By Moses Siloko Siasia
In the words of the great English poet and philosopher, Williams Shakespeare, some are born great; others achieve greatness while some have greatness thrust upon them by divine providence. In the thinking of some transformational leadership scholars, greatness is nothing until it is put to productive use with the aim being to enhance the fortunes of men and women while improving the essence of humanity and for the greater betterment of the larger society.
Engr. Simbi Wabote represents that pure essence of greatness having been endowed with a divine ability to lead men and women. In the same vein, he has been thrust with a mandate of harnessing resources towards the advancement of society through his numerous work, in several different capacities, which culminated into a bigger responsibility of championing local content administration in Nigeria’s boisterous oil & gas industry as the Executive Secretary Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) appointed by Nigeria’s President Muhammad Buhari (GCFR) on the 29th of September 2016.
Engr Wabote was born on the 2nd of February 1966 and attended the Rivers State University of Science and Technology where he bagged a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He later attended the Leeds Metropolitan University where he earned a master’s degree.
His career journey has been filled with an amazing scale of responsibilities and even great achievements. His passion for progress has seen him lead groundbreaking projects with outstanding accomplishments. Before he was appointed Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr Wabote had served in Shell Petroleum in deferent roles and capacities until attaining the position of Executive Director.
He joined Shell after having worked in the Banking Industry which provided him a diversified scope and enhanced skill set. He joined Shell as an Oil & Gas Engineer in 1991. Engr Wabote’s stay at Shell was a remarkable journey that prepared him for the realities of his leadership responsibilities today. At Shell, he served meritoriously in several positions as General Manager Business and Government relations, in Engineering, Contracting, and Procurement, and as Shell Head of Division for the Eastern Region.
To his credit, Engr Wabote led the effort for the development of Royal Dutch Shell’s local Content Strategy and framework and he also oversaw Shell Local Content implementation across several countries such as Nigeria, Gabon, Brunei, OMAN, Iraq, Australia, and others.
As this great son of Niger-Delta and Bayelsa state marks a landmark 55 year birthday, it is time to toast to his great achievements and many more to his life of outstanding service to our country and the world at large. We wish him more years of meritorious services to our country, as a trailblazer. In leading the local content administration in Africa, it is a desire that his giant strides would continue to transform our continent and impact positively the oil-producing regions.
Engr. Wabote can be said to have been born great, achieved greatness, and have greatness thrust upon him in all equal measures, and this he has put into productive use as he has helped to enhance the fortunes of men and women while improving the essence of humanity and for the greater betterment of the larger society.
So, here is wishing a happy birthday to an icon of industry, a quintessential gentleman, Trailblazer, Great Achiever, Goal Getter and a great Nigerian champion of Local Content.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A GREAT NIGERIAN!!!
