy to get results and ensure sustainable success,” he said.

One of the newly inducted fellows, AVM Ibikunle Daramola, the Chief of Communications Information Systems, Nigerian Air Force, said their investiture was just another feather in the cap of their capacity building efforts as members of the armed forces.

Daramola said the members of the institute came from all walks of civil society, government, non-governmental, the public and private sectors.

He said the essence was to espouse the tenets of strategic leadership, professionalism, research and development with the aim of ensuring continuous learning and networking aimed at producing results to make Nigeria better.

“For those of us in the military, we are already strategic leaders in our own right but being members of this institute will help us to add value to what we are doing.

“It will also help us to increase our own body of knowledge and bring that to bear as we go ahead in continuing to add value to the service and ultimately to enhance security of the nation for the peace and well-being of Nigeria.

The Chairman, Board of Fellows of the Institute, Dr Jummai Umar-Ajijola, said there were world class acclaimed professionals that had been added to the body of professionals in the field of strategic management in the country.

She said that the new members and fellows were people from different sectors of the economy cutting across public sector, private sector and civil society organisations.

According to her, they operate at the highest level of policy making and governance in their organisations.

“So, it simply means that these people are going to go out in the different states, in the different sectors and practice the profession while continuously learning from the institute because it is continuous learning and improvement creating new body of knowledge,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 77 new associate members, and 168 full members were inducted while 122 new fellows, drawn from different sectors and the military were being invested at the event.

NAN reports that among the 122 fellows were seven military generals from the three services.

They are the Chief of Accounts and Budget (Army), Maj.-Gen. Adetokunbo Fayemiwo; Chief of Accounts and Budget (Navy), Rear Adm. Olukoya Olutayo; Chief of Communication Information Systems (NAF), AVM Ibikunle Daramola; and Chief of Aircraft Engineering (NAF), AVM Oahimire Pius.

Others are the Chief of Policy and Plans (NAF), AVM Sayo Olatunde; the Director of Finance NAF Headquarters, AVMA Bukar Abubakar; and Group Capt. Emmanuel Ndakinpa from the NAF. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)