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| EKITI STATE PUBLIC SERVICE LECTURE | |
As part of the state Civil Service Week's activities, a Public Service Lecture was held on Monday 19th June, 2006 at the usual venue; Ekiti State Cultural Centre, Ado-Ekiti. An experienced retired Permanent Secretary of the State, Mr. O.K. Aina was the guest speaker. Below is the full lecture: PUBLIC SERVICE LECTURE ON BUILDING AN ETHICAL PUBLIC SERVICE FOR IMPROVED SERVICE DELIVERY IN AFRICA. DELIVERED BY O.K AINA (JP) RETIRED PERMANENT SECRETARY TO SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS OF EKITI STATE ON MONDAY, 19TH JUNE, 2006.  The Reader’s Digest, Great Illustrated Dictionary published in 1984 defines the word “ethical’ as the moral quality of a course of action, fitness and propriety. Taking a cue from the above definition, an ethical public service must reflect in its deeds, proper and fit conduct beyond reproach in the estimation of the general public. An ethical service should, therefore, entail amongst others, conformity with and obedience of rules and regulations; a service composed of impartial umpires and selfless individuals; an even-handed crop of officials who facilitate equal opportunity to anyone who comes knocking at the doorsteps of government for one obligation or the other; a public service where corruptive tendencies have no place in matters of employment, recruitment or appointments; a service which is a reservoir of dedicated, committed and upright individuals to whom tasks assigned and set targets have to be accomplished satisfactorily and on time without manifesting any grudges, dislike, irritation or disdain towards the job at hand; an ethical public service should not be a haven for glorified time-watchers and loafers; justice and fairness to all and sundry are the hallmarks of such a service irrespective of language, creed, race, tribe, sex or social status. Such a service should be composed of officials who are disciplined, contented and self-assured who see their job as a life-long career that must be guarded jealously and non-negotiable. Besides, the growth, success and development of the organization is taken as being inter-twined with their own success and can easily appreciate that the pendulum of success – failure noticeable in other organizations is unthinkable and must be checkmated at all costs. In an ethical public service, the watchword is service and productivity: doing an honest day’s job for a commensurate pay provided by the employer. Service Delivery pre-supposes that such public organizations are expected to cater for public needs in all its ramifications – utilities, social welfare, communication etc….. Indeed anything the citizens expect to be provided by the public service. Nowadays, politicians and other stakeholders variously employ the concept – dividends of democracy – as a byword for service delivery. In examining this topic in greater detail, it will be clear the extent of service delivery put at the disposal of the citizens and whether there is indeed need for improvement. Consideration will also be given to the desirability or otherwise of building an ethical public service to provide the right quality and quantum of service to the people granted that the present situation has proved inadequate. Rather than tackle this problem globally as an African problem, I intend to concentrate on the Nigerian public being my target audience in this gathering. Charity, it is said, begins at home. It should be noted, quite clearly, that the public service either in its present situation or in the immediate post-independence era has never been totally devoid of ethical values. In the first decade of post-independence, there was indeed a thoroughly ethical public service composed of a lot of selfless, honest and diligent officers to whom being a public servant was a great honour and rare priviledge: such officers saw their appointment as life –long career. To this class of officials, integrity, public image, carriage and social comportment carried immense premium and the work ethic was almost, to them, a religion. To the public at large, working in the public service then was an invaluable opportunity and a special but distinct advantage and officials were thus accorded tremendous respect and high social regard. Citing an example of what it meant to be in the Administrative Service in pre-independence and immediate post-independence era, late Chief Augustus Adebayo wrote in his book – “White Man in Black Skin…” that their appointment to the Administrative Service,,, “had a profound effect on their social lives… one felt conscious all the time that one was the embodiment of authority… this affected one’s bearing, utterances and poise… You had to be selective as to which invitations to social engagements to accept… Even those to which you agreed to go, you endeavoured to carry yourself with dignity… You chose your words carefully and smiled sparingly – you strove to crate round you an atmosphere of awe…” Although the foregoing was within the context of an Administrative Officer posted to the field as Asst. District Officer (ADO) or Divisional Officer (D.O), the public image of any civil servant at that time and age was no less sacrosanct or irrelevant. It must be admitted that although the population of public servants then was limited compared to what it has been from the 70s, the public image of public servants and the earmarks of an ethical public service has either gone into oblivion or nose-dived considerably. It is no longer fashionable to see employment in the public service as a life-long career. To quite a large number of insiders and officers, it is a stepping-stone to a more lucrative and more rewarding pursuits. Other than providing daily bread in the interim or as one of other economic engagements during or after official hours, working in the public service nowadays lacks the required dedication, commitment and selflessness. The period immediately preceding Independence and the next decade could rightly be called the “golden age” of the public service, in every sense. Employment procedures and processes were open with a level playing ground. Nepotism and favoritism in all its ugly connotation and facets did not dominate the process and every applicant looked forward with full confidence towards and un-biased and even-handed umpire to do what was just, right and proper in the circumstance. It is a sad commentary that such an ethical and re-assuring environment have no place in today’s public service- politicians having torn into shreds the citadel of justice, equity and fair play which the public took for granted in the past. As practitioners on the job, you know too well that nepotism, corruption and ineptitude have permeated recruitment procedures in certain levels of employment, which are not under the purview of such bodies as the Civil Service Commission or Local Government Service Commission or Teaching Service Commission. Before the advent of the “Due Process” philosophy introduced in the last five years, a lot of freewheeling and dealing like the bazaar canteen characterized public expenditure and the award of contracts. Abandoned projects, projects shoddily executed, unfulfilled expectations, public frustration, disenchantment, general apathy and disdain towards government in general, naturally became the order of the day. Objectivity, openness and fairness had been shown the door or conveniently sidelined. In those terrible days, which approached a state of anomie in the public service, it was not strange to find a Messenger or Office Asst. clutching merrily but arrogantly his own complimentary card to solicit for business patronage or contract! In nearly every strata of our public life, there did not exist any noticeable evidence of good service delivery or a display of ethical behaviour. For example inter-state postage of letters lacked adequate patronage as it took several weeks for such mails to reach their destination and intact! Institutions responsible for conducting public examinations displayed chronic inefficiency and laxity such that public confidence was almost eroded. The EXPO’70 saga of examination scandal, which affected WAEC – conducted exams come readily to mind. Our public utilities have not fared better e.g. NEPA or (PHCN), Water Corporation or NITEL and all have failed abysmally to deliver quality service when needed. The depth and intensity of the failure of an ethical public service in service delivery shown in the foregoing promoted the country, negatively, to an award winning status of one of the first five most corrupt nations in the world, courtesy of Amnesty International. I cannot exhaust the sordid list of crass administrative ineptitude and disquieting unethical practices in the public service, which culminated in poor service delivery to the public. Suffice to say, however, that there have been noticeable but welcome developments in the last five years towards realizing an ethically-oriented public service with a resultant positive effect on service delivery. The determination and resolve of Government to reverse the unedifying trend must be acknowledged and commended. For example, the provision of institutions and structures with legal backing, which are intended to allow citizens, ventilate their grievances. e.g. Public Complaints Commission (which functions as the Ombudsman) and the Human Rights Commission. While the EFCC and ICPC has the arduous task of sanitizing the system and cleaning the augean stable of financial crimes and corrupt tendencies, the Nigerian Legal Aid Council, the Commission Against Human Trafficking & Child abuse, NAFDAC and NDLEA all of them, jointly and severally, represent a bold and concerted effort by Government to turn around the erstwhile negative assessment and disposition of the public towards the public service. SERVICOM – Service Compact With All Nigerians is an initiative introduced in July 2004 by the Federal Government in the Federal Civil Service aimed at improving service delivery across government departments. It is a laudable policy initiative, which should enjoy nation-wide adoption, implementation and acceptance. It is however not yet UHURU. Government and the public at large must therefore continue to sustain the positive tempo, which these structures have brought to bear on the society at large, and the public service in particular. The operational efficiency transparency and objectivity expected of these organizations must not be compromised on the altar of political expediency.The institutions should not be subjected to manipulative tendencies or used as potent instrument of political vendetta. Their independence in terms of operation and funding must be guaranteed by the Constitution and should not be left to the whims and caprices of the Executive. If there is indeed a serious intention to build an ethical public service, which will deliver the dividends of democracy (i.e. service delivery) attention should be focused on the quality of leadership and its style of governance at our disposal. No doubt, the type of political leadership is a direct consequence of the political and the constitutional provisions. i.e. the supreme law. It must be appreciated that the demonstration effect of the political leadership’s style of governance will make or mar the success of any effort to inculcate the ethical behaviour in the society. Of course, as the leader, the bulk stops on his table and he cannot shift or abandon his responsibility to offer effective and qualitative leadership, which transforms into a national ethos and a contented citizenry. Within the public service, managerial leadership is crucial to the success of the vision and mission of the political leadership. Various social societies have postulated what determines successful managerial leadership e.g. Douglas Mcgregor’s “the Human Side of Enterprise” and Peter Drucker’s “Effective Executive”, but there is a convergence of ideas amongst them on the attributes of a successful manager in any organization: (i) ability to harness human and material resources for productive results;(ii) capacity to work effectively and curb mental indiscipline;(iii) ability to delegate, co-ordinate and take responsibility;(iv) Belief in success and a determination to succeed against all odds;(v) Wholeness of outlook- a capacity and interest in other areas outside his primary duty;(vi) Ability to take timely decisions, no buck-passing assertive and courageous Dr John Marsh declares in his Writings that a courageous Manager should be able to say with confidence:…………… I have the facts, I have weighed up the pros and cons, now this is my decision, let us go and get on with the job….”.(vii) Seek change, embrace and apply it as a helpful companion in decision making and ;(viii) Possess a consummate skill to manage the 3 Key Ms –Money, Men and Materials. It is important for the organization to address the motivation of its employees as a necessary ingredient of getting the best out of them. Behavioural scientists generally accept that salary/wages and allowances constitute a predominant motivator but it is not the only want or need capable of motivating in a work situation. A. H. Maslow postulated a theory of human needs that ……… “each person organizes his motives into a hierarchy of scale from the most elemental or physiological needs to those which underline the higher development of the individual…”. His “hierarchy of fulfillment” comprising five steps starting from the lowest include:-(a) Physiological need(b) Security(c) Identification or belonging to social approval(d) Self expression and (e) Self –fulfillment. Maslow’s approach implies that the income bracket of an employee dictates the order he places his needs; top salary earners are most likely to emphasize intangible needs such as social approval, self expression while security and independence will, most probably, engage the attention of lower and middle income employees. When one need is satisfactorily met the next in order of ranking emerges and satisfied needs no longer constitute motivators. The employer must therefore pay attention to ingredients of motivation such as staff welfare, conditions of service, work environment, training facilities, schedule of duty, recreational facilities etc and other intangibles which are of great premium to the average employee. The public service should be viewed by its workers as a worthwhile career after giving adequate motivation and thus be able to expect a contented life after retirement without undue anxiety or trepidation. In effect, retirement packages must encourage workers to offer total loyalty and high-quality service. The new contributory Pension Scheme is a welcome innovation which government must ensure its success and as a lasting legacy. Workers should be protected from light-fingered and fraudulent private pension fund managers who might wish to mis-manage the laudable scheme. The Federal Government should take positive steps to clear the backlog of pension due to pensioners whose period of service pre-dated the new contributory pension scheme. The situation, particularly with Federal share of pensions, is intolerable and must be redressed forthwith. Government must promote positive attitudinal change amongst its employees in order to build an ethical public service for better service delivery. Employees need to be re-orientated to accept change in their mental attitude, as it is the key to promote progress and development in this dynamic world. John C. Maxwell in his book…. “ Your Road Map to Success’ asserts that…”nothing can stop the man with right mental attitude from achieving his goal, nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude….a positive mental attitude has always been my asset in my success story and it can be yours too….” The Civil Service should move with the times, relax or jettison some of its hackneyed stereotypes and the suffocating bureaucracy. The organization should try some useful flexibility in its procedure for getting things done and imbibe the current high-tec language of modern management principles and practices, which are commonplace in the private sector. Indeed the public service needs to be pro-active in doing things, strategies in deploying resources and be more focused on areas, which could promote greater productivity and efficiency. Even when change of any kind is considered desirable, the human element in the organization, which is the centerpiece and the most invaluable factor of production, achievement and progress, must be accorded priority attention. No organization can afford to ignore, underrate, dehumanize or treat unjustly its work force as it will only succeed in undermining the achievement of its set goals and objectives. The work force is an invaluable asset which, well managed, can contribute to the success of the organization. In the famous quotation of Aristotle...”man at his best is the noblest of all animals, separated from law and justice, he is the worst...” The organization should therefore motivate its human element and get the best from them. REFERENCES1. Chief Augustus Adebayo – “White Man in Black Skin”2. Dr. John Marsh – Seminar Notes prepared for the Royal Institution3. A.H. Maslow – “A Theory of Human motivation” culled from Psychological Review, Vol.50, 1943.4. John C. Maxwell – “Your Road Map to Success”. | |
DIRECTORATE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY |