The Public Service And Good Governance In Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: Pitfalls And Opportunities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.61.5084Abstract
The public service of any nation is conceived as a driver of policies and programmes of government that is aimed at promoting the welfare and well-being of the people and the corporate existence of the State. It is against this back-drop that the return to civil rule in 1999 was seen as an opportunity to stem the tide of socio-economic and political decline in Nigeria. However, more than a decade and half of democratic rule, the citizenry still wallow in abject poverty, insecurity, unemployment, electricity power supply, poor medical care and shelter, corruption, feeble enforcement of transparency and accountability, exclusion of the citizenry from decision making and legitimacy crisis. With the use of political participation theory, the paper observed that the public service is still largely disconnected from the people that it is meant to serve. In most cases it pursues its self-interest rather than the public good. This largely accounts for its assumed abysmal records bad governance in the delivery of democratic dividends across the country. The paper made far-reaching recommendations on how to bring the country out of this unpalatable situation. These include among others: the promotion of core-democratic values, prioritization of professionalism in the public service, capacity building for public servants, promotion of the new public management principles, zero tolerance for corruption, political stability, participatory decision making and promotion of distributive justice. It concluded that regime change also demands change in the attitude, structure and operational dynamics of the public service in order to promote good governance in Nigeria.
References
Ademolekun, L. (1997). Politics and Administration in Nigeria. Ibadan: Spectrum Book Limited.
Afegbua, S. (2015) “Professionalization and Innovations in Nigerian Public Service: How for the Dream of Success? Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review Journal Vol. 3 – Issue 2.
Ake, C. (1994). Democratization of Disempowerment in Africa (ASS Occasional Monograph. No. 1 Lagos: Malthouse Press Ltd.
Akhakpe, I. B. (2014) “Public Policy, Interest Groups and Sustainable Development in Nigeria. Review of Public Administration and Management 3 (6).
Akhakpe, I. B. (2016)”Public Policy and Sustainable National Development in Nigeria” Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: Challenges and Possibilities. International Journal of Management Perspective 13 (1).
Almond, G. et al (2007). Comparative Politics Today. New Delhi: Dorhing Kinderslay.
Amuwo, K. (1997). “Critical perspectives on structure, nature and role of Public Bureaucracy in Nigeria”. The Quarterly Journal of Administration 29 (2)
Bamgbose, A. and Oloruntele, a. (2017) “The Role of the State in Public Sector Management” in C. Maduabum and I. Akhape (Eds.). The Dynamics of Public Sector Management: A Reader. Ibadan: John Archer Publishers Limited.
Bankole, A. (2010). Public Sector Human Resource Management. Lagos; Statement Branding.
Basil, D. (1997). The Black Man’s Burden: Africa and the Cause of the Nigerian State. Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited.
Dibie, A. A. (2014) Public Administration: Theory, Analysis and Application. Ilishan-Dams: Babcock University Press.
Dwivedi, O. P. (2001). “Challenges in Public Administration from Developing Nations” – New York: United Nations General Assembly, Second Committee.
Echikwonye, R. A. and Beetseh, K. (2011). “The Role of Public Policy making and development in Nigeria”. Journal of Social Science and Public Policy Vol. 3
Ekeh, P. (1980). Colonialism and Social Structure. Ibadan: University of Ibadan. An Inaugural Lecture. Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic Abuja: Government Press.
Fukuyama, F. (2012). The Origin of Political Order. London: Profile Books Limited.
Gboyega A. (1992) “Civil Service Reforms in Nigeria and the Quest for Efficiency, Responsiveness and Accountability: A Critique”. Journal of Nigerian Public Administration and Management. Vol. 2 (2).
Henry, N. (2007) Public Administration and Public Affairs. Ncon Delhi: Prentice Hall Private Limited
Igbokwe, C. J. (2015) Re-inventing Nigeria’s Public Sector: A review of National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)”. Africa’s Public service delivery and Performance Review Journal Vol. 3. Issue 2.
Izbuzor, O. (1998). “Reflections on Allson Ayida’s Proposal on The Reforms of the Nigerian Civil Service”. The Nigerian Social Sciences 1 (1)
Kaufmann (2000). “Improving Governance and Controlling Corruption: New Empirical Frontiers and Case for Collective Action” in I. Gabriel, Rosta Penburst and M. Thomas (Eds.). The Role of Bilateral Donors in fighting corruption. New York: The World Bank.
LaPalombara, J. (1967). Bureaucracy and Political Development. New Jersey: Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Maduabum C. (2014). “Innovative Management Behaviour” in C. P. Maduabum (Ed.) Contemporary Issues on Management in Organisations. A Book of Readings. Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited.
Maduabum, C. (2006) Reforming Government Bureaucracies in Nigeria. Lagos: Administrative and Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON).
Maduabum, C. (2014). “What has Public Administration Got to Do With It”. An Inaugural Lecture. Abuja: National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
Nzongola-Ntalaja, G. (1997). “The State and Democracy in Africa” in G. Nzongola-Ntalaja and M. Lee (Eds.). The state and democracy in Africa. Harare: SAPES Books.
Olaopa, T. (2010), Public Service Reforms in Africa. Ibadan: University Press PLC.
Olugbemi, S. (1979). “The civil service” an outsider’s view in O. Oyediran (Ed.) Nigerian Government and Politics Under military Rule 1966 -1979. London: The Macmillan Press.
Oni, S. and Oni, A. (2015). “E-government and administrative efficiency in Nigeria’s Public Service” in P. Idaraesit, Akpan-Obong, A. Ayo and A. Adebiyi (Eds.). Issues and Concepts of E-Governance in Nigeria: A Reader. Ota: Covenant University Press.
Osaghae, E. E. (2002). The Crippled Giant: Nigeria Since Independence. Ibadan: John Archers Publishers Limited.
Sarumi, O. O. (2016) “Exploring the Act of Diplomacy and the Implication of Communication in Good Governance”. Paper presented at the Induction Lecture of the Institute of Public Diplomacy and Management in June. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 1997 “Reconceptualising Governance: New York: United Nations.
Yusuf, B. and Idowu, K. (2017). “Work Ethics and Public Sector Management” in C. Maduabum and I. Akhakpe (Eds.) The Dynamics of Public Sector Management: A Reader. Ibadan: John Archers Publishers Limited. The Punch (Newspaper, Lagos). “Civil Servants are Corrupt and Lazy” September 5.
The Punch (Newspaper, Lagos). “How Nigeria can get out of Recession” October, 25, 2016
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
