Going by what I know of Firo, within the short span of our knowing each other at the NGF, which, cumulatively would be a little over five years, she (Mama-Firo) is a rolling stone.
Her globe-trotting employment history gives teeth to the above assertion. Firo has worked in the world’s biggest logistic company in the USA and later Dubai before berthing at the NGF. Technically, Firo brings home to Nigeria, the style known to be the sole property of an expatriate.
She is a workaholic, a consummate technocrat, and wordlessly unassuming. This is noticeable in the way she delivers her assignments. The testimony of the technical partners that came to wish Firo success in her future endeavor, at the farewell dinner organized by the Executive Director, Research and Strategy, Alhaji Abdullateef Shittu, spoke volumes.
Three, including BOI’s Aisha, ??? spoke and each attested to Firo’s penchant, in whatever she does, for getting the best outcomes.
So, when Firo decided that she was bidding her final farewell to the NGF family, not many drifted far from the fact that Firo is on the roll again, but all are sure that whatever Firo is setting her sights on, is the best for her.
I call Firo Mama Firo, not as an imitation of her adorable son, Mikaya, but because whenever there is a project in the NGF, she breaks in at the most inauspicious time and suggests a correction.
She starts by jokingly implying the correction and as things progressed, her mood changes from friendly to dexterous, and eventually if her suggestion is not effected, assumes the mother figure leading to her walking away with a firm and resolute indication that it is her way or the highway. And that works.
The NGF will miss Firo. Her ability to organize at short notice, and her determination to ensure that all opinions are discussed in a brainstorming session and the best chosen, put a stamp of authority on Firo’s performance but all of that is nothing compared to her dedication to outstanding outcomes.NGF has benefitted immensely from Firo’s global experience. To call her confident or courageous is to belittle her stature in the workplace.
She had organized different global programmes of the NGF from the governors’ induction to the China trip of 2018, flowing down to the NGFs participation at the AIM Conference in Dubai in 2022.
Without a doubt, Firo has come to the NGF, seen and. In the comments at Chopsticks where Firo, in tears, heard the valedictories of her colleagues, it became obvious that she was leaving behind a family that will always be happy to, anytime she re-emerges, open their doors to her.
As part of the reform team that the management of the Forum put together and as secretary of the Delivery Unit, she proved beyond any iota of doubt that she would be hard to replace at any workplace which does not possess the eagle-eye- scrutiny of the NGF that people go through before they are engaged.
The NGF wishes her success in her future endeavor, and will never forget that when the highway becomes the right way, one would have been talking to Firo.