By ABUBAKAR YUSUF.
Soon after her reappointment in July , 2022 post COVID as the Chief Executive Officer CEO of Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission NIPC by Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, Ms Saratu Umar known for her pro-activeness and goal getting, kick the ground running to either replicate the success story of her first coming and to consolidate on the achievements.
With hues and cries of the fifth columnist within the system subsumed in the euphoria of business as usual,grappled with the testimony of a tested and trusted leadership,she needs no direction than her resolve to restore the lost glory of the first point of call by investors for all round investment into the country.
This was coming at a time when the global health emergency of COVID had dealt a collosal damages not only to the investment hub , but all round negative effects to the socioeconomic, political and infrastructural development of all nations with developed countries not in exception.
Armed with versed experience both on the job and the public service not minding the incidence that led to her exit out of haywire politics, she quickly settled down for her known strategy of sustaining investors and attracting more to invest and divest to the betterment of countries involved in such bilateral arrangements and Nigeria in particular, in the area of economic emancipation of countries.
The development led to a major reorganisation of the investment hub through a massive redeployment of top echelon to pave way for a more focussed and updated activities that will conform with the new order occasioned by post COVID.
Since both developed and developing countries were undergoing the aftermath of unavoidable damages provided by pre and post COVID, no doubt the job of any agency charged with the direct interface with both local and foreign investors in the country desire a major reforms.
Though, not in tandem with the ideals of naysayers prevalent in any organisations and had constituted to major impediments , Saratu Umar did not left any stone unturned towards salvaging the near moribund investment hub from going into extinction through internal mis-governance and maladministration.
Her quick and brisk actions and reactions was already paying off having consolidated her major policy thrust through the re-enforcement, redesigning and repositioning the major organs in the system, that will affect the smooth policy direction towards her second outing in the organization.
The major reorganisation which cut across both national and regional offices have started paying off, by restoring the initial confidence of multiple investors being attracted to Nigeria post COVID, economic meltdown that had resulted into recession sliding Nigerian into first and second economic recession, that had retarded all facets of our national life .
With such gigantic strides, few months into the mantle of leadership of the investment hub of the country, the coarse was becoming more clearer for the return of investors and attraction of new ones willing to contribute not only to the economy of Nigeria, but take advantage of the ease of doing business attracted by the new NIPC.
Her reappointment no doubt has started yielding the desired results to the consternation of negative posture and postulations of the achievements of the agency, by adapting and adopting to the modest ways of doing business and investment drive to Nigeria.
The adoption of modest and modern training template for the top echelon, rank and files of the staffers of the agency already disenchanted by the previous order is now the signature of improvement in both manpower, productivity and divestment.
Less than a year, Ms Saratu Umar had returned the NIPC from it’s lost glory and no doubt will become a one stop shop for multiple investors and investment into the country in the days ahead, against the cynics consternation.
Written By ABUBAKAR YUSUF, A Public Affairs Analyst and can be reached on yus.abubakar3@gmail.com.
