UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

The collapse of ethical and professional standards in virtually all aspects of our national life cannot be more profound in other sector than the civil service. This is because as the largest employer of labour in the country, its efficiency and effectiveness has an over-arching effect on the state of the society. It is a major administrative section of government responsible for policy formulation, implementation and regulation. 

Public service all around the world like other professions is guided by set of rules and norms. These rules often referred to as code of ethics are the standard with which professionalism is measured. Notable among these codes are; impartiality, neutrality, objectivity, transparency, frugality, high level of integrity, confidentiality, loyalty to state, efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery.

The civil service which of course is a reflection of the present Nigerian society is bedeviled by various unprofessional and unethical practices. A large number of the Nigerian civil servants cannot be said to be disciplined, professional nor efficient and effective in the exercise of their duties. Corruption, wanton waste of public resources, deplorable state of public utilities, nepotism and favoritism seems to be the prevailing values of today’s public service in Nigeria.

Ironically, various control mechanisms have been put in place to guide the conduct of public service in Nigeria. These include the fifth schedule of the 1999 constitution, the Civil Service Rules, Guidelines for appointment, promotion and discipline issued by the civil service commission, the code of conduct bureau etc. However, while the concern is not majorly the presence or suitability of these restraining measures, it is rather the seeming non-enforcement and apathy on the part of the public servants themselves that is of great concern.

Citing the latest ministerial appointments by the present government, we cannot categorically state that this guidelines and rules were followed to the latter. Since the president seemed to appoint ministers base on geographical and political reasons.

Even at the continental level, the Charter for Public service in Africa, adopted by African Ministers at Windhoek, Namibia, including Nigeria in 2001 is one of such initiative. The charter was developed to achieve three interrelated purposes of; Defining the principles and general rules governing African public services with respect to transparency, professionalism and ethical standards; Giving concrete expression to the commitment of African States to promote such values in the public service; and Serving as a policy framework for the public service administration of all African countries and a source of inspiration for the development, strengthening or updating of national codes of conduct. However, successful domestication of this charter remains to be seen.

So what are the challenges associated with implementing these rules? The Nigerian society is culpable. The pervading cynical and despairing nature of the populace has rubbed off on the public service significantly. The Nigerian society presently suffers a great value and ethics lacuna. Hitherto age-longed values of hard work and integrity which were hallmark of the Nigerian society have been eroded greatly. Mediocrity, hypocrisy, nepotism, favoritism, corruption and idolation of material wealth are now the order of the day. How then do we expect an “angelic” public service to emerge from such a society?

One of the innovative ways we have designed to combat the scourge of corruption which has been elevated to the status of acceptable mode of behavior in Nigeria today is to begin to identify icons of hope in our public service who have against all odds remained epitome of integrity, honesty, neutrality, frugality and untainted. These are individuals who have managed to hold on to their heads when others have lost and increasingly loosing theirs, individuals who have not given to inordinate pursuit and love of material acquisition from questionable means. Such individuals have the moral pedigree to inspire, motivate and encourage a number of other public servants who are also tired of the general stereotype that has rubbed off on their integrity too. They have the moral standing to push these reforms collectively forming themselves into “vanguards of hope” in the public service. Such vanguards would serve as reinforcing communities within the public service encouraging value-laden, ethical and professional conducts.

The effects of these will be far reaching. It would not be limited to the public service as it would have a multiplier effect on the private sector, civil society and also the image of the country globally.

The effect will be an increase in number of individuals who are collectively committed to the highest standard of conducts in their activities. Service delivery in the most efficient and effective manners will take centre stage. General consciousness to avoid wastage, corruption, nepotism and other ills will become the basis of the renewed society. The incidence of corrupt practices will begin to reduce drastically.

GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

Over the years, Nigerian women have been relegated to the background especially in issues of political representation. This is largely due to the fact that the Nigerian political system (both pre-colonial and post-colonial political system) is highly patriarchal in nature with men often in the lead of the political affairs and women occupying very insignificant roles.

Factors such as social, cultural and religious factors coupled with the complex nature of the Nigerian political process have been identified to be largely responsible for the marginalization of women especially in the issues of public service, political representation and governance. The appointment of the present ministers in Nigerian showed that gender equality in public service and political participation still lags behind. For instance, the present serving ministers in Nigeria, women occupy only 6 seats out of the 36 ministerial seats.

The way forward

The pace at which the numbers of women participate in public service has not been quite impressive; the percentage of women in active political participation is still below the threshold. This slow speed has led to various wake up calls, awareness campaigns, conferences, increased agitations for a more effective and efficient method of achieving gender balance in politics all over the world- Nigeria is not an exception. Nigeria being a signatory to the African charter on human and people’s rights on the rights of women in Africa (Maputo protocol) and the millennium declaration of September 2000 made a pledge among other things to tackle gender issues and women empowerment with a set –out dead line of 2015.

The introduction of quota system for women represents one of such means of achieving gender balance in electoral process. The rationale behind the quota system is to recruit women into political position and ensure that women do not remain at the bottom of the list. Quota system aims at ensuring that women constitute a large minority of 30-40% or even achieve a true gender balance of 50-50%. Quota system proposes that women as a matter of necessity form a certain percentage of the members of parliament.

STRUCTURAL CLASSES IN THE CIVIL SERVICE

The civil service in 1990 consisted of the federal civil service, the 21 autonomous state civil services, the unified local government service, and several federal and state civil services including parastatals and corporations. The federal and state civil services were organized around government departments headed by ministers (federal) and commissioners (state), who were appointed by the President and government, respectively. These political heads were responsible for policy matters. The administrative heads of the ministry were the directors general, formerly called permanent secretaries. The ‘chief’ director general was the secretary to government. Until 1988 reforms, the civil service was organized strictly according to British traditions; it was apolitical, civil servants were expected to serve every government in a non-partisan way unlike the present dispensation were ministers are appointed base on geographical and political affiliations, and the norms of impersonality and hierarchical authority were well entrenched.

Functions of the federal civil service

The federal civil service commission (FCSC) is responsible for;

1. Representing of the civil service commissioners at senior staff committee meetings of ministers.
2. Review and approval of recommendations on disciplinary cases of senior officers.
3. Recruitment of senior officers.
4. Ratification of promotion of officers to senior positions, including conducting promotion, interviews and exams.
5. Hearing appeals on matters of appointments, promotions and discipline.
6. Providing guidelines on appointments, promotions and discipline.

When anger drives politics, leadership and justice

When anger drives politics, leadership and justice

Posted By: Dayo Sobowale

Coincidentally this week Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and US President Barak Obama spoke to a Muslim audience in their respective nations to drive home their commitment to justice and the objectives of their governments. The Nigerian Vice President reportedly told a delegation of Muslim Congress of Nigeria that although some elites were trying to put pressure on the Nigerian government to relent on its anti corruption war, he insisted that this would not happen because the President and himself are focused on the war and know that that is the wish of the ordinary Nigerians who elected them to office and not the elites alone.

Similarly the US president visited a mosque in Baltimore for the first time in his presidency and called on those preaching hatred against Muslims to stop as American Muslims are part of the American dream and heritage. Today I want to observe that there is a common thread that knits the utterances of these two statesmen together. It is my contention here that for now anger drives world politics as we know it today and that is the context in which I will look at the two statements made by the two leaders in their respective nations.

Undoubtedly in Nigeria anger is driving the anti-corruption campaign and the reason is not far fetched. The campaign had hardly started before the leadership election in the senate stole the thunder of the ruling party that won the 2015 presidential election. Then came the unbelievable revelations that $2. 1bn – which is money meant for the purchase of arms for the prosecution of the Boko Haram insurgency – had been diverted for other purposes by the office of the National Security Adviser from where key members of the last administration collected campaign funds while the armed forces lacked funds and equipment to confront the insurgency. Obviously a mood of righteous indignation has pervaded the whole nation ever since with the masses calling for the heads of culprits who had betrayed the nation in its hour of need in nailing Boko Haram which has been killing thousands of Nigerians with impunity and had even kidnapped the 200 Chibok girls without trace till today. That was the argument of the Nigerian VP before his Muslim guests and that is quite important in that Boko Haram has been condemned by all reasonable Muslims both in Nigeria and globally. The VP’s observations therefore tally eminently and realistically with the mood of Nigerians on crushing both Corruption and Boko Haram simultaneously or concurrently as a clear deterrence to both real and potential rebels or insurgents as well as treasury looters and others who have made it their way of life to feather their private nests at the expense of the commonwealth of the Nigerian nation and people.

Similarly President Barak Obama’s speech at the Baltimore mosque was a sermon on tolerance and justice for US Muslims at a time when no less a person than Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump had called obviously in anger that Muslims should be banned from coming to the US on account of the rise of global terrorism especially that of Islamic state and the terrorism that has reared its head on the hitherto safe and sancrosant US homeland. Obviously the emergence of a candidate like Donald Trump in the Republican Party and even Senator Bernie Saunders challenging Hillary Clinton very competitively for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, has been predicated in the US media on anti – establishment politics bordering on hatred for Washington which is US government in broad terms and Wall Street which essentially means big business and banks. Even Bernie Saunders this week accused Hillary Clinton of being beholden to banks given the huge money — $675000 – Goldman Sachs a leading US investment bank paid her for speeches she made on US government activities during her tenure as Secretary of State. Hillary was miffed and asked the Senator to be bold to accuse her of corruption which she vehemently denied.

Indeed l stumbled on an analysis on the internet which listed five reasons why the mood of the US electorate is anti- establishment and fuelled by anger at present. The first is that most US citizens feel that the politicians have short changed them on the economy and that the rich are getting richer while the middle class and the masses are worse off. The second is the issue of immigration which Obama promotes but which given the Migrants crisis outbursts across the Mediterranean to Europe has created panic in the western world including the US and has made some state governments in the US to clash with President Barak Obama on providing refuge for those fleeing foreign wars. Which again clashes with the US political values as a leading democratic nation or champion and exporter of global democracy. The third is that government in Washington looks after the interests of public servants to the detriment of outsiders and those not in the political class. The fourth is the global hatred for the US that the war on terror has created globally especially in the Middle East fuelled by implacable Arab anger over US age long policy of support for Israel against the Palestinians and the concomitant rise of Islamic state and its bloody, beheading borderless caliphates now horrifying the world and showing special hatred for the US and its citizens globally. The fifth is the deep division in ideological terms between the two main US political parties –the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. It was stated clearly that the Republicans have become more conservative while the Democrats have become more liberal leading to a deep division or gulf between the two now threatening the social cohesion that has sustained the political stability of the US hitherto. Given these scenario it is not surprising that a politician like Donald Trump who claims to be angry with the establishment has emerged on the political scene.

However what I find commendable is the way the US president has confronted the systemic anger that Donald Trump is fuelling for political purposes. In reacting to Obama’s visit to the Mosque in Baltimore, Trump was even more aggressive and contemptuous. He said he – Obama- has more important places to go and he went to a mosque. But Obama has stood up for the underdog which Muslims have become because of the terrorism and security threat created by Islamic State globally. If one recalls that Obama in his biography recalled how he followed his step father to a mosque in Djarkata, Indonesia for which some later called him a Muslim sympathizer and some mischief makers also called for a fatwah on him as a former Muslim, then one should appreciate his courage in taking on Donald Trump and stemming the anger against Muslims while soliciting for tolerance for them in spite of the horror and terrorism of IS. President Obama has shown rare courage on this Baltimore mosque visit. He has shown clearly that when duty calls or danger no leader worth his salt should be found wanting. That is a lesson that Donald Trump should learn in spite of his anger against Muslims coming to the US which he called a security issue and not a religious one. Obama has shown leadership against all odds and at great personal risk. That is an example worth emulating by good world leaders and he has my undiluted admiration this time around . Again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Nation

Mr. President, can you tarry awhile?

Mr. President, can you tarry awhile?

By: Yomi Odunugaon

Dear President Muhammadu Buhari, pardon the route through which this open letter gets to you. I know that as one of those people who damned the consequences and risked everything in the bid to make possible your presidential ambition, it wouldn’t have been unusual to have an opportunity to discuss the issues I am about to raise here in the corridors of power, away from the prying eyes of the wailing wailers. By that, I refer to those who see absolutely nothing good in your emergence as President, especially the way you thrashed an incumbent who had no option other than accepting defeat. Let me hasten to note too that you genuinely appreciated the way former President Goodluck Jonathan swallowed the humiliating defeat with inexplicable equanimity while you moved into that palatial edifice called Aso Rock.
Needless to say that some of us were truly shocked beyond expression at the aplomb with which you shrugged off your decades of Spartan lifestyle and embraced the stupendous luxury and splendour that the Presidential Villa offers. I guess, in life, certain things cannot be hidden. The difference is getting clearer by the day. For instance, we read that Your Excellency ‘improved’ on Jonathan’s use of Mercedes-Benz S 350 that costs $135,000 for the non-bulletproof edition of Mercedes-Maybach S600 which non-bulletproof version is around $258,000. That’s okay. After all, we know it is the responsibility of the state to do everything within its might to protect you.
However, we knew from experience that there is something beyond our understanding about that place that changes otherwise humble men into arrogant demi-gods. We are living witnesses to how easy it was for certain past occupiers of that seat to lose their humanity; they not only get corrupted by power but got corrupted so absolutely. If we may excuse the despicable reigns of Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha based on their foundation of jackboot mentality, what do we ascribe to the irascibility of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo or the detached cluelessness of Jonathan? Though we may not have seen enough of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to properly place him in our long history leadership crisis, the little that we could remember of him speaks volume about the failures in our recruitment process. Naturally, we were worried that in due time, you may join the bandwagon of leaders who loaf around in aloof manner in the luxury of government houses while the populace wallow in poverty, realising at a late hour that nothing has really changed enough to give them hope.
Mr. President, it is just some eight or so months into your four-year tenure and hope is already fizzling away. That is the crying truth. Unfortunately, it is a bare-knuckle fact those who mill around you might not be able to tell you. Baba Buhari, there is anguish in the land. The people in the streets are beginning to ask critical questions about the form and shape of a change that seems to be in perpetual motion without movement. The excitement of a new dawn wanes daily. It is not that these hapless Nigerians have not read or heard about your spirited battle against corruption and corrupt practices. They know how deep the sore is and how painful the blisters can be. They are equally abreast of the earth-shaking details regarding the unbelievable looting bazaar that was freely perpetrated by some privileged Nigerians during the last administration and that ultimately resulted in the economic quagmire the country has found itself. Our people fully support your efforts to trace and recover the entire stolen commonwealth running into trillions of Naira no matter where they are hidden. Even your harshest critics would attest to that objective as non-negotiable, going by your famed zero-tolerance for corruption.
Be that as it may Mr. President, quite a number of your staunch supporters think you have started derailing too early in the day. They believe, rightly or wrongly, that you are increasingly treading the same path to perdition that Jonathan ignominiously trod with astonishing naivety. Somehow, you are gradually losing touch with your base, the constituency of the voiceless majority that voted you into power against all odds. Question – a big one for that matter – equally hangs on your humanity. No matter the spin your very media-savvy aides put on it, there is something wickedly wrong with that visit to Ogun State earlier in the week, to felicitate with its people, on the 40th anniversary of the state. It was, to say the least, a bad time to party. It was a cruel insult on the memories of the over 80 lives lost to the Dalori massacre perpetrated by the Boko Haram sect. The grim pictures of burnt children, scarred limbs and body parts should have been enough to sober the President on the need to tread with caution. Besides, the grisly details of the Dalori attack as recounted by eyewitnesses and many other narratives from the North-East call for a sombre reflection on the part of the government instead of the tasteless declaration of a ‘technical’ defeat of a group that routinely persists with its callous campaign of deadly attacks on defenceless citizens.
Unless you have chosen to flourish in self-deceit like your predecessor did, it is jejune illogic to whine that the Dalori incident and several others were aimed at embarrassing the administration. Hian! Even Jonathan did not run away with that sacrilege when he hugged the sky and frolicked with party faithful in Kano shortly after the deadly bomb blast in Nyanya, Abuja. Then we reasoned, and quite rightly so, that such tendentious excuses were meant for the marines. So, whosoever lifted that dumb gambit from the Jonathan tales of woeful whingeing for you did this administration no good. It is even more pathetic that, as I write this, the President is on a four-day junket to France and the United Kingdom while survivors of the Dalori massacre are chewing their pain in isolation. If we accused Jonathan of dancing on the graves of the slaughtered students in a school in Yobe State, why shouldn’t we marvel at the way you shook your head to Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey’s live performance in Abeokuta? Question is: Whither the humanity that was the thrust of the campaign era when nothing has manifestly shown that this administration is poised to do things differently?
Baba, as some people call you, do you know that an ominous pall of doubts hangs over your Presidency? To be honest, it is not just a mere gloating by those who don’t like the presence of an old man on that seat. It is more about glaring failed expectations. How was it possible that the 2016 budget comes with such humongous padding, even in the appropriations for The Presidency? What has changed if more money would be spent on buying exotic animals for the Villa Zoo, rehabilitating previously rehabilitated buildings and tending the culinary buds of Aso Rock tenants and their friends with hundreds of millions of naira? Why, for example, should Aso Rock Clinic get an allocation of N3.8bn to buy some unspecified medical equipment when the entire allocation for all teaching hospitals serving Nigeria’s 160 million populace gets much less than that amount for a similar purpose? How many sick Nigerians have access to such exotic health resort called Aso Rock Clinic anyway? Apart from the lower cadre staff, how many ‘big men’ in Aso Rock would entrust the clinic medical experts with the treatment of toothache or even minor flu?
Mr. President, you may need to tarry awhile and reassess the steps you have taken so far. While pointing an accusing finger at perceived enemies especially those who allegedly looted the country, it is important to avoid a situation where the remaining four fingers directly point back at the dreadful indiscretion of the Presidency. This Presidency is becoming estranged and alienated from the masses it claims to serve! Of course, Nigeria did not deserve a sit-at-home leader who loiters around while the international community beckons; it does not also require one that jumps into the presidential jet at every occasion travel opportunities come up. By the way, what happened to the vow by the President to reduce the number of jets in the presidential fleet? We heard that the United States’ President and the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister put together, have lesser number of aircraft than that of the Nigerian Presidency. Do we take it as one of the trickeries of electoral campaigns that becomes unrealistic immediately after the administration of the relevant oaths? By the way, is anyone taking an inventory of the President’s foreign travels, including the grave injuries such must have inflicted on the national treasury in this era of belt-tightening for millions of less-privileged souls? Of course, the cost might not be as high as the $1m per trip credited to it by the errant Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose. It is nonetheless important to know if the country gets value for countless junketing across the globe. By the way, your aides call it diplomatic shuttles but we are beginning to feel that the frequency of it in the last eight months is, to put it mildly, diplomatically irritating. Tarry awhile President Buhari, tarry awhile!
Past occupants of our Presidential villa have become people we hardly understand, even as they scoff at our criticisms and anxieties, which they perceive as mere indignities. For all the trials that many of your diehard supporters suffered to arrive at this auspicious occasion in which Sai Baba is now at the top, they just hope that President Buhari has not overshot the runway leading to the redemptive bend! They would like to believe that you have not become yet another victim of that virus in Aso Rock. They wait on time for the answer, your Excellency sir!

http://thenationonlineng.net/mr-president-can-tarry-awhile/

Nigeria needs moral leaders to kill corruption —Buhari

Nigeria needs moral leaders to kill corruption —Buhari

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo (left), receiving an award as Grand Patron of Save Democracy Group Africa, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, from former Deputy Senate President/National Council Chairman, Save Democracy Group Africa, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, at the summit of the group, in Abuja, on Monday. With them is the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki. PHOTO: NAN

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, said Nigeria can only tackle corruption successfully if it gets moral leaders who will not steal the commonwealth.

The president, who made the submission in a speech presented on his behalf by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, at the opening ceremony of the National Political Summit in Abuja, said for the country to sustain its democracy and gain respect across Africa, it must evolve moral leaders.

The summit, organised by the Save Democracy Africa, headed by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Ghali Umar Na’Abba, had as its theme: 2015 General Election: The Gains and Building Positive Political Culture for Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria.”

According to the president, “every step to the balance of a stable democracy is worth it. My support for sustained dialogue amongst political stakeholders and key actors in our country will help in speeding up the political evolution of our country, grow our politics, building understanding and definitely help our people.

“For the Save Democracy Group Africa, as the name implies, has one objective of positively impacting the different culture in Africa, politics at the end must serve the people, the task of nation building primarily rest on the political elite, the strength of democratic institutions also rely on the commitment of that same elite to the success of these institutions.

“I say selflessness and self respect because it requires a deep understanding of one’s role in the destiny of one’s people and those yet unborn to hold political power and yet allow one’s self to be subject to the rule of law and other restraining rules and conventions.”

Also peaking at the summit, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, said Nigerians were no longer attuned to excuses from public office holders, adding that the countrymen would vote out any leader who fails to perform.

Saraki said the Eighth Senate, under his leadership, would ensure that there was no longer room for diversion of public funds.

According to him, the National Assembly would work with the executive to fight corruption in all sectors, adding that discretionary spending of government resources, unbudgeted expenditures, procurement abuses and diversion of public monies must stop.

“The 2015 general election has changed Nigeria for good. Its implications will continue to redefine the Nigerian political space for sometime to come. For the first time, the voice of the Nigerian people was definitive and unmistakable. They wanted change.

“For those of us who, by this election, have been entrusted with shaping the destination we travel from now, there is a clear and distinct warning, the change demanded by Nigerians from the 2015 election are not without consequences. The victory was won out of turmoil and strife. It was an election won on the belief that Nigeria, together, is our best chance of becoming the greatest of all black nations,” he said.

Saraki added that Nigerians had called on their leaders to stamp out corruption, improve governance, accountability, transparency, service delivery and human right protection, adding that the National Assembly was ready to roll out an array of reforms to ensure accountability.

In his presentation at the summit, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, said the decision of the legislature to stop the third term bid of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the greatest achievements of the Nigerian legislature.

He said the decision by the lawmakers helped to save Nigeria’s democracy from going the way of some emerging democracies in Africa, adding that the legislature had contributed immensely to the stability of Nigeria’s democracy.

He said the 2015 general election was a success as technology impacted greatly on the exercise, adding, however, that there was the need to amend the Electoral Act to accommodate electronic voting.

“Perhaps, the greatest achievement of the legislature in Nigeria was the unanimous rejection of the third term bid of former President Obasanjo,” he said, adding that the National Assembly was vehement in its rejection of a proposal to elongate the tenure of the president to 12 years.

Meanwhile, a former interim leader of the Government of Liberia, Professor Amos Sawyer, has said Nigeria needed to build on the outcome of the 2015 elections.

Speaking on the topic: “Building positive Political Culture for Sustainable Democracy in Africa,” Sawyer, at the summit on Monday, said the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria was historic, adding that its success averted breakdown of law and order in spite of tension prior to the poll.

Elder statesman, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, who also spoke at the event, said if Nigeria as a country must get it right, it must revisit and revive the past and produce leaders that would not steal.

In his opening remarks, the Director- General, Save Democracy Group Africa, Dr Ifedi Okwenna, had stated that the summit would be an annual event, adding that the concept was put together in the absence of credible platform for continuous dialogue in Africa.

http://www.tribuneonlineng.com/nigeria-needs-moral-leaders-to-kill-corruption-—buhari