Mrs. Chinwe Ezenwa is a technocrat and core public servant who retired from active service few years ago amid and pleasant. Although she retired as Director in the Federal Ministry of Transport, she was appointed an Acting Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in 2009, following the controversial exit of the then MD, Engr. Yakubu Zubairu.

Carved out for disciple, result and mileage, Ezenwa brought to bare NIWA, the benefits for her core carrier credentials. With her brief stint, she practically turned the fortune of the authority around, even as she radically altered the work culture of staff by instilling discipline and knocking everything back in shape. Rather than live in Abuja and drive to work at Lokoja, the Kogi State Capital head office of the agency as was the order of the day hitherto, Ezenwa settled in Lokoja as her official base. A new work order was ultimately entrenched, where workers no matter how big, were obliged to report to work at the official base. A new work order was ultimately entrenched, where workers no matter how big, were obliged to report to work at the official 8am resumption time.

Soon after understudying the place, she began a corrective order by insisting that job properly and responsibly delegated in addition to demanding specified time frame for results. The work atmosphere took a new dimension as she worked long hours after the official closing time. Mrs. Ezenwa dusted the authority’s financial books that had gathered dust over the years, and quickly identified specific transactions that needed attention but hitherto neglected. One of such was a huge debt profile owed the authority by corporate clients. She led a team of the authority’s finance staff to recover the monies as that ran into several billions of naira, for jobs it executed on behalf of the debtors.

Next, she turned her attention on other areas of assets and infrastructure refurbishment and recovery, by repairing and overhauling many of the authority’s vessel that had become moribund for many years.

Mrs. Ezenwa far exceeded her mandate to reserve the fortune of NIWA by also setting standards and maintaining discipline and upping productivity. Following the above sterling and exemplary leadership style, stakeholders mobilized and efforts to get the government to extend her mandate appointment and to seek that she be confirmed as the substantive MD, NIWA.

Her core service carrier sense of discipline however made it impossible for her to respond to the above overture, and she left NIWA back to the Ministry with her head held high. She returned as Director of Coastal Services in the FMOT, leaving a trail blazer and a testimonial of courage, hardwork, dedication, discipline and self-esteem for youths and young women of later generations.