CAN President bags honorary fellowship of Nigeria Institute of Management

By Anan Geolengs

The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel C. Okoh, has been conferred with the Honorary Fellowship of the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered).

Okoh received the honour at the 2026 Annual National Management Conference of the Institute, held to mark 65 years of management excellence in Nigeria.

The conference, themed “Sixty-Five Years of Management Excellence: Strengthening Institutional Governance in Nigeria,” brought together past presidents of NIM, principal officers, fellows, management professionals and invited guests.

In his acceptance speech, Archbishop Okoh expressed profound gratitude to the President and Chairman of Council of NIM, Commodore Abimbola Ayuba (Rtd), and the entire leadership of the Institute for finding him worthy of the distinction.

“I receive this recognition not merely as a personal distinction, but as a call to greater service, greater responsibility and a renewed commitment to the values of excellence, integrity and nation-building,” he said.

The CAN President congratulated NIM on its 65th anniversary, noting that the Institute has played a significant role in shaping management thought, developing professional capacity and promoting standards of excellence across organizations in Nigeria.

Speaking on the state of the nation, Archbishop Okoh said Nigeria is at a critical point in its journey, blessed with enormous human and natural resources and a vibrant youthful population, yet still contending with institutional weakness, leadership deficits, corruption and poor service delivery.

“The greatness of a nation is ultimately determined by the quality of its institutions and the people who manage them,” he stated.

Drawing a link between faith and management, the Archbishop noted that the Church is not only a spiritual institution but also one that manages people, resources, schools, hospitals, universities and humanitarian programmes.

He referenced the biblical principle of stewardship, citing the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, to underscore the need for faithful and responsible management.

“What is entrusted to us must not be wasted; it must be developed, multiplied and used for the common good,” he said.

Archbishop Okoh accepted the fellowship on behalf of the Christian Association of Nigeria and the wider Christian community, describing it as an encouragement to continue promoting leadership anchored on integrity, service, accountability, excellence and the fear of God.

He urged NIM to enter its next chapter with renewed determination to build institutions that are ethical, efficient, resilient and innovative.

“Nigeria does not lack resources. Nigeria does not lack intelligent people. Nigeria does not lack ideas. What we need is the discipline to manage our resources wisely, the integrity to manage them transparently, the competence to manage them efficiently, and the leadership courage to manage them in the interest of the common good,” Okoh concluded.