Mismanagement and reform failures in Nigeria: historical perspectives

The Nigerian economy started experiencing economic recession from 1981 which was characterized by low capacity utilization, incomes, and consumption patterns. Public enterprises were operating at the lowest ebb. Government discovered that, without any exception, such enterprises were infested with problems of confused and conflicting missions; political interference in operating decisions; abuse of monopoly powers; defective capital structures; bureaucratic redtapism in their relations with supervisory agencies; mismanagement; nepotism and corruption. Consequently, reform failures and entrenched bureaucratic corruption have created systemic poverty amidst robust economic growth in Nigeria; a situation that supports the phenomenon of poor people in a rich country. Nigeria at present is ranked among the poorest nations in the world and also has one of the highest unemployment rates. It is estimated that more than one in every five adults in Nigeria is either unemployed or underemployed with about 67 million youths unemployed which is not unrelated to the effects of mismanagement and reform failures. The exploratory research design was used in the study. Qualitative data provided empirical evidence that most past reform programmes in Nigeria did not achieve the objectives for which they were established. With a Negative – Positive Ratio of 7:2 based on the study, it was found that government reform policies have not made the desired positive impact on socio-economic development in Nigeria

KICS: A Model of Motivational Leadership in Organizations

This pure research gave birth to a Model of Motivational Leadership – KICS: which embraces knowledge, intelligence, collaboration and synergy. It is a synergistic  proposition based on the theory of emotional intelligence as the index of competencies needed for effective leadership. It opened with a general discussion on traditional models of leadership, then the roles of knowledge, intelligence, collaboration and synergy as they relate to motivational leadership. Issues of emotional intelligence clusters and synthesis of the model’s elements were discussed, emphasizing how KICS-based motivational leadership skills can be developed and sustained. Motivational leadership entails exciting people’s imaginations and inspiring them to move in a desired direction. It takes more than simple power to motivate and lead in organizations. Realizing that unity and cohesiveness are built from personal bonds, the best leaders ensure to deepen their rapport with employees and colleagues which enhances organizational performance. This pure research argues that the synergy of related emotional intelligence competencies can lead to motivational leadership behaviour. Knowledge is critical to leadership because there are different types of leadership and different situations require different kinds of knowledge, and the person possessing the knowledge demanded by a certain situation in most cases, tends to become the best leader. A knowledgeable person is one who is trained to consider his actions to undertake them deliberately, in a disciplined manner. Added to this ability is the intelligence to endure in a chosen course in the face of distraction, confusion and difficulty, all combined in producing a motivational leader. Knowledge tends to be procedural in nature and to operate outside of focal awareness. It also reflects the structure of the situation more closely than it does in the structure of formal disciplinary knowledge. The survey research design was used for the study. Data generated were used to describe the KICS Model of Motivational Leadership

Information and Communication Technologies Management and Nigerian Banking Sector Liquidity

The study sought to explore the relationship between ICTs management and NBS liquidity. ICTs management helps the business to effect proper planning, coordinating, controlling and decision-making. Liquidity is important for banks to meet the demands of customers and a means of public confidence. The Internet connectivity in the NBS discouraged incentives for manipulations and other inefficiencies that characterized the paper and pen banking of the pre-reform era. The e-FASS approach and heavy investments and application of quality ICTs management by banks restored national and international confidence in the NBS which in a great measure, helped to lure back capital and liquidity into the system. Previous studies have found positive relationship between ICTs management and business productivity, bank profitability and economic growth. Through theoretical and empirical results this study found a high positive relationship between ICTs management and NBS liquidity

Leading Turnaround and Improvement in Low Performing Schools in Malaysia and Indonesia

Prior to 2000, and before banks in Nigeria embraced the NBS was inefficient, characterized by frauds, long queues, nonperforming loans, illiquidity and distress. As one way of overcoming these challenges banks started to focus on BPR as a veritable tool to drive efficiency customer satisfaction and improved shareholder value. With the advent of BPR and process improvement efficiency gradually strolled back in to the NBS Against the prereengineering era when the liquidity ratio of the NBS was minus 15.92 percent in 1996 with no bank meeting the 30 percent minimum prudential requirement, the NBS had a positive average liquidity ratio of 65.69 in 2011 with all the banks meeting the 30 percent minimum liquidity ratio. The banks that introduced BPR early in the 2000s have remained without distress, liquid, efficient with high growths in gross earnings, total assets profitability and total equity. The research design was deployed for the study, and it was found that BPR has positive effect on NBS efficiency

Emotional intelligence and organizational competitiveness: management model approach

Modern organization theory considers emotional intelligence as the index of competencies that help organizations to develop a vision for competitiveness. It also allows organizational leaders to enthusiastically commit to the vision, and energize organizational members to achieve the vision. To maximize competiveness organizations use models to simplify and clarify thinking, to identify important aspects, to suggest explanations and to predict consequences, and explore other performance areas that would otherwise be hidden in an excess of words. The survey research design was used to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and organizational competitiveness. The study found that emotional intelligence has strong positive relationship with organizational competitivenes

Cultural dimensions in global human resource management: implications for Nigeria

As enterprise operations continue to be globalized through overseas expansions, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions as well as strategic relationships and partnerships transnational organizations need to give attention to issues of culture in human resource management practices as a panacea for prosperity. The global organization is competent if only it is able to bridge the gap between management and culture so that personal relationships with other peoples in the organization and society become in harmony. This is critical because cultural relativity and reality in organizations influence operations. The study was designed to explore possible relationships between cultural dimensions and global human resource management. The survey research design was employed and data generated through primary and secondary sources. The participants comprised of 385 respondents from a cross-section of the population in Nigeria. By Chi-Square test, it was found that culture has a significant positive relationship with global human resource management

Earnings and bank profitability in Nigeria

Bank earnings in form of retained profit help in the capital formation of banks. This is critical because capital inadequacy is often a cause of bank failures. During the banking crisis in Nigeria the gross earnings of many banks diminished considerably due to frauds and bad management. For example, in 2009 the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked the operating licences of fourteen banks which had huge nonperforming loans and were making losses. The fragility in the Nigerian banking system in the 1990s and beyond was compounded due to wide spread poor corporate governance practices and imprudent lending that led to the erosion of gross earnings and profitability. The study employed the exploratory research design. Data analyses were done through description statistics and the regression technique using the statistical package for the social sciences. The regression result was Y = 4.926 + 1.877x meaning that with an increase of 1 percent in gross earnings bank profitability increases by 1.88 percent. This is the crux of the study

Political Will for Effective Reform Management and Sustainable Development Goals Achievement in Nigeria

Political will is important for effective and sustainable reform management because anticorruption reforms must focus on the internal management of public sector resources to reduce incentives and opportunities for corruption and mismanagement. It is the driver of a robust private sector, resilient media, vibrant civil society, transparent judiciary and good administrative reforms that lead to national integrity and sustainable development. The absence of political will is responsible for a situation where it is estimated that one out of every six out-of-school children worldwide is a Nigerian, and which brings to more than 10 million, the number of Nigerian children that are out-of-school. Consequently, the ranking of Nigeria as 39th out of 54 African countries in overall governance is a reflection of lack of political will, weak leadership and overall governance. This must be overcome as the world heads towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda. The sample comprised of 494 participants generated from a cross section of the population in Nigeria. Data were analyzed through descriptive and Chi-Square statistical methods. It was found that effective reform management in Nigeria requires political will

Political will and anticorruption crusade management in Nigeria

Corruption in all ramifications has continued to jeopardize the efforts of governments in forging national unity, infrastructural development and in most cases, leaving the majority of a nation’s citizens to live in absolute poverty. The phenomenon has persisted in many countries mostly due to weak political will or the lack of it necessary to curb the menace. In its simplest form corruption reflects the use of public office for private gain. As a remedy to this there should be a demonstration of credible intent by political leaders, stakeholders groups to attack perceived causes or effects of corruption at a systemic level. This demonstration of credible capacity reflects political will. The political will to curb corruption is also the political will to pursue other goals like good governance and national unity. Political will is not equivalent to political manifesto rhetoric or pressure group statements. Rather, it is the manifestation of a robust system of checks and balances and strong political institutions for combating corruption and promoting good governance as well as restoring trust and confidence in democratic politics. Gowon’s  proposal reflects strong political will for good governance, because, if political will is to be more than just a slogan, it must be understood in a broad context. This reinforces the believe that if there is an absence of political will at the top, there will be a general lack of commitment to combat corruption, and pursue other important national goals as political development and poverty reduction. The exploratory research design was adopted for the study. Secondary data were generated through a format designed by the investigator for the purpose of the study. Because of the sensitive nature of the study primary data were also generate through a Liker-type questionnaire to supplement the secondary data. Data generated were analyzed through descriptive and X2 statistics and presented in tables with absolute figures capable of easy understanding and further analysis. It was found that political will is essential in anticorruption crusade management in Nigeria, and has the reciprocal dimension of providing the incentives for good governance of any nation

Management Imperatives of Corruption and Governance Failures in Nigeria

This study was designed to explore the relationship between neurological substrates of emotional intelligence and human behavior. Neuropsychologists posit that human actions are propelled by the neurons, which allow information to travel through the brain and body, in controlling voluntary and involuntary human behaviours. There is evidence that the connection between the amygdala and the neocortex are hug of operations between head and heart, thought and feeling. This circuitry explains why emotion is very crucial to effective thought and decision making. The architecture of the amygdala interferes with the neurons to ensure that each plays effective role as different neurotransmitters. The survey method was used for the study involving 300 respondents; and it was found that neurological substrates of emotional intelligence have positive relationship with human behavior