By Stanley Edward
If you think is all over for the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited, you may be joking, as the the new Managing Director, Chief Executive, Engr. TukurMohammed Lawal has promised to breathing a new life into it and make it globally competiive.
He said his administration would address the fundamental issues currently inhibiting thecompany from attaining its full potentials.
Lawal said he was prepared to turn the company around and breathe into it and assist in realising its mandate.
He made the pledged yesterday at a Two-day Retreat organized for the Board and Management of NIGCOMSAT Ltd, at MEETHAQ Hotels, Jabi, Abuja.
He steps would be taken to remodel the business development plan of the Company towards achieving the much-desired competitive edge.
He also vowed to set the company on the right path again and surmount all its challenges enormous as they may be, saying that it is the mentality to defeat these challenges that the management needs to turn around the fortunes of the company.
Lawal said the aim of the retreat was to the management and board of the company have a retrospection and a serious review on the myriads of challenges that stare them in the face: to either survive in this industry or to perish.
‘‘Against this background, today’s retreat calls for retrospection, a serious soul searching on our side as these two choices stare us in the face: to either survive in this industry or to perish.’’
‘‘As we all gather here today, it is my candid opinion that, enormous as the challenges are, they are not insurmountable. And it is the mentality to defeat these challenges that we need to turn around the fortunes of this company.
‘‘Today also offers us another opportunity to reappraise our situation and find a lasting
solution to the myriad problems surrounding NIGCOMSAT LTD. We are to breathe into
NIGCOMSAT Ltd a new lease of life. As we dwell on issues surrounding this
organization, let’s all bear in mind that the future of this company lies on the outcome of
this retreat.
‘‘l will rely more on your expertise and counsel. The Executive Management team under my watch is poised to address the fundamental issues to be raised here. Affter a town hall meeting, we came face-to-face with the gloomy picture of the company in terms of revenue generation, where upon l sought staff cooperation to change the story for good.
‘‘I am glad to inform you that the optimism to resuscitate this organization was very obvious in my interaction with them. To us at NIGCOMSAT today, ‘On time is late’, ‘HSE are our core values’, ‘A clean workplace is Safe’, ‘Corporate objectives override self-interest’, ‘Customer is king’, ‘l pledge to be our good ambassador’, ‘ l pledge to confidentiality’, ‘l commit to loyalty and integrity’ amongst others.
‘‘So far, these are our guiding pillars and principle. I am happy to inform you that the staff have queued into this direction. As we consider all the issues before us here this morning, l appeal to us to deal with them on their merit and I assure you that after this retreat, we shall heave a sigh of relief having thoroughly set the company on the right path again.’’
On the theme, Refining the NIGCOMSAT Roadmap for Exponential Growth, he said,
there is indeed no better context for the deliberations that will soon follow.
The retreat came on the heels of a similar one recently held with the same motivation and driven by the same spirit. Indeed, it is coming a few weeks after the Ministerial retreat which we had at the Transcorp Hill Hotel, Abuja.In his remarks, the Chairman of NIGCOMSAT board, Engr. Yusuf Kazaure said the retreat would enable them review operations, strategies and objectives of NIGCOMSAT, and then come up with the way forward.
‘‘The main essence is to allow board and management of NIGCOMSAT to be able to take a strategic look at how they are operating and environment in which they are operating, coupled with the fact that we have new managing director.
‘‘For us in NIGCOMSAT, we need to work as a team, have everybody in the same page, speak to ourselves, review the goals objectively and then come up with a roadmap and be able to get everybody commit to the common goal and ensure success of the company’’.
Speaking on the choice of the theme of the retreat, the Chief Consultant, Mr. Jack Chime, said the retreat being the first retreat with the new MD is going to redefine the roadmap, look at their intentions, vision and overhaul what they used to have.
‘‘At the end, we expect new pillars, and strategic plans in terms of tangible deliverables, visibility, more customer based company, revenue generation and become leader in satellite market.’’
Recall that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ibrahim Ali (Pantami) recently had at a recent management retreat shared with the board and management of NIGCOMSAT his thoughts on the prospects of the company, following a thorough evaluation of its performance, operational capacity and potential for rapid growth.
He consequently tasked them to brace up for the challenges ahead.
