AigbojeAig-Imoukhuede. PHOTO: alchetron.com
Chairman, Africa Initiative for Governance, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, has attributed Nigeria’s problems to a failed public service sector, characterised by poor performance and self-interest.
In a goodwill message on Tuesday at the quarterly civil service lecture series, with the theme, “Civil Service in a Change Environment: The Change is Now” at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he noted: “At the root of so many of our nation’s problems are public servants who are unable to impact and transform the lives of Nigerians despite the immense power of public policy within their grasp.”
Aig-Imoukhuede said the civil service ought to be the nation’s first line of defence against most of the challenges that had held it back over the years.
“If our first line of defence is weak, we will constantly fight losing battles,” he added.
The former Access Bank Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer particularly wondered why “we produce crude oil yet we import refined products. We spend tens of billions of U.S. dollars on power yet we struggle to produce 3,000 megawatts of electricity.”
He continued: “The Head of Service, along with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Executive arm represented at the very top by the Acting-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, is leading a call for change – where our public service moves from mediocre to exceptional performance.”
This paradigm shift, he explained, could only occur with transformation at the top, taking a collective decision, today, to draw a line in the sand and say “it is time for a new Nigeria where petrol is pumped out of local refineries and the barber in Obalende does not need to invest in a generator before he can earn his livelihood.”
Osinbajo also lamented the level of development in the land, saying despite modest gains recorded by it, the civil service had remained at its lowest ebb owing to corruption.
According to the Acting President, the system, which in the past firmly stood against injustice and high-handedness among others during the military era, suddenly came crashing when civil servants began to see their functions as means to achieving personal aggrandisement at the expense of the public good.
His words: “It was the judiciary that told the military then that while it may make laws, those laws should still respect the inalienable rights of the people as enshrined in international human right conventions to which the country had voluntarily acceded.
“These were individuals without guns, just sitting down on platforms up there in the court to hold the military responsible.
“Despite the criticisms that civil servants are subjected to, I am sure that you know that sometimes civil servants are described as ‘evil servants’ but you must take heart, the best profession are usually the most criticised, but I must say that the wholesome privilege of public service is very easily abused or taken for granted. The public service elite represent as we have seen the most important factor in mass development.
“The power to do great good or evil lies with a few people who form what we refer to as our civil service. When some in such an elite see the opportunity as one for self-enrichment by corrupt practices, then the nation faces a monumental tragedy.”
The Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oya-Ita, berated the media, saying they only project the shortcomings of the service and downplay its modest achievements.
She said the service had been in the vanguard of national cohesion and smooth transition of power from one government to another government, be it military or civilian administration.
According to Oyo-Ita, the service, under her leadership, would chart a new course driven by efficiency, productivity, transparency and interest of citizens.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2mN94bc
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