Prof. Kabiru Dandago of the Department of Accounting, Bayero University, Kano, on Friday said the challenges of African countries would be better overcome when professionalism was exercised in the context of serving public interest.
Dandago said this while delivering a lecture at the maiden Northern Zonal Conference of the Institute of Corporate and Public Sector Professionals (ICPSP) in Kano, streamed via various virtual channels with over 5,500 participants.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the theme of the conference is: “Thinking Beyond The Obvious: The New Agenda For Leadership”.
The professor explained that African countries’ developmental problems were manifold and included infrastructure decay, educational system inconsistency and neglect, poor healthcare delivery, insecurity, insufficient water and electricity.
He said the problem slowed down the process of sustainable national development of the continent and demands high degree of management professionalism of both public and private sectors leaders to be totally ssolved.
“We need to be particularly concerned about the need for leaders in Africa to demonstrate effective managerial capability for their economies to attain sustainable development.
“The development of organisations and institutions in Africa is crucial and necessary for the development of the economies in the continent.
“These challenges are better overcome when professionalism is exercised in the context of serving public interest,” he said.
According to him, serving public interest is not an easy task even to well established professionals who are expected to mentor future professionals to grow to maturity .
Dandago noted that for African economies to grow and develop on a sustainable basis, management professionalism must be allowed to be well operationalised.
He said that serving public interest was what would ensure the ability of professionals to play their roles effectively in bringing about economic and social transformation in the Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
The don advised that in spite of all odds, professional managers and leaders should be committed to ensuring corporate and public sector organisations’ prudence, transparency and accountability.
“Managers and leaders should not jettison their hard-earned integrity because of threat of loss of job or even life; their honour should be prioritised over worldly materials,” he said.
In her address of welcome, Dr Folashade Airebamen, President of ICPSP, said the aim of the conference was to discuss thinking beyond the obvious, the new agenda for leadership through the discussion of management professionalism.
Airebamen said the discussion also entailed the realities of serving public interest and governance which was a framework to produce globally competitive leaders.
She disclosed that a partnership was ongoing between ICPSP and a U.K. higher education provider with a benefit of 40 per cent discounted academic tuition fee for interested members.
She solicited for support from members, other corporate members and well-meaning Nigerians to join in the laudable cause by donating generously to ICPSP’s benevolent fund.
The institute’s president, however, commended the participants for defiling the threats and obstacles in distance to participate in the conference against all odds.
Other speakers at the conference are: Mr Benedict Anyalenkeya, Microsoft Certified Professional, Mr Olanrewaju Sharafa, Principal Lecturer, Head Division, Adult Learning, Research and Enterprise at Tower College, London, and Alhaji Shehu Kwaru, member, Commodity Brokers Association of Nigeria among others.
NAN reports that ICPSP is the only professionalism membership institute for corporate and public sector professionals in Nigeria.
The institute was established to support professionals whose daily effort impact people’s life in ways that are felt far beyond work place and create better manager and leaders in a bid to transform the society. (NAN)
