The third National Productivity Summit which opened in Abuja Nigeria’s capital on Tuesday, has called for deliberate steps by the government to provide the enabling environment that will maximize the productivity level of citizens.
The main objective of the Summit is to create a national platform for virile discourse on how to increase productivity and competitiveness in the private and public sectors of the nation’s economy.
Other objectives according to the National productivity Centre, organizer of the Summit, is to examine the level of productivity in the economy and identify challenges facing the sectors of the Nigerian economy, to propagate the culture of productivity in the Nigerian economy, harness the benefits of productivity towards the attainment of national productivity and to recommend the way forward for improving productivity across the economic sectors in Nigeria for a virile and globally competitive economic.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, at the opening ceremony, said that Nigeria cannot make progress without productivity measurement in various sectors of the national economy, including the public service, banking, business and agriculture.
The Minister who advocated for the propagation of the culture of productivity, also stressed the need for Nigeria to measure her productivity as a country.
According to him, “productivity as the efficient and effective management of available resources remains a key factor that enables societies to generate wealth and sustain development.
“We must propagate the culture of productivity, some people are suggesting that we should downsize because…you cannot do that without measuring productivity, he said.
He said Nigeria is blessed with enormous human and natural resources with the potential to be a major economic power adding that having an abundance of these resources do not guarantee development except they are properly harnessed, mobilized and maximized.
Speaking on the theme of the Summit, “Mobilising and Managing Resources for Higher Productivity, Sustainable Growth and Development,” Dr. Ngige said it was apt especially at this time when the world including Nigeria is being confronted with unprecedented economic challenges such as food, energy and financial crises.
“Mobilising domestic resources for productive investment is a long-standing challenge for most developing countries like ours. Weak demand, rising debt and volatile capital flows have left many economies in a sorry state.
“However, there are compelling reasons why more emphasis should be given to domestic resource mobilisation.
“It is vital to increased productivity, employment and revenue generation, wealth creation and poverty reduction”, he said.
Dr. Ngige noted that through efficient and effective mobilisation and management of resources, countries accelerate their economic growth by raising and spending their own funds for public goods and essential services like schools, hospitals, clean water, electricity and roads.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ms Kachollom Daju, urged the participants to be hard working and more productive in their various capacities in order to contribute to the socio-economic growth of the country.
He said that Nigerians must support the government in ensuring that the nation’s productivity level is fully maximized.
Also speaking, Director General, National Productivity Centre, Dr Kashim Akor, called for the collective effort of the critical stakeholders in the productivity movement saying that all Nigerians must fashion out specific solutions to the challenges militating against productivity improvement, growth and development in the country.
In its effort to promote productivity, Dr Akor said, “the Centre had engaged Nigerians at various levels through productivity researches and surveys, productivity promotion and advocacy, productivity coaching and mentoring, and award of excellence, among other instruments”.
He said that the Summit over the years through its previous communiqués has brought issue of productivity and its importance to the front burner in governance.
Dr. Akor, stressed that knowing the need, usefulness and implication of productivity to the growth of the economy has become imperative to its improvement.
He call on all Nigerians to have the mindset and mentality of continuous progress so that collectively, they would raise a productive Nigeria for the betterment of the future generation.
The two day Summit, the third in its series has topics like “impact of security challenges on productivity in Nigeria, Ease of doing business in Nigeria: Implication for national development, the role f the mass media for improved productivity and the role of leadership in achieving higher productivity would be presented and discussed.
The Summit is expected to produce a working document as it ends on Wednesday.
