…. Urges Recipients to advocate against corruption in public service, encourage innovation.
Friday 18th day of September 2020 will for a very long time remain very memorable in the mind of members and awardees of the Institute of Corporate and Public Administrators of Nigeria (ICPAN). This is because it was on that day that ICPAN conferred honourary Doctorate, Prestigious Fellowship and Investiture of full membership and Associate membership of the Institute to some distinguished Nigerians as part of activities to mark her Merit and Icon of excellence award and Dinner Night in Enugu. At the event, about 40 deserving persons received various awards at the ceremony designed to encourage professionalism and excellence in public service and the society at large.
The ceremony which was attended by professionals from all works of life featured paper presentation by erudite professors including Professor Damian Opata and Professor Olumuyiwa M. Afipinsoro, National President and Vice President of the Institute.
In his paper with the theme, “Towards a Recovery of the loss of a sense of shame, tackling corruption and the challenge of moral crises in Nigeria” Professor Opata described corruption as illegal use of public office for private gain and one of the biggest challenges that is currently facing Nigeria as a nation. He is of the opinion that corruption is now a norm, a topic so much talked about in Nigeria, a phenomenon which the corrupt and the non-corrupt talk about all the time.
In his words, “corrupt shameless persons flaunt their shamelessness with outrageous impurity while the virtuous are now the people who feel inferior and express a sense of low self- esteem”.
He used the occasion to outline various areas the phenomenon manifest both in schools, social life, including child trafficking, rape, banditry, cyber-crimes, among others government offices and private establishments as well as organizations, pointing out that corruption is just one of the syndrome of the moral crisis and absolute decay of values in the country.
Professor Opata opined that fighting corruption must be holistic and done in a democratic, transparent and legal manner and obeying all the stipulated procedures.
He therefore called on Nigerians to see corruption as another debilitating moral crisis in the country and a big challenge adding “we should join hands with the federal Government and other Stakeholders to tackle this cankerworm in both public and private sectors, in the best interest of Nigeria and her people”.
He however maintained that neither corruption nor any of these crimes and more can be solved without the recovery of the loss of sense of shame in Nigeria.
The Director General of the Institute, Dr. Sir V. C. Onah in his remark announced that ICPAN has successfully scaled all the critical stages to register as an international member of the International Public Policy Association IPPA.
According to him, the affiliation effort was made to ensure that the Institute not only enjoy international visibility but also aligns with global best practices in promoting corporate and public administrative excellence.
Dr. Onah also disclosed that the ICPAN has acquired residential space for her Alumni in Enugu and gotten a land in Abuja for their proposed College of Public Administration building complex.
The ICPAN Director General used the occasion to congratulate the awardees and urged them to do their best in spheres of influence and comparative advantage to ensure that the Institute and Nigeria live to realize their potentials through purposeful corporate and administrative engagements.
“It is interesting to note that ICPAN has succeeded in establishing linkages to University of London, collaborate with Deo Gratia Polytechnic Agbor Delta State and also run MSc and PhD programme with Deo Gratia International College Mabuchi Abuja and collaborate with the Institute of Disaster Management and Safety Science.
“The Institute whose vision is to be the beacon in the promotion and regulation of Corporate Pubic Administration practice in Nigeria offers consultancy services in corporate restructuring, feasibility studies and report as well as small and medium enterprises promotion”. Onah explained.
FirstNews reports that mission is also to develop and train qualitative leadership in the public sector and management education, motivate the advancement of management and administration for generating strategies to impact on the economy, among others.
FirstNews reports also that the high point of the events was conferring of the awards on the recipients.
