As democracy keeps getting
entrenched into the psyche of Nigerians; the peculiarities of the environment
have become obvious every four years or at the change of an administration. The
local dictum, ‘soldier go, soldier come; barrack remains’ is fast becoming a
farce. The civil service has become vulnerable to the antics of governance.
Human beings are all political
animals, as said by political scientists. Politics is played at all spheres of
life- in the family, career and the large political structure of the society.
As such, politics is as ancient as man. Many form of political leadership has
been seen in our country; we have had parliamentary system of government,
military form of government and we are currently in the democratic form of
government. During the days of the military, decrees were issued; anyone who
dares to challenge decrees pays dearly for such act. The exertion of force should
have gone with the military form of government but it is evident in recent
past. Although, one will not be assert that the incursion of past military
leaders in this democratic dispensation could have accounted for the use of
force in the leadership of the country.
The civil service ought to be
non-partisan for politics; even for those who are politically inclined in the
civil service either resign their appointment to pursue a political office or
increase their influence in the lawful labour unions and associations. However,
one of the greatest hurdles for any politician in the country is the civil
service who contribute significantly to electoral polls. Some of the things
that inform the decision of these civil servants include the influence of
political analysts amongst them; the track record of the candidate and the
‘suffering’ from the hands of the current dispensation which is majorly salary
related.
The civil service has suffered
tremendously in the hands of the politicians in recent years. The top echelon
of the civil service is no longer by promotion but by appointment. This
inversely has placed a peg on the level on which people can rise to in their
career span. The current administration in Nigeria had Permanent Secretaries
who led the various ministries for about four months before the appointment of
ministers. This shows that there are capable people who can man this area of
administration but technocrats and political loyalties are rewarded by these
appointments.
These technocrats and political
supporters appointed into government offices are not as savvy as the civil
servants. As noted, many of these appointees depend largely on the guidance of
the most senior officer in that ministry. The lagging behind of the civil
service in Nigeria can be attributed to this because most times, the
‘technocrats’ run aground many of the processes, procedures and policies of
government. There had been numerous appeals by government tertiary institutions
where they insist that they want someone who is a member of staff of the
institution; someone who understands the ‘system.’ Experience is vital to
governing appropriately.
The political ‘coup’ against
those appointed by previous administration by sacking them worsens the
situation. This has made everyone extra conscious of his pocket from the day of
being sworn into office. There is no effective reform that can take place in
any sector if leaders keep being thrown out of office at the slightest
opportunity by political opponents. This has gone to the extreme in recent
times when educational institutions are also involved in the sacking and not
based on the completion of tenure.
The civil service is also
suffering because of the weak labour laws as government now hire and fire at
will. The politics of bitterness is equally selective; some civil servants get
fired for flimsy reasons such as associating with the previous administration.
We are human beings meant to interact. Nonetheless, the person who gave the
information to the incumbent government is also a part of the civil servant.
For how long would governing be based on firing civil servants? This trend has
led to court cases against the government; this is also an unnecessary clog in
the wheel of administering.
In order to build a society that
is void of ill-feelings; new administrations can do a screening to ascertain
the competence of the civil servants to know if they lead these ministries as
ministers. Also appointees should be screened to know it the person can
adequately lead the institution; then those that their tenures are about to end
should be left to complete their term. ‘A new broom sweeps clean’ so they say,
but there can be other ways of running an efficient government with a blend of
old and new appointees. The civil service would continue to have leadership
crisis with frivolous and frequent changes.