Institutions, private or public, engage in periodic recruitment/appointment exercises to find and engage suitable candidates to fill specific roles. The reasons for recruitment exercises are many, ranging from filling open positions, especially after the departure of employees, achieving organizational goals, attracting top talents to build a strong workforce, to driving innovation and adaptability.
Sadly, in Nigeria, recruitment exercises have become means through which favours are extended to cronies, girlfriends, relations or even given to the highest bidder [we have heard stories of available positions being reserved for the highest bidder]. This has often led to having square pegs in round holes, or vice versa, leading to the ineffectiveness we see in many organisations today. But we carry on as if all is okay until the reality hits, by which time it is too late, mostly!
Many therefore expected the recent appointments of 16 new directors by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to be a matter ‘who you know’ or ‘what last name you bear’. This is so because anytime the name of the apex bank is mentioned, people see a place where you earn more and work less, or not at all. But can we really blame those with this defective mindsets in light of the several funny stories we still hear about recruitment and appointment exercises in this very country?
Well, the CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso is determined to change the narrative. He has also remained focus despite the apparent moves to distract him. Therefore the selection process for the appointment of the 16 new directors was not only more rigorous than previous exercises, it was also transparent and based purely on merit. The CBN had earlier in September 2024 published an internal advertisement seeking to fill the 16 departments hitherto being headed by coordinators.
The deployment of the services of the highly reputable global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) ensure a bias-free exercise devoid of ethnic or religious sentiments. Only the best candidates were selected from among eligible deputy directors within the apex bank. It was so transparent that no gap was given for mischief makers to exploit.
As an insider told the Daily Trust newspaper, “No objective-minded person at the CBN will criticise the transparency in selecting the new directors, nor will anyone question their pedigree within the system. If you go around the departments, the consensus is that the management got it right this time. It was a merit-based process in the management’s renewed commitment to transparency.”
Indeed, the outcome of the exercise was sweet music to the ears of gender equality proponents as over 35 per cent of those appointed were women. They include Dr. Rakiya Yusuf Opeyemi (Payment System Supervision), Dr. Adenike Olubunmi Ojumu (Medical Services), Dr. Aisha Isa-Olatinwo (Consumer Protection), Mrs. Rita Ijeoma Sike (Financial Policy and Regulation), Dr. Vincent Monsurat Modesola (Strategy Management and Innovation), and Mrs. Omoyemen Avbasowamen Jide-Samuel (Information Technology).
The others directors are also fairly representative of our diversity as a country. They include Dr. Olubukola Akinwunmi Akinniyi (Banking Supervision), Abdullahi Hamisu (Banking Services), Mr. Makinde Kayode Olanrewaju (Procurement & Support Services), Dr. Victor Ugbem Oboh (Monetary Policy), Mr. Nakorji Musa (Trade and Exchange), Mr. Farouk Mujtaba Muhammad (Reserve Management), Dr. Adetona Sikiru Adedeji (Currency Operations and Branch Management), Mr. Hassan Ibrahim Umar (Development and Finance Institutions Supervision), Mr. Solaja Mohammed-Jamiu Olayemi (Other Financial Institutions Supervision), Dr. Okpanachi Usman Mose (Statistics).
Other government institutions – even private entities – need to learn from Cardoso’s example at the apex bank. It tallies with his reform agenda which is fast returning the apex bank to its rightful place. Leaders should think about the future of the organisations they head, because that is the only way their hard-earned legacy can stand the test of time and be a reference point long after their exit.
- Nasir is a journalist based in Abuja
