The negative impacts of improper information and records management has again resonated as Dr. Oyewole Oyedokun, president, Records and Information Management Awareness (RIMA), Foundation, describing the trend as the basic causes of high corruption index recoded in both public and private organizations
Oyedokun made the remark during RIMA Foundation quarterly training held last weekend in Lagos, decrying poor attitude of organizations towards proper information management which leads to financial loses also.
“In any organization, there is need for information flow management to delegate who see, uses or handles a particular document or record. We have seen the Federal Government embarrassed because a particular document or record fell on the wrong hands or on the wrong table.
“Organizations are also losing businesses, reputation and contacts because they failed to keep accurate data or information via their records management system. Thus, information management in Africa and in the future requires change in management skills,” the RIMA President said.
Oyedokun who is also the president and chairman of the Board, Institute of Information Management-Africa (IIM-Africa), called for more education and sensitization on the Continent, adding that political wills to adhere strictly to the core issues of information management must be awaken to address the challenges.
On the sidelines of career opportunities in the industry, he said that Africa and Nigeria in particular has no reason not to leverage on over 200 job descriptions available in the profession.
“Today, records and information managers are pillars, upon which companies that value to process, stand on to attract investments and dispense duties quicker. We are lamenting about unemployment in Africa, but this profession is such that can create 200,000 distinct opportunities.
“We have no reason for our teeming youths to continue roam around the streets looking for job, or for others to take up arms damaging properties and maiming lives; through RIMA Foundation and IIM-Africa, we can address so many challenges facing the society” he added.
Oyedokun described an information management professional as an individual who preserves, organizes, and preserves information for future use, added that they can operate in any field of human endeavor, especially in the era of big data where data and information are required urgently.
He added that proper information and records management is in the heart of every successful government or organization.