By Tunji Olaopa
The Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries (CORFEPS) is an affiliation of patriotic former public servants that embodies administrative experiences, institutional reminiscences and skilled information that might pull quite a lot of political and administrative weight inside the reform crucial to remodel governance structure, the civil service and its ecosystem. As a multidisciplinary physique of retired public servants with huge information of the workings of the system, CORFEPS possesses an enormous significance in connecting the institutional and reform dots when it comes to the place the civil service system is coming from, the place it’s at the second and the place it intends to be, given the democratic imperatives and improvement requirements of the present Tinubu administration. It is considered one of the most important stakeholders in the public administration communities of observe and service that articulates a unbroken skilled and institutional curiosity in furthering the relevance of the civil service as a big participant in the improvement course of in Nigeria.
The necessity of such a physique derives from the proven fact that patriotic and meritorious service doesn’t want to finish with retirement. Indeed, extra can nonetheless be executed in entrenching the institutional reminiscences that retired everlasting secretaries embody. CORFEPS, beneath the in a position chairmanship of Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, has been energetic in its constant push to regain the vocational honor, skilled ethos and administrative effectivity of the civil service. And in furtherance of this enthusiastic push for the significance of the civil service system as one essential cornerstone of democratic governance in Nigeria, CORFEPS has simply launched an incredible initiative: the CORFEPS Journal on Pubic Policy and Governance.
This vital initiative should be located inside a bigger context of the institutional reform of the civil service system, particularly its standing as a value-based establishment based on benefit, public spiritedness and professionalism. That context facilitates a framework that permits the previous and the current to provoke dialog, and for each retired and present public servants to incessantly brainstorm the way forward for the bureaucratic system and its functionality readiness to shoulder the burden of public coverage implementation. The journal, I need to say, presses the benefit of escalating the elementary significance {of professional} information and its function in deepening institutional progress. In different phrases, by it, CORFEPS offers a uncommon discussion board—draw, I dare say, from the administrative historical past of that golden period when administrative theorists (the robe) and practitioners (the city) have been in dialog—inside which administrative concepts, practices and initiatives may very well be mentioned, prolonged and utilized.
The inaugural version of the CORFEPS journal is certainly a full, wealthy and thrilling bundle that’s sufficiently thrilling to sign to the communities of service and observe that one thing new and difficult has arrived in the administrative area. This is as a result of the editorial board went all out to create a splash particularly with the vary of subjects coated, and much more specifically with the array of contributors and their distinctive specialties. As is to be anticipated, CORFEPS pulled strongly from inside its personal ranks for reflections that mix previous administrative experiences with present observations from behind the scenes. The majority of the contributors are retired everlasting secretaries who’ve served in a single capability or the different, and who’ve confronted one essential problem or the different with huge ranging ranges of successes.
In this regard, the CORFEPS journal, in its inaugural version, is drawing on the immense institutional reminiscences and skilled information of its members to ventilate each diagnostic, recuperative and reformative insights. And that is salutary in ways in which serve to enrich the mediatory function CORFEPS has been taking part in as a staunch and energetic stakeholder in the civil service reform mission in Nigeria. We now have a possibility to hear and take observe, exterior of the traditional high-power conferences, of the single-minded understanding of the civil service system from those that have manned its numerous elements, particularly the ministries, departments and businesses. Their reflections and analyses are complemented by others, essential watchers of the civil service, whose a few years of coping with the system make them vital individuals in the ongoing efforts to remodel it right into a value-based, public-spirited, meritocratic and high-performing world class establishment.
In phrases of the vary of subjects and themes mentioned in the inaugural version, the CORFEPS journal turns into an computerized administrative memento. The inaugural version is split into eight components. Each of the segments, with the exception of the final two, speaks deliberately to the most dominant points concerned in assessing and reworking Nigeria’s democratic governance experiment. This is certainly a well-thought out scholarly first step by the editorial board. Part one, titled “The Nigerian Civil Service,” has 4 essays; half two with seven essays is worried with governance instruments; half three has only one essay coping with Nigeria’s infrastructural improvement; half 4 has two essays surrounding management and administration; the two essays partly 5 are wrapped round the theme of well being and way of life; half six is devoted to 3 ebook opinions; half seven indicators latest appointments and tributes to distinguished former public servants; and half eight speaks to the actions of CORFEPS itself. In all, these thematic segments are all-encompassing. They are supposed to lay on the desk the diagnoses, prognoses and decision frameworks for understanding the totality of Nigeria’s administrative and governance challenges and the methods ahead to transcending them.
Without daring any in-depth evaluate of every essay—which fits past the area of this piece—I’ll contact on a few of the vital contributions. And after all, we begin with the civil service system. This is vital, even to the present advocacy tasks of CORFEPS itself. And the 4 essays on this section didn’t disappoint. Their totally different focuses are doubtless present and modern—the standing of the public administrator inside the civil service and governance framework; the relationship between the civil service and the activity of nation constructing; the significance of the MDAs in the achievement of state capability; and the relationship between administrative management and efficiency administration system. These are points which are essential in reflecting on the challenges the civil service system is dealing with—how can we instigate the emergence of a public supervisor with twenty-first competences and literacies who can supervise a civil service system that’s versatile, agile, technology-based and result-oriented by efficiency administration that transforms Nigeria’s productiveness?
In the second section of the journal, containing the most essays, the contributors engaged with governance issues that richly scope the depth of the key points. I’m notably thrilled by the essays that examine (a) public monetary administration and improvement financing, (b) the intervention of the govt in the institutional autonomy of public establishments, (c) decentralization and native governance, (d) capability improvement to realize service supply and (e) the significance of company governance in the public sector. These points join with the earlier one on the administrative system. Budgeting and the monetary administration self-discipline that should attend it are essential for servicing improvement planning. And this goes past merely rising funds dimension to the fundamentals of guaranteeing transparency and accountability in financing and execution that speaks to sustainable outcomes.
I’m additionally fascinated, as my many public interventions have demonstrated, with the place of native governance in Nigeria’s democratic governance. This additionally ties with the concern with the well being of fiscal federalism in the Nigerian federation. Indeed, the writer of the essay argues that constitutional autonomy to again the essence of native governance shall be grossly lower than optimum. Rather, what is required is what he calls the “Nigeria Local Governance Reform Framework (2026-2035)” meant to reposition the native governments as key drivers of grassroots improvement. This is true on level. Similarly, the authors of the essay on coaching and capability improvement try and recuperate coaching programmes “as genuine capacity-building instrument, anchored on competency-based needs assessment, transparent procurement, post-training accountability and the professionalization of Nigeria’s training institutions.”
The third and fourth segments of the journal are tied collectively by the relationship between management and sustainable improvement. Sound management is the distinction between profitable and failed infrastructure tasks. This then directs essential reform consideration to the problem of management coaching and choice, the focus of the first essay partly 4. Part 5 would appear to be off the path of a direct give attention to administrative and governance topic issues in its give attention to well being and way of life. But that isn’t the case. Most reform blueprints, not like the observe throughout the golden period of the public service in the Nineteen Seventies, fail to consider work-life stability in human capital improvement. This is essential in the sense that when the public servant is wholesome, it goes a good distance in affecting efficiency and productiveness. Thus, the two chapters on breast most cancers and prostate well being are key consider institutional reform.
To recapitulate: the inaugural version of the CORFEPS journal is known as a mouthful! It is sort of a reader on institutional and governance reform that every one MDAs and key parastatals should have of their libraries. More than this, the version already raises the bar that the editorial board can not afford to undermine, going ahead. I’ve a collection of suggestions on this regard. One, the journal should not try and be tutorial. It should relatively be styled and meant as a journal for public administration and public service professionals. This then calls for that the editorial board should give deep reflection, once more, to the goal of the journal and its meant viewers. The elementary query on this sense could be: What does the CORFEPS journal intention to turn into in the subsequent 5 years inside the Nigerian communities of service and observe? This query impacts the concept of fashion and content material. For instance, each version might then be themed round some particular material of administrative and institutional reform, governance problem, democratic consolidation, management, monetary administration, civil service mentoring, and many others. Contributions can then be sourced from seasoned consultants, public servants, directors, whereas on-line search can be made for syndicated columnists with revolutionary concepts and initiatives that speaks to the issues of the journals.
Indeed, particular editions may be proposed on any theme for which the visitor editor is famend. Departments of public administration, in addition to the MDAs, might function key research for reflection on the total well being of the civil service system and public administration in Nigeria. Websites of different skilled our bodies will function veritable supply of publishable supplies to introduce new concepts, instruments, strategies, and many others. Young mentees, volunteers and analysts is also enlisted and commissioned to jot down options on some present affairs which are related to public administration. Interviews and autobiographical notes are essential parts for understanding the progress and reform of the public service. The editorial board should due to this fact additionally consider segmenting the journals to provide room for particular options, from interviews to essential reform highlights in a few of the MDAs.
I’ll finish this piece with a observe of deep appreciation of those that thought the concept of the journal into existence. This is not any imply feat in the complete scheme of issues regarding institutional reform in Nigerian civil service system. Kudos, first, to Alhaji M. Yayale Ahmed, the National Chairman of CORFEPS and the distinguished writer of the journal. And then to Ambassador Dr Godknows Igali as the chair of the editorial board. I acknowledge each member of the editorial board and commend the efforts that went into birthing this inaugural version. We have commenced a journey right into a legacy of reform actions.
- Prof. Tunji Olaopa is a retired Federal Permanent Secretary and Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, Abuja
