Project management as a tool

for eradication of institutionalised national corruption

by a servant leader

COMMENTARY

By O. Chima Okereke, PhD

Nigeria and UK

In a number of countries, the quandary exists that they are rich and blessed with many natural resources yet a high percentage of their nationals live in squalor and poverty. Indeed, there are some countries that are oil-rich, some of the leading global producers and exporters of oil and natural gas, yet a high percentage of their citizens are considered some of the poorest in the world.

Their legislators are about the highest paid in terms of total income and take-home wages, yet their civil servants and workers are among the lowest paid in the world.

The sharp contracts and apparent incompatibilities contained in the foregoing statements, comprising extremities of wealth and poverty, seem to be mutually exclusive in a country, but sadly are true.

The political elites have so institutionalised their theft, corruption and dubious practices that their nations cannot progress and develop as well governed and developed nations are doing until debilitating institutionalised criminal acts in high places are eradicated.

The objective of this paper is to suggest how project management could be used as a tool for corruption eradication. This presupposes that the conducive political environment will exist. Without the appearance of a servant leader, not mired in the ills, who is desirous of cleaning out the stealing and robbery in their various forms, the tool of project management cannot go to work on its own.

Some aspects of national lives which, this writer suggests, propagate and perpetuate structured corruption and exploitation of people will be reviewed and analysed in the subsequent paragraphs.  Accordingly, these paragraphs will discuss the following:

• Total income of the legislators
• Total income of other professionals and workers in government service.
• Going forward: Suggested solutions; these will include initiating and implementing a project for the review and rationalisation of incomes of politicians, public servants, university lecturers, etc.
• Conclusion

This analysis will start with the unacceptable disparity in the total incomes between the political elites and other professionals.

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How to cite this article: Okereke, O. C. (2023).  Project management as a tool for eradication of institutionalised national corruption by a servant leader, commentary, PM World Journal, Vol. XII, Issue III, March.  Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/pmwj127-Mar2023-Okereke-project-management-to-eradicate-institutionalised-national-corruption.pdf

About the Author

O. Chima Okereke, PhD, PMP

Herefordshire, UK

Dr. O. Chima Okereke, Ph.D., MBA, PMP is the Managing Director and CEO of Total Technology Consultants, Ltd., a project management consulting company working in West Africa and the UK.  He is a visiting professor, an industrial educator, a multidisciplinary project management professional, with over 25 years’ experience in oil and gas, steel and power generation industries. For example, On December 26^th 2013, he completed an assignment as a visiting professor in project management; teaching a class of students on Master’s degree in project management in the Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia.  In August and September 2013, he conducted an innovative, and personally developed training programme for seventy-six well engineers of Shell Nigeria to enhance the efficiency of their operations using project and operations management processes.

Before embarking on a career in consulting, he worked for thirteen years in industry rising to the position of a chief engineer with specialisation in industrial controls and instrumentation, electronics, electrical engineering and automation. During those 13 years, he worked on every aspect of projects of new industrial plants including design, construction and installation, commissioning, and engineering operation and maintenance in process industries.  Chima sponsored and founded the potential chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, acting as president from 2004 to 2010.

Dr. Okereke has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Lagos, and a PhD and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Bradford in the UK.  He also has a PMP® certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI®) which he passed at first attempt.  He has been a registered engineer with COREN in Nigeria since 1983.  For many years, Total Technology has been a partner for Oracle Primavera Global Business Unit, a representative in Nigeria of Oracle University for training in Primavera project management courses, and a Gold Level member of Oracle Partner Network (OPN. He is a registered consultant with several UN agencies.  More information can be found at http://www.totaltechnologyconsultants.org/.

Chima is the publisher of Project Management Business Digest, a blog aimed at helping organizations use project management for business success.  Dr. Okereke is also an international editorial advisor for the PM World Journal. He can be contacted at chima.okereke@totaltechnologyconsultants.com   or info@totaltechnologyconsultants.org.