Ogochukwu Eberinwa
Lecturer,
Department of
Public Administration
Federal
Polytechnic, Oko.
Email:
eberinwa@yahoo.com
Abstract
Since Nigeria
Introduction
The term
civil service, mean the administrative structure employed in the fulfillment of
government policies and programmes. The study of Nigerian public service can be
compared like the study of emergence of the state in its forms. Although, much
of the organizational sociology concentrated on the impact of large sea
organizations and the power structure of the society, very few try to address the
issue of the relation between the state and the civil service.
The dominant
tradition has it that the civil service is a necessary response to, if not a
pre-requisite for the modern society with its rational legal structures. Most
scholars in this tradition thus focus analytical search light on whether civil
service, despite its dimension, is still an administrative apparatus for the
implementation of social goals, or whether it has lost its instrumental
character in dictating the general goals to be pursued.
The
evolution and development of the civil service in Nigeria
The Structures of
the Nigerian Civil Service before 1999 Reform
The Nigerian
Post-Colonial Civil Service developed from the British colonial Administrative
Service. Thus, the basic structural features have evolved on the British model
of Civil Service. This is a class structure in which the Civil Service is
divided into four main categories corresponding to the general educational
standards. Thus, the categories of staff in the service are the
administrative/professional and scientific/Research/officers, the executive and
higher Technical and secretaries’ officers, the electrical and technical class,
and the sub-clerical and managerial.
The
organization of the civil service follows broadly the weberian presentations of
a tall and rigid hierarchy division of labour (responsibility) as manifested in
the compartmentalization of ministries and departments around broadly defined
functional areas, the existence of formal rules and regulations (general
orders, later civil service rules) which must be adhered to, and atmosphere of
impersonal relationship and enormity. Planning was therefore the tool for
galvanizing national development, supported and driven by government which
ensured that the attention of the whole civil service was focused year after
year on its implementation through the annual budgetary mechanism. All the
programmes and projects to be executed under the Plan across all States of the
Federation were collected and put into a public domain. Civil Service is
referred to public as put forward by Abdulsalami, (1984:221):
“Servant who and
direct employees of the Federal and Stale government other than the public, the
Armed forces, the judiciary, the Teachers and the Statutory corporation
personnel “.
The civil service is an important tool or machinery that
government federal, state across the country and globe in general use in
putting their programmes in effect or action. It is the major component used by
the government to implement its policies, actions and programmes.
The
structure of the civil service comprises of the ministries and departments.
Others are extra ministerial departments and parastatals of government
bureaucrats, and the professionals who work in them. Its importance is such
that even other bodies (such as the Military, Para-Military and the
parastatals.) which are also used to implement specific objectives or aspects
of government policies are themselves guided and controlled through the civil
service” Philip (1988:1).
Therefore,
if such be the case it could be reasonable to argue that there is a strong
connection between the condition of a country and the performance of its civil
service. That is there is a strong sense in which a Country is a close
reflection of the effectiveness, efficiency, and sensitivity of its civil
service (Ibid). It then follows that for the country to experience the best of
its civil service, that services must keep up with the societal dynamics taking
place in the country as well as reflects the country diversity in it Bande
(2001). However, the Nigerian civil service had series of changes and reforms
since its inception. It may not be an exaggeration to suggest that military
rule had caused number of problems, such as the collapse of public sector,
institutions and the process of administering them. Since the return of civil
administration in 1999, after a long period of Military interregnum, the
Nigerian civil service, as part of the wider society, undergoes some processes
of adjustments. Babaru (2003) posits:
“The
Nigerian civil service has been undergoing gradual and systematic reforms and
structuring since May, 1999 after decades of Military era (Briggs, 2007:147)”
Conceptualizing
the 1999-2009 Reforms
The general
reforms embarked upon by the civil service administration would suggest the
world wide triumph of market force as dominant means of resource allocation in
the society. This was a fall out of the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the ascendance of capitalism over forces opposed to it
and previews rival means of resource management and allocation in the world.
This, market ideology is built upon the belief that a strict division could
exist within the state as represented by the government, and the economy.
In practical
terms, this translates to mean that government “has no business being in
business ie government (the public sector) should restrict itself to the
traditional role of providing enabling environment and the private sector
should constitute the pivot and generator of growth. What this amount to, in
practical terms, is the retrenchment of the state of economy, which in the view
of the monetarist (economists) has become too large, unfit, and inefficient,
and excessively interventionist in the economy. Consequently, as part of the
efforts to reduce the size and the role of the state, monetarists call for the
“Withdrawal of a
host of subsidies that were introduced at the height of the Keynesian
revolution; the elimination of subventions to public enterprises and the
privatization of the enterprises; and the jettisoning of the regime affixed
exchange rates which the Keynesians (economic theory) had constructed as part
of their strategy for introducing order and predictability into the
international financial system and its replacement by a system of free floating
exchange rates in which currencies find their level” Olukoshi, A and Nwoke
(1994:14-15)”
The monetarists also call for the introduction of measures
aimed at reducing and regulating money supply in the domestic economy as well
as the deregulating of interest rates so that market forces can play a more
central role in the determination of their level. In keeping with the spirit of
this reform, international financial institutions (particularly the IMF and the
World Bank, historically, with roots in the West and controlled by the West,
made it clear and point of duty to enforce this economic Orthodoxy across the
globe more especially on countries with fiscal distress, in the name of
Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). Thus, at the heart of structural
adjustment programmes that bears the imprint. Britton Wood institutions are the
unshakable belief in the efficiency of the market mechanism.
This belief
form the basis of all the policy prescriptions in its emphasis on the
deregulation of all the economic activities, prices and interest rates as well
as the deregulation of trade and the slackening of the control of resource
allocation.
In sum
therefore, the main policy elements underlying all the WB/IMF reforms in line
with globalization requirement for both public and private sectors. These
include;
i) The strengthening of existing demand
management measures
ii)
The adopting measures to stimulate
domestic production and broaden the supply based of the economy.
iii)
The rationalization and
restructuring of tariffs and the liberalization of payments
iv)
The elimination of complex
administrative control side by side with the promotion of market forces.
v,)
The rationalization of public
sector enterprises, including their selective privatization and
commercialization.
vi) The adopting of appropriate pricing
policies on public sector services and
vii) The vigorous encouragement of private
sector participation (‘ibid).
The 1999
civil service reform was the modification of the preview reforms. Prominent
among such was the 1988 civil service reforms. However, following the failure
of 1988 Civil Service Reform, then Head of State, General Sani Abacha set up a
seven-man panel in October 1994.The committee submitted an interim report in
December 1994, recommending the repeal of Decree 43 of 1988, which
recommendation was accepted and the decree was repealed in January 1995. While
submitting the main report, the panel made some observations highlighting the
problems of the service that are germane to the situation today, and are worth
quoting:
“In the course of
this exercise, we have found that the Nigerian Civil Service, as an effective
and dependable institution, has virtually broken down. We have made a number of
findings which we felt government should address if it is to have a chance of
arresting the present decadence and restoring to the service its former
position of effectiveness as an instrument for the implementation of government
policies.”
Before this period, the Nigerian public servant maintained a
character and operated strictly as an outpost of the West Ministers
Administration. The idea of the 1988 reform was to give public service a new
direction by introducing various criteria measures to reverse back the decline
in productivity, divided loyalty, redundancy, and indiscipline among others.
The highlights are as follows;
i) The post of permanent secretary is political
and they are to retire with government that appoints them.
ii) Each ministry shall be professionalized, and
officers between the generalist and specialist should choose ministry of
their choice.
iii) Ministries should hire and fire
iv) Each ministry shall be subdivided into
Division, Units and branches.
v) Administrative and professional carders
shall bear functional titles. (Essentials of civil service, 1988)
These
embodied in the General Orders (GO) which provide guidance and modus operandi
to the Nigerian public service on what to do, how to do, where to do and what
to do. Therefore, the Nigerian civil service is one dynamic organization
conscious of its responsibility not only to the executive but to the nation at
large.
The 1999 Civil
Service Reform
Fika
(2009:15) put it that the Nigerian civil service was trapped in inefficiency
and Virtual breakdown of discipline, disregard for financial accountability and
probity, uniform structure of ministries which contributed to the bloating of
the civil service, low morale and frustration of civil servants as a result of
the appallingly low level of remuneration, insecurity, absence of basic working
tools, prevalence and virtual institutionalization of corruption at all levels
of the Service, Proliferation of parastatals in the last decade resulting in
duplication of functions, conflict in roles and avoidable waste of human and
material resources and riddled with all sort of socio-economic problems that
found their ways into the public sector. At the international community, Nigeria
“Increasingly
in a show of self righteousness, the political heads of ministries who are
chief executives and the de facto accounting officers write-off the civil
servants as incapable of providing the needed support for them to achieve
results and thus present themselves with the excuse for running a parallel
service in their ministries manned by special assistants and external
consultants. They operate separate records which are lost to the ministries
when they leave.”
Thus, there was an increasingly declining capacity of the
state to adequately respond to the challenges of both domestic and
international environments. The military regime, which preceded the civil
administration, particularly the General Abacha regime, had slid into
dictatorship by constructing the political space and impinging on human rights
while at the same time paying little or no attention to the burning issues
identified.
Expectedly,
the civil service becomes clear powerless in the face of these problems as its
performance continues to fall below expectations in keeping with the general
decline in the country at large. This is in addition to the social ills of
corruptions, delegation of responsibility, red tapes among others. Above all,
the civil administration of 1999 was said to have inherited a civil service
that was;
i) Highly regimented and militarized civil service. (Thanks to
long military rule)
ii) Sycophantic in the sense that civil servant feel that it is
safer to conform than to initiate, to comply than to suggest change and to
follow than to blaze new trails.
iii) Slow in responding to technological changes and modern
organizational methods
iv,) Characterized by poor work arrangement, highly hierarchical
operational structure.
v) Lacking in financial and material resources to perform its
duties and functions and fulfilled its obligations.
vi) Corrupt in
virtually all its affairs because of:
a.) Disregard to
financial accountability, probity and transparency.
b.) Insecurity
of tenure and means of livelihood during and after service.
c.) Declining in
efficiency, effectiveness and productivity
d.) Disregard and disrespect by some members of the political
class (both military and civilian). Babura (2003):15-16)
It is
important to note that these problems were not restricted to the civil service
alone but rather had penetrated to most of if not all the sectors of the public
service as a whole. Some examples worth mentioning include the very poor and
inefficient service of tax and revenue collection, infrastructure maintenance,
rehabilitation and development and inadequate and poor provision of social and
welfare service like education, health, among others. (ibid,16).
Thus,
through a combination of local IMF/WB reform minded personalities and an
international political system dominated by liberal monetarist tendencies, the
civil administration seem to have been hijacked and were compelled to embark
upon a comprehensive reform of the whole social order. This is in addition to
the attempt by the administration to correct the pariah status of the country
at international level, the desire for debt cancellation and what Jega (2003)
identified as the overzealousness of the administration to please the Western
world. The civil administration reform agenda was articulated in the National
Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) document whose vision,
values and principles are built around the goals of wealth creation, employment
generation, poverty reduction and the value reorientation.
However,
with respect to changing the way government does its work, the document
proposed: public sector reforms, privatization and liberalization, good
governance, transparency and anti-corruption, service delivery, budgeting and
expenditure reforms. This NEEDS phase 1 is supposed to be the foundation stage
in the country’s bid at transformation.
However, it was observed that, the Nigerian public service required and
maintained a character, essence and objectives that hardly reflected the needs
and developmental goals of the country because the British- patterned
, Nigeria public service was not established to improve the
quality of life of the ordinary Nigerians nor was it to raise the income and
standard of living of the Nigerian people, nor to reduce poverty, nor to
upgrade the country’s environment, nor to expand educational and job
opportunities for the local population, nor to enrich their cultural life but
rather it was evolved, grew and remained instrument for the protection of the
trading interest of Britain and her sister colonial powers in the name of
reforms to meet the international competitiveness (globalization). All through
its colonial evolution and expansion, the Nigerian public service maintained a
character and operated strictly as an outpost of the western ministers’
administration after which it was module. The 7 point agenda is the “urgent
reform and restoration of the Federal Civil Service and State Services” adding
that “any reform strategy adopted should include “changes to the incentive
system, the size of the service, recruitment, performance management and
probity”. “The key to the actualization
of President Umar Musa Yar‘adua‘s 7-point agenda (reform) should also cover two
main aspects institutions building and moral or ethical conduct.
National Economic
Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) and the Nigerian Civil Service
Reform 1999
The document
lamented on the appalling condition of the civil service together with other
important sectors as follows:
“A
country that used to have an adequate civil service, a well functioning
judiciary, and rule of law has seen these institutions severely undermined
(over the years). An important aspect of the reform programme therefore focuses
on restoring the professionalism of the civil service.” (P.86)
Hence the NEEDS reform agenda for the public service in
general and civil service in particular consists of seven main goals.
i) Right-size
the sector and eliminate ghost workers.
ii) Restore the
professionalism of the civil service
iii) Rationalize,
structure, and strengthen institutions
iv) Privatize
and liberalize the sector.
v) Tackle corruption and improve transparency in government
account, accounts of government agencies, and joint venture oil companies.
vi) Reduce waste
and improve efficiency of government expenditures and
vii) Enhance
economic coordination (ibid, 87)
Although the
NEEDS document adopted by Nigeria
Therefore in
response to the NEEDS declaration document, the administration of Umaru Musa
Yar’adua (2007) which is an extension of Olusegun Obasanjo as guiding
principles of his administration has made it a cardinal policy to observe rule
of law to enhance public accountability and stamp out corruption and
indiscipline in the Nigerian civil service and the society in particular.
To this end,
the Office of the Head of civil service of the Federation which was earlier
abrogated was restored, coordinates and promoted cordial relationship between
the political officers and civil servants. Similarly, the President Umaru Musa
Yar’adua had threaten to remove the immunity clause for all public officers to
be tried if found wanting.
Furthermore,
as part of the effort to implement the NEEDS document, the institution of
centralized, coherent and systematic training through out the civil service to
de-militarize the mentality of civil servants, polish their administrative
skills and develop their professionalism. To this end, the following programmes
were implemented;
- The training and retraining of civil servants, including
permanent secretaries have been regularized.
- It is now compulsory for all categories of staff to attend
some training programmes.
- Career progression in the civil service is now tied to the
attendance of prescribed training.
- There is
extensive use of on-the-job training, in house among others.
Similarly, the following organs were also established and
motivated to carry out their assignment without hindrance. For example, the
Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt
Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Office of the Due
Process, were all established, the monetization policy of fringe benefits have
long taken off, (Political office holders and judiciary office holders
(salaries and allowances Acts 2002). Government had also embarked upon the
down-sizing/right sizing in the civil service (via retrenchment), Electronic
payment, Federal Character Commission; the pension commission had been
established with Pension Fund Administrators. National Health Insurance Scheme
(NHIS). (New Pension Act 2004). All these were in line with the NEEDS
prescription as well as to meet the competitive global economy in the name of
reforms.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
While it may
be premature to entirely criticize or condemn these reforms considering the
fact that the decadent years of protracted Military rule in the country had
inflicted profound damage to both the civil service and the country at large.
Furthermore, reform of this sort ought to be given enough time of
implementation before which such silent features of the reforms could be
understood. It is good to point out that so far, what seems to remain
predominately unchanged in the civil service reform are its very composition.
Therefore, in terms of the important aspect of the modus operandi of the
service, there have not been much substantial changes as the service seems to
continue to operate with the business as usual. This could be seen in cases of
recruitment and promotions into the civil service, where nepotism, sectionalism
among others was alleged to have constituted the variables that influence the
decisions at the expense of merit.
Additionally, bureaucratic corruption made manifest by the attitudes and
behavior activities of most civil servants where in most cases entitlement are
to be got through the disguised and sometimes open request for settlement in
case or kind before rightful entitlements could be got. An antecedent consequence
of this bureaucratic bottle-neck corruption is the issue of privatization and
personalization of office which further breeds’ momentum corruption and slow
down progress in service delivery.
The civil
service has also continued to be the conduit pipe through which public
resources are massively siphoned through sorts of all dubious means. In fact it
had progressively come to form an important pillar of the triangle of
corruption among the political office holders and the civil service.
“The recent
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government of
Nigeria face-off which led to the closure of the Nigerian Universities for four
months from 24 June-October, 2009 were caused by the bureaucrats in the federal
civil service. Adamu, (2009:5).
Thus, with respect to fighting corruption by the
institutions created so far, the idea of positively affecting the civil service
as distinct from the political office holder has not been adequately dealt
with. This is in addition to the general perception that these institutions
have become politicized with manifest double standards even in places where
they have made attempt to perform.
While,
salaries of the civil servants have been increased and their welfare concerns
were also fairly, but relatively improved, the wider policy of liberalization
and privatization of important sectors of the economy have had negative impacts
on the salary while easing inflation has not been adequately taken care-off.
This seems to ha
have substantially reduced the salary increment of the civil
servants to such an extent that in real terms the value increment might said to
be quite tangible.
This is in
view of the fact that while in form more money seems to be in their hands, but
the actual value or the purchasing power has been reduced and when compared to
the olden days Naira (1970s and 1980s) the increase is just not there. This has
further compounded with the silent devaluation of the currency that the civil
administration of 1999-2009 had been doing. It was perhaps in the realization
of this fact that the former Governor Central Bank proposed re-denomination of
the currency.
Thus,
Nigerian civil service in spite of its role in the shaping policies, it
remained in its shell of anonymity. The intrusion of the Nigerian Military into
the Nigerian political scene provided much leading faction of the emerging
national bourgeoisie. This development saw the emergence of super permanent
secretaries who assumed on excessive powers to themselves and their offices,
and even became a giant force to reckon with in the running of the government.
Today, only time would tell whether the right degree of mix could be found that
would positively and progressively tackle the problems of the civil service in
particular and the public in general.
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thanks
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