Borodo’s goals to advance superior corporate governance in Nigeria

According to Alhaji Tijjani Borodo, the newly elected President of the Chartered Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria, his strategic goal is focused on fostering excellent corporate governance across a range of Nigeria’s economic sectors.

In a press conference on Friday in Lagos, Borodo stated that his plan was based on the three R’s and that he would also support laws and procedures that encourage development and innovation.

The agenda, according to the president whose investiture is scheduled for September 14 in Lagos, is required given the changing nature of IoD Nigeria operations.

“The institute recently marked 40 years of operation, which was made possible by the honourable services of former leaders.

“I’ve just been given the burden of carrying on these famous pacesetters’ outstanding accomplishments and building upon their strong foundation.

“As part of my strategic plan, I will keep advancing superior corporate governance and supporting laws and procedures that encourage development and innovation.

The foundation for this would be my “Three-Point Agenda,” which I’ve labelled “Review, Reform, and Reinvigoration.”

“In this new administration, our focus will be on the review of the existing corporate strategy, reform of our membership and branch development status, and reinvigoration of our operations to better serve our valued members,” he stated.

The president of the IoD revealed that efforts were being made to expand the network of collaboration between the institute and the public sectors and to create new partnerships that would be advantageous to both parties.

In order to firmly establish good corporate governance practises that will put the Nigerian economy on the route to growth, he explained, this was done.

According to Borodo, the government and business in Nigeria working together could lead to improved corporate governance.

He contends that doing so will boost investor confidence, which in turn will attract the much-needed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the economy.

“IoD Nigeria has recognised for almost ten years the necessity of involving the public sector in the fight for good corporate governance.

“To undertake capacity-building programmes that would improve the knowledge of public sector personnel concerning corporate governance, we have collaborated with the many necessary institutions and agencies of government.

Because of this, a significant number of directors and executives from government ministries, departments, and agencies have joined the Institute.

“In addition to working with sub-nationals and bringing them into the Institute, we are also doing it at the national level.

Let me reassure you that IoD Nigeria is completely prepared to adopt the initiative’s initiative and drive it.

Borodo stressed the necessity of succession planning in the operations of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

According to him, every corporation, regardless of size, needs to have a workable strategic succession plan in place to ensure commercial viability.

He pointed out that many huge multinationals operating today began as MSMEs and have since expanded to become larger corporations with thousands of employees from different nationalities all over the world.

“Organisations must have a culture of mentoring the upcoming leaders if they are to achieve this succession planning.

This is already being done in IoD Nigeria, according to the speaker, through the Young Directors Forum, a venue for developing the leadership and directing abilities of young professionals.

Additionally, as a top goal, the IoD president advocated for diversity and inclusivity on organisational boards and in politics.

Borodo noted that variety might take the form of age, gender, and other aspects, but added that much more could be done to close the gaps its lack has caused.

“Our institute is well aware of this need, which is why we have sought to set an example by developing platforms that will improve diversity and inclusiveness.

For instance, the purpose of our Young Directors Forum is to prepare prospective directors and c-suite executives for greater responsibility by offering them the required guidance and mentoring.

“Additionally, through gender-specific courses, mentorship programmes, coaching, etc., specifically aimed at female members of the institution, our Women Directors Development Committee has worked diligently over the last years to respond to the unique needs of female directors.

These have made a significant contribution to the professional growth of our female directors and given them increased self-assurance to carry out their duties as directors.

“To further build on prior efforts, the institution, under my direction, will launch educational campaigns, seminars, and workshops to emphasise the benefits of diverse boards, such as better decision-making, creativity, and better representation of stakeholder perspectives.

Additionally, he stated, “We’ll create explicit diversity targets and establish clear, quantifiable diversity goals for organisations and political entities, asking them to aggressively pursue fair representation of women and young on their boards. (NAN