In an unprecedented move last week, workers of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) shut down the commission’s headquarters to protest alleged high-handedness of its Board Chairman Mr Jimoh Ibrahim. The strike paralysed all business activities at the commission. The workers accused the board chairman of trampling on their rights and meddling in the day-to-day running of the commission. The strike was only called off at the intervention of the Minister of Commerce and Industry Senator Jubril Martins-Kuye.
Although Mr Ibrahim denied the workers’ allegations, the strike had succeeded in impeding work at the commission with serious effects both on the Nigerian business climate and the nation’s links with its foreign partners. Were there an impact assessment, the finding would have shown that the strike had negatively impacted seriously on business in Nigeria.
This is one occasion when Nigerian workers had gone on strike not to seek for more pay or other perquisites, but to draw attention to a lacuna in the running of a vital organ of business. This is why the actions of the workers is commendable because it is another testament to what happens when government appoints to boards of critical organs, people who are least qualified to hold such positions. The act of parcelling out vital agencies as compensation to party loyalists or government cronies is the reason why government organs perform below par.
While it is a global phenomenon to reward party loyalists and friends, such patronage should never be done without deep understanding of the competence of board members to handle the agencies given to them. The apathy of such people, their lack of experience or tact in handling the running of the affairs of such agencies may cost the nation tremendously.
The wisdom of having the man who benefited from the controversial sale of public assets heading an agency as crucial as the CAC is quite questionable – more so at a time when the sale of such agencies is still subject of intense speculation and even judicial review. The CAC is a crucial organ of government which may be called upon as witness in any legal tussle involving the propriety of the sale of any public property. We are constrained to imagine what would have happened if that were to be the case with any of the public assets now in the hands of Mr Ibrahim. Indeed, such a possibility is not far-fetched given the unfolding scenario. This is enough to disqualify Mr Ibrahim from his chair at the CAC.
It is unnerving, if not outright improper, for many Nigerians to then hear that Mr Ibrahim not only chairs the board but wants to be briefed on the mundane affairs of moving files and buying stationery for the office. This is at least ludicrous and calls for an urgent review beyond the palliative of getting a truce from the workers.
This is why we believe that a holistic review of board appointments made especially in the dying days of the last administration may be needed for propriety, decency and decorum. The review should be done to ensure that all such appointments conform to the principle of putting square pegs in square holes and ensuring the smooth running of government and its agencies.
With our quest to make our business environment align with global standards, we cannot afford situations in which board members engage the leadership of the agencies they oversee in the kind of power tussle that would impact negatively on productivity. This is a golden opportunity to ensure that all board appointments are made with clearly spelt out roles of board members, ensuring that they do not contrast with the goals of the organizations. This would help stave off friction and the tendency for avoidable strikes like this last one. We believe that this call should be given the urgency it deserves for a conscionable business environment.
September 16, 2009, 06:48:13 AM