Dr Dakuku Peterside, PhD, delivered a keynote address at the First International Conference of the Department of Business Administration, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, urging Nigeria to adopt business re-engineering as a national productivity strategy to unlock economic growth, improve governance, and strengthen competitiveness. resent at the event are dignitaries like the Vice Chancelor of IAUE, Professor Okechukwu Onuchuku, Professor Isaac A. Ayandele, Lead Paperpresenter, and a host of other dignitaries.
Speaking on the theme, “Business Re-engineering, A Catalyst for Economic Development,” Dr Peterside challenged the academic community, policymakers, and private-sector leaders to rethink how institutions and systems function, noting that development is not only about resources but about how effectively a nation organises production, services, decision-making, and delivery of public value.
In his address, he clarified that business re-engineering is not a minor efficiency exercise, but a radical redesign of core processes aimed at dramatic improvements in cost, quality, speed, and service.
He emphasised that technology should support redesigned systems—not automate existing dysfunction.
Dr Peterside linked re-engineering directly to national development outcomes, explaining that productivity gains improve competitiveness, lower costs, raise service quality, and expand the possibility of jobs, wages, and exports.
A central message of the keynote was that many of Nigeria’s economic constraints —including high business costs, inefficient logistics, policy uncertainty, and slow approvals— are design problems rooted in processes, structures, and incentives, rather than permanent national limitations.
He called for a shift from “individual heroics” to institutional performance anchored in measurable outcomes and durable systems.
Dr Peterside proposed a practical pathway for reform, urging Nigeria to re-engineer high-impact process journeys such as investor onboarding, export clearance, SME formalisation, and infrastructure delivery. He identified priority areas for quick wins and long-term gains, including trade and logistics, public procurement, agriculture and agro-processing, and power for industrial clusters.
He also cautioned that reforms could fail when institutions digitise broken workflows, operate in silos, or fail to publicly measure outcomes.
To sustain reform, he called for stronger accountability mechanisms, independent monitoring, published service standards, and leadership commitment across institutions.
The keynote concluded with a charge to the academic community to document Nigeria’s re-engineering experiences, partner with organisations on transformation initiatives, and help train the next generation of process engineers and organisational leaders.
