The bolt-like emergence of Mr Mohammed M. Nami as the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service has confounded some skeptics. Days after the announcement such skeptics are yet to come to terms with the reality, with some even insinuating that the new FIRS helmsman is not technology savvy because he is not visible on the social media.
This is a cheap comment to make about a man who is without an iota of doubt professionally protean, and a proven tax, accounting, auditing, and management expert. To put the facts straight, Mr Mohammed Nami is a well known person in the circle of topnotch tax and audit practitioners, one who is in fact very busy to indulge in social media frivolities. He is a man who understands that success is won through hardwork, being focused and diligent, and using quality manhour for productive engagements. Success does not come through complacency, sentiment or whimsical armchair criticism. It is not also a function of being ungainly garrulous on the social media.
As an unarguably well trained Tax, Accounting, and Management practitioner, Mr Mohammed Nami’s hardwork manifests in the various qualifications he obtained over the years that pit him in good stead for professional practice. With focus on professional demands and requirements, he obtained professional certification of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Forensic & Investigation Professionals of Nigeria, Institute of Debt Recovery Practitioners of Nigeria, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), and Association of National Accountants of Nigeria. In addition to these professional certifications, he also holds Bachelor of Science in Sociology which he obtained from Bayero University, Kano, Postgraduate Diploma in Management and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) both from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
As a Fellow and Associate Member of reputable professional Institutions, Mr Mohammed M. Nami is effectively weaned on the best standards of practice in Accounting, Management, Auditing and Tax Administration that anybody can possibly boast of. He is therefore endowed with the normative professional ethics and rubrics required to drive tax administration in a developing economy like Nigeria.
Mr. Mohammed M. Nami is thus coming into this job with a robust background and efficient grounding in tax practices. This is more so having worked at various levels in the private sector where he acquired enviable practical working experiences spanning almost three decades (1993-2019) in auditing, tax advisory, management services from clients spread across the Banking, Manufacturing, Services and the Public Sector. This covers his professional stint with the PKF where he rose through the ranks to become a Senior Consultant in charge of Tax Management and Advisory Services; the KEL Group of Companies, a consortium of three manufacturing companies, as General Manager from 2004 to 2006; Mainstream Energy Solutions Ltd as a Statutory Board Audit Committee Member from 2014 to date. In 2018, after disengaging from the PKF, he established his own firm, Manam Professional Services, which undertakes tax and business advisory for clients across the country. His involvement with the PKF which has tentacle in over 100 countries and other firms has exposed him to the changing dynamics and complexities of the financial sector as to prepare him for challenging task of such an exalted office. This is coupled with the array of responsibilities he handled at various levels, that is, from being an Audit Trainee, Tax Trainee, Audit/Tax Trainee to becoming a Senior Consultant. Recently, fate boosted his fortunes when the President, His Excellency Mohammadu Buhari appointed him a member of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets from 22nd November, 2017 to 11th September, 2018.
A man with this track record of achievements and experiences is unquestionably qualified to hold the exalted position. He is the one who knows how to better apply technological infrastructure to the task of revenue administration. He can therefore not be thought of as unfit for the job. In fact, if any man is duly qualified for this job at this auspicious time, such a man is Mr. Mohammed M. Nami. His wealth of experience as well as his widely acknowledged versatility and connection in the financial sector makes him the right man for the job.
Besides his professional appurtenances, Mr. Mohammed M. Nami has some personal attributes which endear him to people across diverse social backgrounds. He relates well with people. He does not feel disdainful when interacting with the people he comes across either in the course of his many professional engagements or when he is among his friends. He is very accommodating which is why he moves with ease within the tight fortress and competitive world of business. He is also jocular, affable, and convivial. Yet, beneath such a semblance of felicity, is a mind that trained on details and scrupulous analysis. He is one who, though self-effacing, easily takes to people no matter the class or creed the other may belong. So he does not discriminate, not picky that is, in terms of creed, tongue, and status.
Given his quintessential nature and his professional background, Mr. Mohammed M. Nami is rightly equipped for the job. One can say with confidence that he knows the demands of the job better than to be distracted by any laughable suggestion for him to take some drastic measures. In any case, the one who frittered his nugget opportunity on frivolous and amorous adventures can not now become so penitent as to offer useful advice. It is better for him to continue to cry over spilled milk and rue over missed opportunities, for such is the hard way to learn some life lessons.
