Bala Usman: My NPA team not afraid to challenge status quo

Hadiza Bala Usman, managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), says her team is made up of young and energetic people who think outside the box and are not afraid of challenging existing protocol.

In an interview with Daily Trust, Usman said being young makes her energetic to carry out her job.

Speaking on her experience so far as the MD of the agency, Usman said she had no knowledge of the maritime industry when she assumed office.

She, however, added that her little knowledge of the industry was to her advantage as she had no entrenched interests and took decisions based on the objectivity of issues.

She added that her experience as the chief of staff in Kaduna prepared her for the task of her office.

“I am the first female managing director of NPA in 63 years. I was 40 when I was appointed, I’m 41 now,” Bala said.

“I think being young, makes you more energetic to do the job, and you have the capacity to have vision and think outside the box.

“Taking up a task like the NPA, you need to be physically strong to do the quantum of paperwork that you have to deal with on a daily basis. Overall, we need to have people that are younger, taking on positions of authority because they have the energy and the mindset to think outside the box. They are not afraid of confronting entrenched systems.

“My team and I are relatively young, so we are not afraid to challenge the status quo. They say when you are young, you tend to want to drive things.

“Also being the chief of staff in Kaduna state prepared me, being chief of staff to a governor makes you see every mail of the governor, so you can imagine the quantum of mail that a governor receives on a daily basis.

“I id that for one year and that prepared me for the amount of paper work that could come out of the NPA. Also, reading helps. If you are able to read and learn from other examples, looking at international best practices and not being afraid to ask questions.

“One of the things I do is that, if I’m not clear about anything, I ask questions. They use all the maritime terminologies, but I ask for the literal interpretations.”