Experts: Intelligence, Not Technology Skills Will Drive Sustainable Governance

Emma Okonji

Public sector leaders and stakeholders have stressed the need for global leaders to gain intelligence oversight beyond technology skills in order to promote effective governance that can translate into better performance and meaningful value for the citizens.

The stakeholders said this in Lagos at a public sector leadership forum organised by the Centre for Public Sector Governance (CPSG), in partnership with Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria (SCGN), the British Council, and the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), with the theme: ‘Governance for Performance-Global Practices to Create Public Value’.

According to the stakeholders, the principles of governance are timeless, but the world in which the principles are applied is not.   

They stressed that global leaders don’t need to become technologists or experts in technology to govern effectively, but sufficient intelligence to govern the opportunities, the risks, the ethics, the data and the consequences of technologies that are being deployed globally.

In her opening remarks, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of CPSG, Dr. Oyebisi Taiwo, said: “As public sector leaders and stakeholders, we share responsibility to strengthen the institution, embrace effective global practices, and build systems that deliver measurable results.”

The keynote speaker and CEO, Governance Solutions and The Professional Director Institute, Dr. Debra Brown, who spoke about the challenges of governance, said the greatest challenge facing those entrusted with governance, is often not that they cannot see, but it’s about believing that they’re seeing clearly when actually they’re not.

According to her, although countries are different in cultures and economies, the challenges facing those who govern are becoming increasingly similar all around the world. She therefore urged public sector leaders to strengthen public trust and govern wisely in an increasingly complex world, in order to create sustainable impact and measurable value for the people that they serve.

Speaking about the Governance Fitness Model, Brown said: “Fitness is not about another definition of governance. It’s not another governance framework, but the capacity to govern. Just as physical fitness prepares our bodies to respond to life’s demands, governance fitness prepares governing bodies to faithfully apply timeless principles under changing conditions.”

She highlighted five things that governing bodies around the world needed to do differently if they must remain fit to govern, to include: The need to remain strategically agile while staying anchored in purpose; The need to build trust among the citizens that they govern, adding that trust must be stewarded, it must be measured, and it must be renewed; The need to exercise intelligence oversight beyond technology skills; Th need to build cultural resilience; and the need to continually review leadership position.

She explained that the value leaders create today can be lost tomorrow if they fail to prepare the people who will carry the institution forward.

At a panel session moderated by Partner, KENNA, Nimma Jo-Madugu, the panelists stressed the need for leaders to be accountable, build strong institutions and use reliable data to build trust.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Dr. Emeka Vitalis Obi, one of the panelists, identified the single biggest gap in governance as ability to translate existing policies and initiatives into consistent practice, adding that institutions are sometimes driven by personalities rather than strengthening the system.

Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Dr. Kayode Opeifa, who was also a panelist, stressed the need for leaders to build public sector reforms by building stronger culture of measuring outcomes, boost productivity, reduce corruption, and create citizen-centered policies.