NCDMB ties leadership thinking to industry growth at Q1 book session
Board positions intellectual engagement as part of its broader strategy for industry capacity building.
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has reinforced its push for intellectual development and creative thinking within Nigeria’s oil and gas ecosystem, hosting the first quarter 2026 edition of its Book Reading Series.
Held at the Board’s Conference Centre in Yenagoa, the session featured former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, as guest author. The event centred on his 2025 book, Leading in a Storm: Practical Leadership Strategies in Crisis Situations, and drew participants from academia, media, and professional bodies, with additional attendees joining virtually.
In his welcome address, NCDMB Executive Secretary, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, represented by the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Obinna Ezeobi, described the initiative as a “signature event” that reflects the Board’s emphasis on creativity as a core institutional value.
Beyond symbolism, the programme forms part of a broader strategy to deepen intellectual capacity among stakeholders and strengthen Nigeria’s ability to operate competitively across the oil and gas value chain and its linkages.
The Board highlighted its wider investment in research and talent development through a network of specialised Centres of Excellence across the country. These include facilities at Niger Delta University (marine and petrochemical technologies), Federal University of Technology, Minna (engineering design), and Federal University of Technology, Owerri (local raw materials substitution).
Others are located at Modibbo Adama University (safety and environmental studies), Usmanu Danfodiyo University (renewable energy), and Federal University of Technology, Akure (geology and geophysical studies). Additional facilities include a geosciences research centre at the University of Lagos and a marine and offshore training centre at Rivers State University. The most recent addition, a Centre of Excellence in Gas Development at Delta State University, is being developed in partnership with Seplat Energy.
The Board is also collaborating with Renaissance Africa Energy Company, First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company, and the Nigerian Society of Engineers to deliver the Nigerian Engineering Olympiad, launched in November 2025 and scheduled to conclude in April 2026. The competition is designed to encourage final-year and postgraduate students to apply engineering principles to real-world operational challenges.
During the book conversation session, moderated by Victor Binawari, Peterside traced the foundation of his work to lived experience across public service and crisis environments. He cited his time in the National Assembly, where he chaired the House Committee on Downstream Petroleum amid recurring fuel supply disruptions, as well as his tenure at NIMASA, which involved tackling piracy in Nigeria’s territorial waters. The COVID-19 pandemic also shaped his thinking, alongside a remark from a professor at the Kellogg School of Management suggesting that Africa operates in a near-permanent state of crisis.
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Against that backdrop, he argued that leadership effectiveness is often defined by performance under pressure. Peterside identified eight core competencies required for crisis leadership, including contextual intelligence, calm confidence, sense-making, strategic decision-making, clear communication, flexibility, teamwork coordination, and continuous learning. According to him, these capabilities determine how leaders interpret complex situations and respond to uncertainty.
He also emphasised his use of storytelling as a teaching tool, noting that narratives make leadership principles more relatable, memorable, and easier to apply in real-world scenarios.
Closing the session, Teleola Oyeleke of NCDMB’s Corporate Communications Division commended the guest author for his insights and encouraged participants to engage deeply with the book’s themes. The message echoed a broader point reinforced throughout the event: that technical expertise alone is no longer sufficient in a complex industry environment, as continuous learning, critical thinking, and adaptability are becoming central to both individual and organisational success.
For NCDMB, the Book Reading Series is part of a wider effort to shape how professionals think, lead, and respond to challenges within Nigeria’s evolving energy landscape.
