Pst. Solomon Essiet
“Training is not an expense, but an investment in human capital.” Roy H. Williams
It was Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motors Company that quips “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” Invariably, in the case of a private organization, or be it in the public service as the case may be, failure to organize routine training programme to enhance the skill sets of the workforce can only spell doom for such enterprise, whether for profit making or charity organization. For profit making organization, training will enhance the quality of service delivery leading, to higher returns on the profitability index of the organization. For charity organization, the operator may end up incurring curse instead of blessings from God for failure to encourage the workforce to improve on the level of service delivery to the target audience as it were.
In essence, training programme for staff in various private organizations and public service in the case of Local, State or Federal Government cannot be overemphasize, if we must maintain a lively and healthy workforce, that can stand the test of time, by delivering the required results, proportional to the rules of engagement by the employers.
It is on this note that I want to thank Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State for upholding the tenets of training and retraining of Civil Servants in the Akwa Ibom State Public service, to ensure effective representation of officers in charge of various ministries across the State for efficiency in service delivery.
Recall that on Monday, 5th August, 2024, in order to reposition the State Public Service to encourage teamwork and bridge the gaps between policy proposals and implementation of programmes and projects within specified timelines, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno flagged off a 5-Day workshop organized by the State Government, in collaboration with the Administrative Staff College, (ASCON), Lagos, on “Leadership and Good Governance” for Permanent Secretaries and Directors in Akwa Ibom State Public Service, at Ibom-led Centre, Uyo.
Feels like you are asking why organizing such training for top management officers such as Permanent Secretaries and Directors in the State Public Service that should know better? My dear brothers and Sisters, the dynamics and rapid changes in business environment in private and public sector in the 21st century may have rendered obsolete, whatever the Permanent Secretaries and Directors made to undergo the training programme may have known in 2022 for instance. In the words of Henry Ford, anyone who stops learning is old. The Permanent Secretaries and Directors in our Public Service does not need to be older than they are now, for lack of training to updating their skill set. The good news is that leadership starts from top to bottom, a dead top will definitely give birth to a dead bottom, no matter how you twist it. Consequently, training for the Permanent Secretaries and Directors in our Public Service as a System, means training for all the Civil Servants in Akwa Ibom State, as they will in turn organize training and workshop for workers in their respective ministries to update them in current best practices and work ethics in various roles and responsibilities.
Affirming his administration’s value for capacity building, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State said “The training was part of efforts at enhancing and retooling the State’s workforce for optimal productivity by refreshing and broadening their repertoire of knowledge, while upskilling these personnel at the top echelon of the State Public Service for maximum efficiency.” If I may ask, does that statement look like an English Grammer from someone that did not go to School? Imagine how many steps backwards we would have taken, if we had listened to the various propaganda by frustrated politicians and naysayers who painted fake pictures everywhere to deceive the Akwa Ibomites that Pastor Umo Bassey Eno did not go to School and as such forged his certificates. Wonders shall never cease.
Speaking further, the Governor charged the participants to take advantage of the opportunity to sharpen their skill and capacity which would help actualize the lofty Policies and Programmes of the golden era administration. “I hereby urge you to make the best use of this training. I expect this training to elicit resourceful engagement on the part of the participants as key drivers in the formulation and implementation of Government Policies, Programme and Projects. As you are aware, Government’s investment in this training for the workforce is to help you gain necessary managerial skills to refine your approach to service delivery, and awaken your team spirit in your various lines of duty.”
“Let me therefore remind you of the high expectations of the Government and the good people of the State on you to demonstrate a high level of commitment towards the realization of the policy thrust of the present Administration,” the Governor said.
The Governor did not stop there, he also made another very important statement while addressing the participants at the flagged-off of the training event. According to the Governor, “One of the key things that is trending in modern day management is that senior echelon of management needs delivery teams. Sometimes, we can propose ideas but there should be a small team to help record deadlines and achieve set goals. In the next few months, we will begin appoint delivery advisors; people who will help executives to meet their deadlines. They would share the dream with their principals, and know what to expect.
“Like in the office of the Governor, we are going to have a delivery advisor who works with me, goes to meetings with me and captures all the things we have said, all of the timelines and then facilitate delivery.
“If you are a leader, you must build a team around yourself. You must learn to work in groups. You must learn to seek people’s contributions about what you want to do. That doesn’t make you any less a leader. If we all come together, you will understand that we can gain a lot from each other. So, I will love to see more of these inculcated in our Civil Service.” The Governor added.
The Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) is a reknown training institution with decades of training experience both in the Private and Public sector. Their wealth of experience in training and development of workforce in different sectors of Nigerian economy is never in doubt. Having brought their expertise to bear in training of Akwa Ibom State’s Public Service, we are rest assured that there would be corresponding improvement on the service delivery and work pattern, leading to increase in productivity.
I bet you, this our State Governor does not sound like someone interested in embezzlement of Public funds. He is not even thinking about such. Get your fact correct about Government activities and Programmes. Governor Umo Eno has approved the construction of over 80 Roads project in the last one year, both the ones he initiated by himself and those he inherited from the previous administration. Please join hands with our State Governor wherever you are to promote our State Government, by encouraging the Governor to do more for the collective good of Akwa Ibom State citizens at home and Diaspora.
Arise, that same God.
Pastor Solomon Essiet is a Seasoned Chartered Administrator, he writes from Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area, the Raffia City.
