TRIBUTE TO THE LATE ALHAJI MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR RIMI

I received the news of your sudden death with a rude shock.

I had always admired your bubbling and infectious zeal to accomplish whatever task or goal you set for yourself.

Even though, by my Christian faith, I know that death can come knocking at any time hence our resolve to be assured of life in the hereafter which only Jesus Christ can guarantee, I naively did not know that death was so close to you hence my shock.

Your Excellency, you have been so many things in this country, governor, minister, and chairman of board etc. You acquitted yourself well. Many of us who observed you from afar knew that you were a gem and that your shortcomings were too insignificant to douse the shine of the star which you are.

I can vividly recall your acceptance to replace the disqualified governorship candidate of the PRP in Kano State in the year 1979. Your confidence and the zeal with which you prosecuted the campaigns under the leadership of late Mallam Aminu Kano was not only clinically efficient but a classic example of an election that reflected the will of the people.

Alhaji, in Nigeria’s political terrain, shifting alliances is the order of the day. You had your fair share of shifting locations and alliances however it is to your credit that your ideological posture and direction was never in question or doubt due to the way and manner you comported yourself and conducted your affairs.

Wisdom and happenings round the world demands that a move from the far left to the left of centre is more desirable considering our contemporary experiences.

We will miss you!

Adieu! Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Adieu!

You have fought the good fight.

The progressives still standing will not let you down.

May God comfort and console your family.

Engr. Samson Ameh Opaluwah

Associated Estate

Abuja.

To Dress and to Keep!

It is amazing when we are able to comprehend the marvellous and wonderful plans of our Father in heaven concerning us. The I AM that I AM confessed it thus, “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you and expected end.” Jer. 29 v 11.

The fall of Adam signified the decline of man from the privileged position of maintaining what has already been put in place and depending on the resources, which he did not provide to one, who eats in sorrow from a cursed ground. What a pity! Man has lost a prime position where he was king and ministered to and has become a peasant labouring to feed from a cursed ground.

It is important to examine the original intention of god for man at creation. A few salient points come to mind:

1. God created man in his own image. Gen 1:27

Image is defined in the Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English as: “in the same form or shape as someone or something else.” It therefore means that man is replica of God by His own voluntary decision. It also follows that having created man thus, He requested a level; of fellowship which is divinely ordained by creating man after the likeness of God.

ii. God gave man dominion. Gen 1:26

God’s intention for man is to be totally in charge. Thus, man was given dominion over all the earth and all that is contained therein. This implies the power or right to rule over them. Man is thus a king of the whole earth and constituents. The king has a right and the power to rule, to decree, to order and it is to be carried out without questioning.

iii. God created man, male and female. Gen 1:27

The difference in sexes was divinely ordained by God and He desired that man should lack nothing to complement his existence in order for him to function in the perfect will of God. The man and the woman are created in the image of God.

Facilities Management in the Nigerian Public Sector

Facility Management embraces the concepts of cost-effectiveness, productivity improvement, efficiency and employee quality of life. Facilities Management (FM) is the integration of multi-disciplinary activities within the built environment and the management of their impact upon people and the workplace. Effective facilities management which is the efficient integration of the available resources with the activities of an organization is vital to its success.

At the corporate level, it contributes to the delivery of strategic and operational objectives. On a day-to-day level, effective facilities management provides a safe and efficient working environment, which is essential to the performance of any business –whatever its size and scope. 

The FM sector is still in its infancy, having been organized in its current format just about three decades ago but it offers great challenges to the Public. The ability of an organization to create, manage and sustain the most appropriate structure that would eventually translate into a value added service is the thrust of this discussion.

A value added approach can be said to involve the organization of an entity or operation through the setting up of cost structures, allocation of resources including its people, equipment, information systems, materials etc. Considerable value can be added through effective organization and management. Nigeria is the country with the largest population of black Africans in the world. With a population of 150 million, one out of every four black persons in the world is a Nigerian.

This country, which is rich in mineral deposits especially crude oil was colonized by the British until 1960 when it obtained independence. Infrastructural and facility development in the colonial era was motivated not by a desire to develop the country but to service industries and other interests in Europe. At independence (1960), Nigerians took over the helms of affairs in governance but the policy thrust of government remained the same. 

This resulted in government embarking on massive developmental projects, which although useful to the society however had no sustainability programs built into them. Thus development projects that were meaningfully conceived and executed failed not long after they are commissioned into operational use. In view of the above situation, it has become imperative that a re-engineering of the procurement process, the management of construction and the facility management of projects in Nigeria be embarked upon as a national priority. It is even more imperative as the main source of income to the country, which is crude oil, may not continue for much longer to be the hot cake in the international market as it is today.