Several years ago, it was difficult to understand why Sir Joseph Ntung Ari was fond of this particular phrase and had it hung on all the office doors of organizations where he had worked: ‘This too shall pass away’. If you went to visit him, as you made to enter his office you were greeted with this. It was not for fun, if you must know.
Except for those who read and understood what it meant, for a number they may have dismissed it as gibberish; it didn’t make any sense to them. But be that as it may, the reason for it was to keep reminding whoever that came to visit that success in life came from God; no matter how hard we put in our best.
Herein is established the ammunition with which he has used to shoot his way through the ladder of success. It was ‘an Eastern monarch once’ reported to have ‘charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: ‘And this, too, shall pass away’.
Right from time, Ari should be counted a lucky man: His capacity for sheer patience after it was apparent there were forces bent on scheming him out of ‘relevance’ some years ago, saw him being catapulted to the position of the Chief Executive Officer of the nation’s Industrial Training Fund (ITF). What better description could you ascribe that to other than God’s plans; for even if you say he is a cat with nine lives, it could be safe to conclude that the stakes were prepared by the Almighty Himself.
The Talmudic saying: Truth is self-evident. When you do the right thing, it cannot weaken you’ has made Sir Ari no quitter. Truth is, since becoming the Director General of the Industrial Training Fund; those who know the good that has happened to the organization say he has continued to act with a sense of titanium firmness. To quote the American poet, Robert Frost: Two roads diverged in a wood and I-I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference’.  
It has been an uphill struggle to stay afloat; and put side by side with Theravada Buddhism proverb described above; it is a lesson to rely upon to succeed. This is more certain when one considers one of his favourite Bible verses in Exodus 14:13: And Moses said to the people, Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.
If his life experience has been a lesson; and which greatly is, then there is nothing wrong aiming high. To be put off is to have been defeated; and such is not to be mentioned near him. Nothing can be worth emulating and celebrating than to rise from the bottom of his career to an exceptional peak, where he has used all God-given opportunities in more ways than one to affect and impact lives positively. Even if you are not in league with him on this, know that, it will be an uphill task to want to change that disposition.
At the time President Muhammadu Buhari appointed about 13 chief executives of federal agencies in 2016, Sir Joseph Ntung Ari was one of them. He took the assignment with equanimity, assuring staff and indeed critical stakeholders that the Fund has a responsibility to change the economic fortunes of the nation, if its mandate is to be properly followed. He stuck to that, without wavering.
Looking at the history of the 49 years old organization, some seasoned administrators had sat in the saddle. It will be instructive to note that he was just 11 years old when the Fund was founded. They certainly left marks of different shapes and sizes, but fair enough, the shoes he stepped into four years ago were not too big as to enable him walk well to succeed in creating the space for different innovations.
But there was one thing he needed to address quickly. Knowing him he went to work with a passion that confounded many for: ‘On assumption, the workforce was restive, and the workers’ unions at daggers drawn with the management as a result of a combination of high-handedness and outright negligence by the immediate past management. Apart from the workforce, other external stakeholders also openly expressed dissatisfaction with the Fund’s services’.
About two weeks after assumption of office, something never conceptualized before by his predecessors; Sir Joseph Ari, embarked on a tour to all ITF Area Offices nationwide. That tour was an eye-opener in several respects to the new Director General: At the time his appointment was made, the difficulties of a nation going through economic recession were sufficient to test his time-tested expertise to use the mandate of the Fund (job creation, wealth, skills acquisition and self reliance) in cushioning the effects through various models of skills acquisition programmes created to turn the fortunes of Nigerians.
To get things working, he got and assured staff that he ‘came back to ITF to work, where hard work, punctuality, creativity, inputs by all members of staff will be noticed and in certainty recognized. I came back to heal wounds whereby all staff will be treated equally, irrespective of religion and tribe’. That completed, the transformation of the Fund to the colossus in has become in the last four years was the setting up of ‘ITF Reviewed Vision: Strategies for Mandate Actualisation. The implementation of the six-year plan, which was divided into quick wins, medium and long-term goals commenced in late 2016 and will terminate in 2022’.
Was he prepared for the new assignment? The question does not need any answer. If there was any one Nigerian who should have been handed the reins of power at the Fund when it came, picking Ari for the post put paid to all calculations. He was ‘at different times the Director of Administration and Human Resources Department, Corporate Planning Department and the Business Training Development Department at the ITF Headquarters’, and at some point, ’Chairman of the Fund’s Training and Research Committee (T&RC) of Management’.
Despite facing nerve racking challenges on assumption of duty, the fact that he joined the Fund with an incredible reservoir of public service experience largely accumulated during his tour of duty at various organizations; and rising to the peak of his civil service career as the Permanent Secretary to the Plateau State Government House, before long; and indeed, having had a firsthand understanding of how the mandate of the Fund could be achieved; he had made impact on the Fund, to the admiration of staff and stakeholders without doubt.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire for job creation and poverty eradication have spurred the Fund in that direction as to be able to exceed the expectations of training about half a million Nigerians, ‘who are today earning sustainable livelihoods as paid employees, or as entrepreneurs that are employing others’.
Four years down the line, a lot of things have happened; and they are for the better for Nigerians. The Fund whose operations under the watchful eyes of Ari have been standardized is certified ISO 9001:2015 could not have had a better Director General, what with the needed impact it has continued to create and make as spelt out in its mandate.  
Whether we are talking about: National Industrial Skills Development Programme, (NISDP), Women Skills Empowerment Programme (WOSEP), Training on Wheels and the Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP), Construction Skills Empowerment Programme, CONSEP, Passion to Profession Programme (P2PP), Infotech Skills Empowerment Programme and ITF Model Skills Training Center among several other initiatives, which have been either expanded and or introduced newly have captured sufficient grounds to take into consideration skills acquisition schemes for all categories of Nigerians.
For the first time in the history of the Fund, it ‘organised the National Skills Summit which attracted over 500 participants from different sectors of the Nigerian economy including the academia. The summit, which provided a veritable platform for the articulation of specific strategies for developing employable skills in Nigeria also discussed the application of best practices for aligning skills development to market needs, spotlight and bring to public domain topical issues that have skills development implications and/or requiring skills interventions, bring together skills development agencies and practitioners to exchange ideas and facilitate professional networking and technical collaboration, propound policy guidelines for skills development, and identify and assess existing skills development and labour market contexts in Nigeria’.
The Director General has not lacked fresh ideas; as several have been brought to bear. Numerous trade areas were covered giving those who may ordinarily feel they cannot be considered a place. Such areas include: Event Management, Cosmetology, Poultry Farming, Bead Making, Baking and Pastry, Soap/Disinfectant/Detergent Making, Hair Making, Food Processing, Tailoring and Fashion Design, Tie and Dye and Electrical Installations. Such other areas are: Brick Making, Plaster of Paris, Tiling, Electrical Installation and Carpentry. The list is not exhaustive, as there are needs and Nigerians available to prove their industry.
Hard work and loyalty are his middle name. With staff members fully integrated and motivated for optimal performance through various training programmes as well as several welfare packages made available in copious measures, history has been kind to him to leave indelible footprints.
Sir Joseph Ntung Ari, Knight of Saint Sylvester (KSS), father of five boys, married to delectable Lady Victoria Selben Ari; is not a man to pull out of a challenge. Passionately prepared, he is determined to go on another round of serving to fulfill ITF’s ‘mandate of providing, promoting and encouraging the acquisition of skills in industry and commerce to generate a pool of indigenous trained manpower sufficient to meet the needs of the private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy’.
Even in this too, God shall order your steps!