Lagos: A military strategist, Retired Rear Admiral Babalola Egbedina, has emphasized the significance of trust and accountability in management, especially within decentralized command structures in divisional setups. He shared these insights on Thursday during the 2025 Nigerian Institute of Management Chartered (NIM) awards, fellows, and spouses' day luncheon held in Lagos.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Egbedina elaborated on strategies for fostering trust and accountability in decentralized systems, highlighting the importance of clear communication, well-defined roles, autonomy with oversight, regular feedback, and performance monitoring. He pointed out that the divisional system used by the Nigerian Navy presents several advantages, such as enhanced operational efficiency, leadership development, improved personnel welfare, flexibility, innovation, and clear accountability.
Egbedina also underscored the pivotal role of the human element in management, stating that while technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer valuable tools, they cannot replace the originality and uniqueness brought by humans in organizations. He advocated for a focus on personal welfare and development within divisions, as this directly enhances efficiency and fosters leadership skills and stronger team cohesion.
He encouraged managers to remain informed and broaden their perspectives by engaging with quality publications and diverse sources of knowledge. "No matter the allure that Artificial Intelligence (AI) possesses, it cannot replace the originality and uniqueness of the human element in the organization," he stated. "As for managers, they should stay perpetually informed by reading quality publications and anything else they can lay their hands on to broaden their perspectives."
Retired Commodore Abimbola Ayuba, the NIM President, urged newly inducted fellows not to rest on their laurels by merely adding the appellation (FNIM) to their names, but to see it as a call to higher responsibility and service to the institute, the management profession, and the nation. Ayuba mentioned that these fellows have been organized into sectoral groups to leverage their professional competencies and address issues related to their disciplines, with the goal of proposing policy recommendations to the government.
Furthermore, Ayuba praised the institute's elder statesmen and women, who were conferred with life membership awards, for their longstanding commitment to the institute. He noted that to qualify for this award, a member must have reached the age of 70, served the institute and the Nigerian society selflessly, and be deemed above reproach, among other criteria.