AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS IN NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
Given the importance of the civil service to the realization of public policy objectives in Nigeria, it is unavoidable that the service be reformed from time to time in order to meet the ever-changing realities within its immediate environment. This research work examines the evaluation of civil service reforms in Nigeria: a case study of Olusegun Obasanjo’s [1999-2007] reform.
The civil service is a branch of the public sector that is responsible for planning, advising, and implementing policies and programs in government ministries and departments. However, prior to Obasanjo’s reform, the civil service in Nigeria lacked the ability to implement, plan, and design the necessary strategies to reduce the cost of governance in the service. Several reforms were instituted to investigate the problems, but none were successful.
Until May 1999, when Obasanjo takes office, he addresses these issues with the vision of an ideal civil service that is competent, professional, development-oriented, and capable of responding effectively and quickly to the needs of the society.
As a result, we began by investigating the historical context of civil service reform, the literature review/theoretical framework, an analysis of previous reform and the problems confronting civil servants in Nigeria, the impact of the reform on the Nigeria civil service in general, and some recommendations on how to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and development-oriented civil service.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 STUDY BACKGROUND
Reforms in Nigeria can be traced back to the period of colonial administration. In fact, between 1941 and 1947, the colonial administration attempted to reform and reorganize the Nigeria Civil Service. Reforms range in scope from the most comprehensive to the most limited.
Indeed, “every regime in Nigeria has prioritized administrative reform from the start.” (Obasi, 1998) Reform is a process that can be divided into distinct stages, beginning with the identification of a problem and ending with its implementation and evaluation.
Reform, on the other hand, means to improve a system, an organization, or a law by making changes to it, to make a change that can be made to a social system, organization, or law to improve or correct it. [7th edition, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2005].
This means that “reforms” are intended to transform, restore, rebuild, amend, improve, remove defects from, redress, and bring about a better way of life. It appears to imply that civil service reforms were/are intended to amend, transform, restore, and improve whatever the existing problem was in a given period.
From the pre-independence era to the post-independence era, Nigeria has implemented numerous administrative reforms. Nigeria attained full independence on October 1st, 1960, under a constitution that established a parliamentary government and a significant degree of self-government for the country’s three regions.
Since then, various panels have studied and made recommendations for civil service reform, including the Tudor Davies commission in 1945, the Harragin commission in 1946, the Gorsuch commission in 1954, the Mbanefo commission in 1959, the Morgan commission in 1963, the Adebo commission in 1971, and the Udoji commission in 1972-74.
A significant change occurred in 1979, with the adoption of a constitution modeled after that of the United States. In 1985, the Dotun Philips panel attempted to reform the civil service. General Ibrahim Babangida’s 1988 Civil Service Reorganization Decree had a significant impact on the structure and efficiency of the Civil Service in previous years.
Olusegun Obasanjo has been gradually and methodically reforming and restructuring the 1999 Civil Service since May 29, 1999, following decades of military rule. However, the civil service is still regarded as stagnant and inefficient, and previous attempts by panels have had little impact.
The focus of this study is Nigeria’s civil service reforms and the efficiency implications they have brought to the service from the pre-independence period to the present.
However, the emphasis will be on Olusegun Obasanjo’s reforms from 1999 to the present. This is due to the fact that the 1999 reform was the first civilian reform after many years of military rule.
1.2 THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT
Nigeria’s history demonstrates that it is a multi-ethnic society with diverse values, ethics, traditions, and political perspectives. Because of the country’s diversity, the study will concentrate on and investigate the civil service’s slowness in responding to its goals in a timely and effective manner.
Furthermore, there are a number of issues that have plagued the civil service since the colonial era and continue to do so today, including the following:
Poor Remuneration: In practice, this means that civil servants should not only be adequately compensated, but also receive their salaries on a regular basis. Given the current poor economic situation and high cost of living in Nigeria, the remuneration provided in the civil service has become grossly inadequate.
Lack of Merit: It has been claimed that recruitment into the civil service is based on factors other than expertise and merit, which contradicts Weberian’s merit criteria. The federal character policy is the most visible example of such a factor.
Misapplication of Rules/Excessive Rigidity in Rules Application: According to the Weberian model, power is concentrated at the top of the Nigerian civil service’s hierarchical structure. Even officers in the management cadre are not permitted to take initiative on issues brought to them by their subordinates.
There is a fear of acting from the bottom up, so buck passing is the norm in the civil service because most matters are eventually referred to the highest authority in the ministry or department for action or decision.
Absence of Job Security: According to Weber, the ideal type of bureaucracy is distinguished by a career system that provides security of tenure, and “civil servants as a whole regard their greatest benefit as being job security and pensions.”
In a service where employees are afraid of losing their jobs, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get the best out of them. “Living in fear of losing one’s job and income is incompatible with accepting responsibility for one’s job and work group, as well as for output and performance.”
1.3 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVES
The following are the study’s objectives:
1. To investigate the Nigerian civil service’s efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability.
2. To investigate the civil service’s ability to combine authority and responsibilities.
3. To examine the accessibility of Nigerian civil services in terms of the checks and balances that govern their operations.
1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
The research objectives are logically linked to the research questions. Among the research questions are:
i. How can the civil service be properly positioned as a source of social policy influence?
ii. Can the failure of civil service reform be separated from Britain’s colonial legacy?
iii. To what extent can we say that military rule is also a factor impeding the effectiveness and efficiency of civil service reforms?
iv. Can we truly say that reforms are natural in outlook in order to discover factors impeding its effectiveness and efficiency, as well as the various factors that led to low morale?
1.5 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE
The purpose of this research is to look into the role of the civil service in achieving the goals of Nigerian public policy. It is also undertaken to eliminate existing problems, and this study will serve as a reference for future studies in the social sciences and management disciplines.
1.6 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the research is to determine the impact of civil service reforms in Nigeria. A case study of the Olusegun Obasanjo Reform of 1999 will be conducted, examining the reform’s activities as well as its structure, innovation, and shortcomings. As a result of the researcher’s limited time for work and the financial constraints he or she faces.
METHODOLOGY (section 1.7)
This research will make use of secondary data that will be analyzed qualitatively. The use of relevant literature such as textbooks, journals, seminar papers, and magazines is the method of data collection.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS 1. Civil service refers to the civil administrative personnel of government agencies.
2. Civil service reform is a set of policy measures that, like any other reform, has goals that it aims to achieve. The implementation of reform measures in administrative machinery assumes the existence of some administrative flaws.
3. A civil service commission is an independent body established by the government that is in charge of hiring, promoting, disciplining, and dismissing civil servants.
4. The public complaint commission is an institution established to investigate and resolve cases of maladministration, injustice, corruption, and unfair treatment of citizens by public officers or public authorities. This body is also known as the Ombudsman. The military administration established the body in October 1975.
1.9 THE STUDY’S CHARACTERIZATION
This research is organized into five chapters.
1. Chapter one contains the following sections: Background of the study, Problem Statement, Objectives of the study, Significance of the study, Scope of the study, and Methodology.
2. The second chapter is devoted to the Literature Review and the theoretical framework.
3. The third chapter examines previous reforms and the issues confronting civil service in Nigeria.
4. The fourth chapter discusses the impact of Olusegun Obasanjo’s reform on civil service.
5. The fifth chapter is the Summary, Recommendations, and Conclusion.
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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS IN NIGERIA
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