By Ayo Thomas
On Thursday 2 November 2023, the world commemorated the International Project Management Day (IPM Day). The day is set aside annually to celebrate and recognition the selfless sacrifices, contributions, strategic roles and achievements of Project Managers and Project Teams around the world.
For our great Nation, Nigeria, the theme for the year drew attention to the need to embrace change and adaptability by initiating new ideas, perspectives, and approaches in all facets of our National lives so as to open ourselves up to endless possibilities for growth, development and improvement. At the same time, it draws attention to the need to empower our project teams, at different levels of Nation building, by providing them with the necessary tools, resources, and support to drive meaningful and sustainable transformation. In the process, we can together effectively annex the power hidden behind the uncertainty of our current situation to build a brighter, more efficient, and sustainable tomorrow.
In the spirit of the celebrations, we specially commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for deploying Project Management Tools, Techniques and Methodology as he unveils his genuine intentions to drive Nigeria on the path of progress. Most importantly, critical issues like the reactivation of the Presidential Delivery Tracker to empower Nigerians to track the implementation of Public Projects across the country in real time; raising of approval threshold for public procurement, encouragement of open bidding of contracts for transparency, aligning of the Nation’s annual budget to the Mr. President’s vision, strategic goals and relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), evaluation of efficiency of previous federal Government intervention programs and conduct of proper pre-and post- project assessments to determine the efficiency of the programs are, indeed, highly commendable.
As the sponsor of the Renewed Hope Agenda [Nigeria Project Document], President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR should, therefore, activate and effectively implement the performance bond and by so doing extract strong and unwavering commitments of his team members in the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and fully devote and invest such to its implementation. It is only by so doing that the hope and commitment of many Nigerians will be reignited to annex the opportunity to track real time progress on tangible results and be part of the solutions to Nation building as it relates to the key priorities of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
In the same spirit of celebrations and to recognize efforts at selecting, handling and delivering project successfully, the Project Management Day of Charity Service (PMDoCS) held between 2nd – 4th November 2023, specifically commend the North-East Development Commission [NEDC], the Abia, Lagos, Bauchi, Borno and Oyo State Governors respectively for deploying Systematic Model to select, plan, organize, handle, distribute and deliver projects under challenging circumstances and in environment of high risk of changes where project objectives, outcomes or completion dates sometimes proved uncertain.
To consolidate the objectives of the commemoration and to further promote the subject of Project Management among, Project Management experts, technocrats, practitioners, trainers and professionals have concluded plans to, in January 2024, launch the following programs:
1. Project Management Day of Charity Service (PMDoCS)
2. Bi-Monthly SMART Weekend Academy
Project Management Day of Charity Service (PMDoCS)
The objective of the Project Management Day of Charity Service (PMDoCS) is to engage project management practitioners, professionals, trainers, consultants and technocrats interested in a Civic Engagement to interface to share their views and provide Pro-Bono (free, professional) Project management advice and services to Public Institutions [Fed/State/Local] and local Civil Society Organizations [CSOs], Non-profits/Nongovernmental Organizations [NGOs] with poverty alleviation, charity and humanitarian focus and working hard to serve the people so as to assist them address their most difficult challenges associated with project scope planning and implementation which allow them to do more to serve their target audiences, communities and the Nation at large.
The event is premised on the fact that continuous value delivery can best be sustained with “strategic Guidance and Tactical Project Management support” hence the need to support public institutions and various organizations to target the right strategic objectives and have a clear road map; developing the project plan, schedule, implementing touch points to gauge progress of projects in a changing environment.
SMART Weekend Academy
This program is a short, weekend-long mentoring cum hands-on foundational training opportunity for inquisitive young minds. It is specially designed for Students in Junior Secondary School [JSS], Senior Secondary School [SSS] and Young undergraduate students from Universities and Polytechnics to pursue and develop passion for Project Management.
The SMART Weekend Academy shares the views that younger generation holds the key to the positive transformational change we yearn for and so they must be heavily invested in, mentored, highly trained, and encouraged to go into the profession. We therefore call on project management professionals, experts and technocrats and practitioners to brace-up for this challenge and support this noble cause with a view to pushing hard to position young Nigerians to develop interest in the project management profession for the good of our great Nation.
Hon. Ayo Thomas is Lead Convener, Project Management Day of Charity Service, PMDoCS & SMART Weekend Academy