I helped NCDC staff find their purpose, says Ihekweazu

Chikwe Ihekweazu, the former director-general (DG) of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has published a book detailing the country’s response to COVID-19.

The book, titled ‘An Imperfect Storm’, was written in collaboration with his wife Vivianne Ihekweazu, the managing director of Nigeria Health Watch.

The book launch was held on Friday at the Alliance Francais in Ikoyi, Lagos state.

‘An Imperfect Storm’ highlights the contribution of the NCDC led by Ihekweazu towards Nigeria’s ability to respond to the global pandemic.

Speaking at the event, Iheakweazu said when he assumed office at NCDC in 2016, “nobody had a job description or know what they should be doing”.

He added that he supported the staff of the agency in discovering their purpose while creating an environment where they could thrive.

The former NCDC DG said the aim of the book is to support public sector leadership and all those participating in the building of institutions or any organisation.

“My first job was to reactivate the staff and get them to find their purpose. They had it in them but they couldn’t do much if they’re not in an environment that enables them to deliver,” he said.

“There were lots of aspects of the response to COVID-19 and how Nigerians came together that were not obvious to anyone. That was why it was so important for us to write this book.

“I wish leadership is not that important but in Nigeria our institutions unfortunately are weak, so leadership matters more than ever.

“There are stories in the book about public servants in NCDC and the confidence and competence with which they did their work during the pandemic.”

On her part, Vivianne said the book highlights Ihekweazu’s passion for making a difference.

“We feel very fortunate to get a glimpse and be able to capture the different contexts and experiences of people during the pandemic,” she said.

“For me, the fact that I was able to see how the country was responding gave me some assurance that behind the response are very committed public servants working seven days a week to do everything they could.”

In his remarks, Akin Abayomi, Lagos commissioner for health, said the book is an important document for policy makers.

“I’m really grateful to Chikwe and Vivianne for putting some documentation down. I’m glad that we are able to recount a bit of what happened on how Nigeria was able to come out of this with reasonably high scores,” he said.

“This is really an important document that we must all read, especially as policy makers, lest we forget and go into a state of laxity. It is important for policy makers to be aware of how dangerous these shocks can be.”

Also commenting, Atedo Peterside, founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank and Anap Foundation, said the book is timely.

“I wholeheartedly endorse this effort because the book captured all the things we did right so that next time we can begin on the right track,” he said.

“Chikwe operated with phenomenal integrity. Nobody could say the reason Chikwe is doing this is because he is getting a cut of billions from X or Y. So there was impeccable integrity and credibility.”