Critique of Public Administrative Reform System: Post-Independence in Nigeria

Abstract

The public service of any nation is its veritable instrument for national development. If it fails, the gamut of policies meant for the nation’s development would have failed. In this sense, the observable developmental deficits in Africa cannot therefore, be separated from the failures of the continents public service and the largest chunk of these failures are located on the ethical behaviour of the public servants who are taking the service mostly as a colonial service. Writing from Nigeria hindsight, the author observed that most nation’s public service in Africa, like its larger society, have not been able to separate themselves from their history, the history of “colonial mentality.” In a way, an enduring problem noticeable within the public service in most sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) states has been what appropriate strategy will remove, the clove of “colonial mentality” associated with the public servant behaviour even years after decolonization of most SSA states and in spite of various post independent reforms put up to rectify these deficiencies. Has the knowledge of Africa Solution to Africa Problem (ASAP) instil the right type of ethical behaviours that will accept the public service as African service and not foreign service of the old exploitative order, divide and rule system and the ‘not my business’ syndrome that pervaded the era of colonial rules? It is critical that the failure of public service is a failure of service delivery in Africa. This paper, using Nigeria as a case study, does not only chronicle these failures/challenges as it affects Africa development strides, it also offers a process of public service ethics education as strategy, in order to have long-term and sustainable solutions that will promote public service delivery in Africa.