Gentle men and Ladies,

I am very delighted to once again welcome you to the Nigerian Facilities Management Roundtable; an annual industry-led event sponsored by our organizations in commemoration of the World Facilities Management Day. The World FM Day has been earmarked internationally by Global FM to celebrate the achievements of Facilities Managers around the world and raise awareness for the Facilities Management industry.

In the past three years, our organization has through this event, led a movement to place Nigeria’s Facilities Management sector on the global stage by seeking to promote global standards in our industry and creating awareness for the FM practice. As evident here today, this initiative has been received with warm embrace here in Nigeria and globally acknowledged by institutional Facilities Management bodies such as the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA), British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) and Global FM.

It is therefore fulfilling to know that the objectives of this event are being met at different levels which include the public and private sector, and the consciousness of the role of Facilities Management in business profitability is on the rise. So permit me to express my appreciation to the Nigerian Chapter of IFMA and BIFM, and allied professional institutions like Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Nigerian Institute of Architects and Nigerian Institute of Building for their continued efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s built sector for this purpose.

As announced by Global FM, the theme for this year’s commemoration is “Building Resilience for the Future”. Giving the current economic mood of Nigeria and the dwindling oil revenue, this theme is especially instructive in the wake of our current political dispensation and Nigeria’s quest to strengthen its non-oil sector and consolidate its continental leadership position.

The big question we hope to answer here today is how the Real Estate and Facilities Management (REFM) experts and other professionals in the built environment, intend to build such resilience in their respective sphere of influence and continue to guarantee Nigeria’s place in the global economic scheme of things.

According to a recent Business Day editorial, Nigeria’s infrastructure spend is estimated to hit $350 billion by 2020. Also, a recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimates that Real Estate will contribute about $13.65 billion of Nigeria’s current $510 billion rebased economy in 2016. Going by this revelation, this equates to about 2.68% of the total GDP. This is a far cry from the minimum of 5% recorded by most industrialized nations.

Therefore, for Nigeria to meet its vision 2020, a lot still needs to be done in the areas of improved public infrastructure to drive the required positive change in the REFM industry and the general living condition of the average Nigerian.

It is therefore incumbent on all of us here today to help the country develop a road map to economic prosperity by coming up with strategies and blue prints that are capable of channeling the Real Estate and infrastructure opportunities in Nigeria for the economic benefit of the nation.

To this end, we consider the recent announcement of the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) in Nigeria, a welcome development. It is our strong believe that the presence of institutions like this in the country will go a long way in strengthening the REFM industry.

Ladies and Gentle, permit me to use this opportunity to congratulate the first set of BIFM executives in Nigeria. I will like to introduce our own GM Corporate Services, Mrs. Wale Odufalu who is now the first Chair of the institution, and ably supported by some of the best minds in Real Estate and Facilities Management in Nigeria. I have no doubt that BIFM on the shoulders of these individuals will take the advocacy for global standards and practices to the next level.

At another level, the theme of this event is also relevant to the Nigeria’s business environment. In the current economic dispensation, cost saving is the first instinct of most organizations seeking to engage professional facilities management services. While we understand that this is a natural response to the global economic order, this theme comes as a caution to both practioners and Facilities Management customers not to compromise the economic prosperity, social integration and environmental responsibilities of all stakeholders. This is usually referred to as the 3 Pillars of the triple bottom line objectives of meeting the needs of people, planet, and profit of all stakeholders.

I enjoin you all to be driven by these tenets of sustainability in your various sessions today and take the learnings back to your various institutions and organizations for implementation.

Finally, it is no news that all over the world, the continued existence of the environment is constantly threatened by global warming and other environmental issues. Building Resilience for the Future is therefore a call on all stakeholders to begin to act responsibly towards the environment in their quest to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

As I close, may I remind you all that this roundtable has been structured into six sectors of Real Estate Owners and Investors, Real Estate and Facilities Management Professional Services, Telecommunications, Oil and Gas, Financial services and government and public sectors in order enrich the quality of discussion and ensure a focused approach to the strategies and resolutions that will be published in the 2015 edition of our annual compendium.

I also wish to express our profound gratitude to all those who have supported us in this endeavor in the past three years. Particularly, I will like to acknowledge the support of the current deputy governor of Lagos State, Dr. Oluranti Adebule, who is a two-time keynote speaker of this event. We wish her a very successful tenure. Also, we thank our technical partners, Cluttons-UK and Johnson Controls, our professional colleagues in the REFM industry, our customers in the public and private sectors, the media, and all other relevant stakeholders.

Lastly, I wish to salute the courage of the Board, Management and Staff of Alpha Mead Facilities & Management Services Ltd for sustaining our vision of being the biggest and best Facilities Management country in Nigeria, with strong presence across major cities in Africa. I will also like to commend the efforts of the organizing team that have worked to coordinate and put this program together.

On this note Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish you all a fruitful and rewarding deliberation at this roundtable. While I wish you a Happy World FM Day, I invite the Chair of BIFM Nigeria, Wale Odufalu, to deliver a goodwill message on behalf of BIFM CEO, Mr. Gareth Tancred.

Thank you.