By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Some senior civil servants from Lagos and Ogun States recently took a course on economic capacity development and competitiveness strategy at the Lagos Business School (LBS) Pan-Atlantic University campus, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos.
The course, which was held from March 16 to 18 and themed Enhancing Economic Competitiveness, was sponsored by a leading Nigerian real estate group Palton Morgan with the intention to boost the effectiveness of public sector stakeholders.
The beneficiaries were exposed to global best practices on institutional collaborations, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) dynamics, sustainable competitive advantages and cluster participation mechanisms for inclusive national growth.
The well-attended course had senior government officials and public sector stakeholders in the built sector of the economy, special assistants to governors, permanent secretaries and directors at ministries and heads of MDAs relevant to the real estate sectors of both States as participants.
Chairman of Palton Morgan Holdings, Mr Femi Olubanwo, stated that “although LBS usually has the course curriculum attended by corporate executives across sectors for capacity and economic development, we decided to sponsor this course to enrich those who regulate our sector with current knowledge of economic strategies and the power of synergies so that they also can have a contemporary understanding of where the people they regulate are coming from.”
On the choice of Lagos and Ogun, Mr Olubanwo said both are contiguous but work in silos and that it would be beneficial bringing them together.
“If this initiative goes as we hope, we will find Lagos and Ogun states working together on projects, planning, and development, which will benefit our society and sector. We are delighted to be at the vanguard of making that happen,” he said.
Also commenting on the company’s facilitation of the training, the Non-Executive Director at Palton Morgan, Delphine Misan-Arenyeka, said it was part of its social responsibility to the states it operates in.
“We are building the capacity of senior public servants. Hopefully, it will translate to their subordinates and ultimately result in greater success in policy and regulations.
“We looked at the business of Palton Morgan and the value chain and felt that we can bridge the gap between our stakeholders in the public sector and us. We wanted to stimulate a synergy such that they will understand our language when we go to them for approvals and permits that will enhance development in the sector,” Misan-Arenyeka explained.
On his part, the Group Chief Operating Officer at Palton Morgan, Nidal Turjman, stressed that the real estate giant’s contributions to socio-economic development are extensive.
“We have contributions covering the real estate value chain. It could be from property management, construction, logistics, investment advisory, sales and marketing, etc. These are the first course participants, and at Palton Morgan, we are looking to more contributions from stakeholders in this sector so that we can all contribute to growing the economy of Nigeria,” he stated.
The course beneficiaries, on their part, expressed gratitude for the opportunity provided by Palton Morgan to improve their knowledge and progress in their careers with dynamic and relatable industry resources and comparative trends from across the globe.
They all affirmed the importance of collaboration for both states to maximize their economic strengths whilst integrating their competitiveness. They encouraged Palton Morgan to engage in more partnerships to consolidate on growing the potential of the two states.
Some of the beneficiaries were the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical and Urban Planning, Lagos State, Abiola Kosegbe, her counterpart at the Lagos State Ministry of Housing, Wasiu Akewusola, Director of ICT and Business Development, Ogun State Housing Corporation, Olufunmilayo Sorunke, and Director, Administration and Personnel, Ogun State Property and Investment Company, Taiwo Ogunyoowo.
Speaking, Kosegbe said, “The fact that you have been able to select people from the built environment to be here is saying that Palton Morgan is interested in developing the sector.”
Sorunke said, “I have learned to develop new business strategies and not business as usual.”
It was gathered that the course facilitators were faculty heads in Business, Strategy, and Economic Planning, including Dr Nkemdilim Iheanachor, member of the Strategy Group at LBS; Dr Dolapo Tukumi, Course Organizer; Dr Frank Ojadi, Member, Faculty of Operations Management at LBS and Lead Facilitator & Manager at LBS, Oreva Atanya.
Others were John Uwajumogu, Partner at Ernst & Young Nigeria; George Agu, Founder/CEO, ActiveEdge Technologies Limited and Ife Adedoyin, Senior Executive, Deloitte.
Palton Morgan Holdings is the parent company of PropertyMart Real Estate Investment Company, Grenadines Homes, The Oceanna, and Paltonloitte. The economic capacity development and competitive strategy course is one of its corporate responsibility initiatives and interventions to impact the sector and society.
Aduragbemi Omiyale