By Giwa SHILE
Chief Medical Director (CMD), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof. Temitope Alonge, says most of the problems Nigeria faced stemmed from lack of management skills in the public and private sectors.
Alonge made the assertion at the 2018 Induction of the International Professional Managers Association (IPMA-UK), Nigeria chapter, held in Ibadan on Wednesday.
IPMA is a member of the National Academic Recognition Information Centre of the United Kingdom (NARIC) and recognised in Nigeria by the Federal Ministry of Education.
Alonge, who was a special guest at the event, said that for any organisation to be more productive and meet societal needs in the 21st century, there was the need for its managers to acquire relevant managerial skills for growth.
“The bottom line is this, there are some skills to be possessed for effective management and those skills are being taught by IPMA-UK.
“Whether it is a private or a public organization, those are universal although application varies on account of some peculiarities in organisations.
“The management gap in Nigeria is so wide that anybody can wake up tomorrow morning by virtue of promotion to be a manager, but such does not have the skill to be a manager and this will have adverse effects on the organisation,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer, IPMA-UK, Prof. Mike Wooi, said that strategic thinking and learning within the organisation was important as a way to promote growth and productivity.
“The ability to criticise makes a good leader; critically examine your processes and procedures, it will bring better output.
“You must be able to reflect on what you have done, it will help you be a better leader.
“Find a person you can impact your ideas and values that will carry it further but not a clone of yourself,’’ Wooi said.
Also, Prof Feyi-Sobanjo Olufeyisan, the Head, Africa Regional Office IPMA-UK, charged the inductees to deliver in their various organisations, adding that any knowledge acquired without usage was a sheer waste of effort and time.
Alonge was honoured at the event with an award of Distinguished Honorary Fellow of the IPMA-UK.
