The Civil Service Commission and the civil servants

The Civil Service Commission of a country is saddled with the authority to appoint, transfer and to exercise disciplinary control over all Civil Servants under the commission. This sort of appointment is commonly referred to ‘Government Work’ while the Civil Servants are called ‘Government Workers’.

From the 50’ to the early 90’s, the Civil Service Commission was easily the largest employer of labour into different government ministries. The biggest attraction to joining the service was the expected payment of gratuity (one off ) and pension (monthly payment) after retirement. It was (and still is in many instances) so appealing that parents regarded ‘government work’ as the right type of job for their children. The job was held in such high esteem that till date even in my early 30s, my parents still call praying thus (I will translate to English because the prayer in said in my mother tongue) “I pray that you people will get government job that will pay you pension …”.

Sometimes in 2016, when my dad called and repeated the popular demand prayer, I couldn’t hold back anymore, but solicited for a redirected prayer point for my siblings and I. Dad please pray that “God should bless your children in their various careers and let them reap the good of the land”. Enough of the government job and pension matter, in fact I have a Retirement Savings Account with a PFA even as a private sector worker so it’s not only the government that pays pension now”, I said angrily. Furthermore, “People have sojourned in this Lagos and have made it for life so key into that grace for us and stop the prayer of limitation”, I enthused. In his usual calm and gentility, he accepted and we ended the conversation.

Granted, the civil service is perhaps the most important administrative system which acts as an indispensable tool for governance. The civil service should be a very strong and productive part of the economy. The civil service is the life wire that plays pivotal roles in creating the enabling environment vis-à-vis the regulatory machineries necessary for the private sector and indeed the government to operate optimally for the overall wellbeing of the nation and the citizenry. It creates values by originating, facilitating, and implementing policies that push the economy in the right direction as well as creating enterprises and providing services that serve the public good.

The sheer importance alone of the civil service function should make it a highly competitive sector with the best brains from across the country vying for a place in the different ministries. Working in the civil service should naturally be very attractive and based on competitive edge, comparative advantage and innovations. Ironically the aforementioned are missing as there is little or no competitive advantage or innovation that would attract a fraction of the population. Therefore people in ‘government work’ take government jobs with so much laxity. The uncomfortable truth remains that Nigerians hustle for jobs in government agencies so they can ghost in and out while running their private businesses. The porosity in the system is disheartening and worrisome.

An encounter with workers in government agencies for certain basic documentations (voters’ card, national identity card, international passport, etc) can be frustrating, infuriating and everything inbetween. You are practically expected to bribe your way to get anything from the agencies. This makes the system unattractive to young talented and brilliant Nigerians and the commission is thus less productive and Nigeria and Nigerians as a whole receive the short end of the stick of economic development and growth.

Let’s tell ourselves the truth, the civil service had problems. It battles widespread corruption, weak governance structure, lack of accountability and waste. In many instances the basic work tools are unavailable. There invariably lead to extremely poor attitude to work, so people resume late and close early because it is government job. In addition, ‘Godfatherism’ is another major issue to battle in the commission. Jobs are given based on political connections. The not-so-recent recruitment into the CBN, NNPC and other supposedly lucrative government establishment comes to mind. The blowback is that little if any disciplinary actions can be taken against these ‘political appointees.’

The resultant effect is poor productivity in the civil service. The commission urgently needs to contend with these issues.

Sadly, in spite of the poor productivity (or perhaps because of it) many are very quick to seize every opportunity to demand for bribes at the junior levels while at the top, it is both the collection of bribes and embezzlement of allocations or project funds. The few that are sincere and diligent about the work are invariably perceived are saboteurs.

Reports indicate that a lot of workers in the civil service tend to be technologically backward - you visit a government agency and find unused computer gadgets because the personnel lack the technical know-how. In this age and time when private sectors are embracing modern technologies daily and retraining personnel, the civil service appears to be making little or no effort in this regard. Sometimes even when budget exists to cater for those items, the powers that be diverts such and no one queries.

Undoubtedly, it is very bothersome that capable hands that should be employed into the civil service are roaming the streets because they do have no ‘connections’ to get there. This should not be so. Recruitment into the service must be open and transparent at all times. The best must be able to serve the nation, if that is what they desire.

To move forward as a nation deliberate steps must be taken to orient both old and new recruits into the commission on what is expected of them detailing the roles and proper job etiquette. They must be made to know they are the ambassadors of the government and the people look up to them.

Indeed, beyond the famed job security and the assured pension at retirement, civil servants must be empowered to the job that they are employed to do, in terms of productivity tools and necessary trainings. Equally stringent measures should be employed to discipline erring staff regardless of their political affiliations. This is how to begin to sanitise the system. It would also make the service more attractive and the work force more productive.

When the civil service is functioning optimally, they contribute to make governance work more effectively and the impact more widely felt. Civil service reform should not be a byeword for retrenchment of workers. It should be about positioning the service for greater productivity. It should also be constantly on-going.

The task to reform and transform the civil service, consistently and constantly, is one the commission must devote it greatest energies to. Adejumoh wrote this piece from Lagos