Why the rot in Nigeria civil service

It is the tradition that whenever a new government whether autocratic or democratic is formed, they come along with their agenda, policies and programmes. As the most vital machinery of government, it is the responsibility of the Civil Service to drive the implementation of these policies and programmes because; a committed civil service is the best vehicle for carrying out and explaining to the people the policies and intentions of government.

According to Warren Fisher in his report of the British Royal Commission on the Civil Service in 1929: “Determination of policy is the function of Ministers; and once a policy is determined, it is unquestioned and unquestionable business of the civil servant to strive to carry out that policy with precisely the same good will, whether he agrees with it or not”.

In other words, the basic roles of Civil Service and civil servant are to assist the government in the formulation of policy by providing the necessary data, implement the decisions (that is, the approved policies) without fear or favour, and ensure that when advising government the civil servant sets out the wider and more enduring considerations against the exigencies of the moment so that the conveniences of today do not become the embarrassment of tomorrow.

According to several historians, the first true bureaucracies arose in response to the need to regulate water in the great river valleys, particularly those of the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, the Indus and the Yellow River. If these water sources supplied the lifeblood of the civilisations they nurtured, those who monitored their flow and supervised their distribution into complex irrigation systems constituted the lifeblood of government. In the millennia that have since passed, this characteristic has remained as the functions of government have multiplied.

Governments themselves have changed and evolved new forms of organisation, management and supervision, motivation and remuneration, some functional in terms of serving the needs of their peoples, some catastrophic in their inefficiency, greed, or oppression. Over the last eight years or thereabout, I have had the opportunity of studying the Nigerian Civil Service at close quarters and reflecting on its critical role in national development. It is apt to conclude that the service as presently constituted possesses neither the capacity nor readiness to be in the frontline of government service delivery to the public.

It is on record that the performance of the Civil Service in its policy and technical support to government and the delivery of service to the public in the period from the colonial era up to the mid 1970s, was of high standard, even by international comparison. The high rating in both effectiveness and efficiency was at both the Federal and Regional/State levels. From the mid1970s, however, the performance of the service began to deteriorate progressively and this dismal performance has since peaked at a scandalous level. Some of the critical factors responsible for this debilitating state of affairs include the absence of key modern competences and skilled human capital resources.

The recent reinstatement of National Health Insurance Scheme, DG, Prof. Usman Yusuf by President Muhammadu Buhari, is “another dent on the anti-corruption war.” and probably pointing to the fact that he is not guilty of any act of corruption, it is even weakening the civil service of the federation, that maybe the reason for the decision carried out by the government of the federation. I may not say right away that this has conveyed the right signal with regards to the anti-corruption war. I would rather say that it is possible that due process was followed and that maybe he was vindicated. It is my believe that government will explain the reason for its action in due course; it is still not too late for that. Now that several Nigerians are reacting, otherwise the government of the day has entrenched corruption in the country. But, I think the government will explain its action.

After all, this is administration that is fighting corruption, now it is an illusion. This is an administration that has been accusing other regimes of looting the treasury, but it has not been able to impartially curb corruption, improve the economy or protect the lives of the citizens, it is necessary for the government to explain to Nigerians what happened so that Nigerians will have a full understanding about the issues involved and what justification government has to reinstate the DG. This will go a long way to reassure Nigerians of the commitment of the current administration of fighting corruption. It will also assure Nigerians that this government does not sweep allegation of corruption under the carpet. The government need to explain some of these things and not take things for granted.

People need to be enlightened about all these and we too need to be patient to allow the Federal Government explain to Nigerians why some of these and other similar decision were taken, likes of issue of the former Chairman of Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms Task Team, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina, which was reinstated in the civil service and made a Director despite being on the run for alleged N2b. I believe that the right thing will be done at the right time. The government must not do anything that will make Nigerians lose confidence in its commitment to fight against corruption. I think that the government is taking note of the public reactions to this latest development and I believe that the government will not take any action that will make people think they are not serious with the anti-corruption war.

For government policies and national development strategies to have any impact, the Nigerian civil service needs to be subjected to significant root and branch reform that is revolutionary in nature as against successive reforms of the past that were no more than addressing the symptoms rather than the cause. The Nigerian civil service as the leading government bureaucracy that makes conducting private business difficult needs innovatory and ground-breaking makeover that will lead to a more effective and productive public sector that will support the private sector led economic transformation strategy.

Social justice demands that we at all times make the correlation between superior living standards and quality of life, and the need for a more effective and more productive civil service. However, a strong civil service does not in any way imply a bulky civil service, just like a strong Armed Forces does not mean a huge Armed Forces. A strong civil service is one that is efficient, forward-looking and seeks to excel. Such a service has an organizational culture that is responsible, innovative and serviceoriented.

Without a strong and forward-looking civil service, the private sector will be unable to achieve its own potential. A strong civil service is an unconditional prerequisite for a strong academia, a superb educational system and regulatory and structural reforms in different market sectors.

Orunbon, a public affairs wrote in from Epe, Lagos State, (orunbonibrahimademola@gmail.com) analyst, Nigeria