UK thought leader urges Nigerian chief executives to embrace better governance
By Abigael Joshua
Dr Alim Abubakre, the Nigerian-born founder of UK-based leadership development organisation TEXEM, has urged chief executive officers (CEOs) in the country to embrace better governance to win in 2024.
In his New Year advisory titled “Winning in 2024: A Year of Recovery”, Abubakre said his advisory was with a sense of responsibility considering the existential challenges facing leaders in Nigeria and beyond.
He said the challenges included slow growth, failing business models, cyber threats and high inflation.
While presenting “some actionable solutions for success in 2024,” Abubakre said that in the crucible of economic challenges, Nigerian CEOs stand at the helm, poised for transformative leadership.
He said his prescriptions were through leveraging insights gleaned from diverse contexts and thousands of interactions with decision-makers globally as the founder of TEXEM, UK.
“Embrace resilience, chart strategic courses, and foster innovation to navigate the complex landscape.
“In 2024, let governance be your compass, steering toward ethical excellence.
“Forge strategic alliances, empower teams, and lead with an unwavering vision to endure and thrive in adversity,” Abubakre told Nigerian executives.
He called on them to pioneer change, where leadership, strategy, innovation, and governance converge for a prosperous year ahead.
According to Abubakre, navigating challenging economic times demands resilient leadership.
He called on Nigerian leaders to embrace innovation, saying Opportunity Identification, Problem-Solving Capability, Market Relevance and Strategic Evolution are many benefits of innovation in these uncertain times.
“Nigerian leaders could learn from developing countries like India, where technology leaders have transformed the landscape despite challenges.
“In these times of high inflation and heightened currency risks, leaders in Nigeria can learn from the agility and resilience of leaders in Brazil, who adapt swiftly to economic shifts.
“Also, in these times of turbulence, leadership is tested, and true leaders thrive. In challenging times, CEOs with a clear vision successfully navigate challenges and win,” Abubakre said.
He added that in these volatile times, strategic leaders need to optimise their decision-making credentials and oversight acumen.
“Leaders should examine and learn from the governance models in Singapore, emphasising and inspiring core competence that stimulates better accountability, effective resource allocation and efficient execution,” Abubakre said.
He said leaders needed to diversify as diversification involves expanding an organisation’s business operations into new markets, products, or services, such as exploring new markets that the Africa Free Trade Continental Agreement offers.
“On the other hand, the Blue Ocean Strategy is a specific approach to business strategy that focuses on creating uncontested market space.
“For example, Nintendo’s Wii gaming console introduced motion-sensing technology, making gaming accessible to a broader audience.
“The console’s user-friendly design and interactive gameplay appealed to non-traditional gamers, creating a new market segment,” Abubakre said.
He said further that Nintendo strategically shifted focus from competing in the traditional gaming console market to tapping into a blue ocean of casual gamers.
“Also, Singapore has successfully implemented a Blue Ocean-like strategy by transforming itself into a global hub for finance, trade, and technology.
“The government focused on creating an attractive business environment, investing in education, and fostering innovation.
“This strategy positioned Singapore as a unique and thriving economic centre in Southeast Asia, attracting multinational corporations and promoting economic growth,” Abubakre said.
He urged Nigerian government leaders to learn from Mexico’s diversified economy to mitigate risks and navigate uncertain economic climates.
Abubakre said the capability to build strong relationships with diverse stakeholders was a resource that is unique and difficult to imitate.
“Nigerian leaders can observe how leaders such as Jeff Bezos (Amazon) thrived.
“Bezos transformed Amazon into a global e-commerce giant through collaboration with sellers, partners, and investors.
“Amazon’s success is deeply rooted in its ability to create a vast ecosystem of stakeholders,” the TEXEM founder said.
Abubakre said a learning organisation or country will always turn challenges into vitamins.
“They would avoid complacency, denial and confusion and always aspire to renewal.
“To build a learning culture, leaders can glean valuable insights from how Malaysia focuses on talent development to ensure organisational resilience.
“Nigeria could deliberately develop more of her citizens’ competence in programming, entrepreneurship, customer service, arts, fashion, and entertainment and export this to the rest of the world,” he said.
Abubakre said organisations can leverage data to understand customer behaviour, market trends, and internal operations, leading to better strategic choices.
“At the national level, a digitally transformed economy stimulates economic growth by fostering innovation and attracting investments, which Nigeria urgently needs.
“The Nigerian government could leverage technology to improve the ease and cost of doing business, enabling the private sector to create new job opportunities, resulting in improved competitiveness.
“Nigeria can take cues from Rwanda’s commitment to digital transformation, leveraging technology for economic resilience,” he said.
Abubakre advised the Nigerian government to adopt an intrapreneurial mindset and embrace more public-private partnerships at scale to unlock inclusive, sustainable development.
He said this is possible through better infrastructure development, risk management and resource mobilisation.
Abubakre said Nigeria could glean pragmatic insights from how leaders in Kenya foster public-private partnerships for mutual growth.
Speaking on Social Accountability, he said this could help build public trust and legitimacy, foster national cohesion and drive inclusive growth.
“Nigerian leaders can glean many lessons from the success of socially responsible companies globally, positively impacting society and their bottom line.
“Nigeria needs to take a cue from the leader of Singapore, prioritising education as an investment in long-term economic resilience.
“Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore) is a good case in point. As Singapore’s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew recognised the importance of education in the nation’s development,” Abubakre said.
He said Lee Kuan Yew
invested heavily in building a robust educational system, fostering a meritocratic society.
Abubakre added that Singapore’s education policies contributed significantly to its economic success, making it a global hub for innovation and talent.
“My humble submission is that if leaders like Lee Kuan Yew and Jeff Bezos can do it, so can Nigerian leaders.
“2024 and beyond is the time to make deliberate choices, take strategic actions, and position themselves optimally to win in 2024, a year of recovery and immense promise,” he said.
Dr Alim Abubakre is the founder of TEXEM, UK (www.texem.co.uk) and a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Business School. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Razak Owolabi
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