The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Civil

  • ‘Imbibe civil service ethics’

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh, has urged newly recruited officers to be conversant with the extant rules and regulations of the civil service. He also asked them operate within the framework of the service.

    Dr. Illoh, who was represented by the Director, Human Resources Management, Mrs. Abiola Bawa, said this in Abuja while declaring open a two-day induction course for newly recruited officers in the Ministry.

    Dr. Illoh stated that the induction course was necessitated by the need to change the work ethics, values and productivity standard of the newly recruited officers towards building a strong institution, as no nation can make sustainable progress without the right values and culture.

    He enjoined the officers to imbibe the core values of the civil service as culture so that they can bring about the desired change, professionalism and progress to the Ministry in particular and the nation in general.

  • Be civil to motorists, LASTMA GM tells men

    Be civil to motorists, LASTMA GM tells men

    Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) new General Manager Mr Bashir Braimah yesterday urged his men to be civil to motorists.

    The officers, he said, should always work within the law.

    Braimah was addressing senior officers at the authority’s Oshodi, Lagos headquarters.

    He reaffirmed his commitment to professionalism through human capacity building, saying competence, commitment and concerns should be the personnel’s watchword.

    The LASTMA chief urged officers to devise scientific methods of unlocking traffic gridlocks and refrain from the old practice of chasing vehicles.

    “Gone are the days of impunity, indiscipline and extortion of money from motorists. All negative vices capable of damaging the image of the government should be done away it,” warned Braimah, who before his appointment was Director, Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and Culture.

    According to him, LASTMA will achieve a lot when its officers are dedicated to duty.

    When traffic flows, he said, motorists would burn less fuel, save energy and time, adding that insecurity would be eliminated.

    This will have a multiplier effect on the state economy, because savings will lead to investment, he said.

    Braimah remind his men that Lagos is the economic hub of Nigeria and West Africa thereby making it imperative for traffic management to be in line with best global practices.

    Braimah replaces Babatunde Edu, an engineer, who held the post.

  • Senior civil servants shut Unity schools

    Senior civil servants shut Unity schools

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has shut the 104 Federal Government Colleges.

    This followed a nationwide strike embarked on by education officers in the Federal Ministry of Education and the Inspectorate departments under the association’s umbrella, to prevail on the Federal Government to pay them their salary and promotion arrears.

    In a statement in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, at the weekend, signed by the Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, ASCSN said the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Education and the Inspectorate departments would also be shut from today.

    “The issues in dispute include but not limited to the non-payment of outstanding promotion arrears from 2007 to 2010 and the balance of 2011 promotion arrears, promotion arrears from 2012 to 2013, unpaid workers’ salaries for July, August, September, and October 2013, end-of-year incentives, non-payment of the first 28 days in lieu of hotel accommodation, 2010 Head of Service-organised mandatory training allowance, repatriation allowance, duty tour allowance, non-placement of promoted officers, etc,” the union said.

    It said the Federal Ministry of Education admitted that N1.8 billion was released to it this year to settle liabilities including salaries and allowances.

    ASCSN wondered if the money had entered into a “voice mail” as usual.

    “On August 20, the leadership of the union met the permanent secretary and other top officials of the ministry and they promised that arrears of promotion would be paid on or before August 31.

    “However, the leadership gave the ministry till September 12 to effect the payment,” the statement said.

    The union noted that when it became apparent that the ministry had not started paying promotion arrears and outstanding salaries , the national leadership of the association wrote a letter, including a reminder to their last  agreement.

    It said the  ministry fixed a meeting with  the association for September 17 at 12pm.

    “When the leadership turned up for the meeting at the headquarters of the ministry, neither the minister, the permanent secretary nor any top ministry official was available,” ASCSN added.

  • Civil society group urges media to use FoI Act

    A civil society coalition, the One Voice, has urged the media to make more use of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act to hold the government accountable.

    Presenting a survey at a media forum in Lagos, the group said since the Act’s passage in 2011, there has been no report of any media organisation taking government to court over denial of access to information.

    The forum had the theme: Media and Democratic Governance: The need for media pluralism.

    One Voice comprises groups such as the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP); the Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS); the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG); Access to Justice (A2J); The Network on Police Reform in

    Nigeria (NOPRIN), among others.

    All are supported by the United States National Endowment for Democracy.

    Speakers included Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda, Edeatan Ojo; Dr Tayo Popoola of the University of Lagos, Deputy Law Editor, ThisDay Newspaper Mr Jude Igbanoi, and Chair, One Voice Media Committee, Pastor Deji Adeleye, who read the survey report.

    The group sought more collaboration with the media, saying: “The Nigerian media needs the civil society organisations as non-state actors to advance the cause of democracy and good governance, just as the civil society groups cannot do it alone without the media.

    “The media in a way have become one of the strongest linkage institutions – bridging, as it were, the gap between the state and the citizens.”

    One Voice said the survey showed that the level of newspaper report on transparency, accountability and other good governance issues was seen by 65.63 per cent of respondents as low.

    The report said most newspaper reports are mostly sensational and lack investigative depth; while others are too patronising of government, even to the point of self-censorship.

    It attributed the decline in the quality of newspaper reports the “brown envelope” syndrome, ownership interests, unskilled reporters, poor and unpaid salaries and corruption.

    One Voice said: “The media serves as an effective check on those in power. They serve as the eye, ear and voice of the larger society. Indeed, it upholds the right of the public to know.

    “However, the ability and willingness of the media to carry out this function effectively depend largely on the form of the state in which the media operate and the character of the media itself.

    “This is another way of saying that there is a correlation between the existence of a free media and democratic governance. As a matter of fact, one of the main distinguishing features of a democratic form of government is the existence of free and independent media.

    Igbanoi said some of the limitations of media outfits include economic considerations.

    “The truth of the matter is that civil society is very critical of the government and understandably so.

    “But every media outfit wants to survive and must survive on patronage from the government at all levels, from ministries, government agencies and parastatals.

    “Therefore, the economic logic is very simple, ‘publish and be damned!’ So, when a newspaper engages in overtly and openly criticising the government and its agencies, it is tantamount to economic suicide,” Igbanoi said.

    He added that a balance must be struck between the media’s survival needs and effectively carrying out the watchdog role.

     

  • Fourteen years of civil rule

    Fourteen years of civil rule

    In spite of the structural and constitutional imperfections that have become integral to civil rule in Nigeria, there is still much to rejoice about the Fourth Republic. It is of course not yet a democracy in the classical sense, and the executive arm has often behaved with the monarchical temperament of its cultural past, but civil rule has endured for 14 fairly long and surprising years, by far the longest since independence. In the First Republic, civil rule lasted for less than six agonising and desperate years. The Second Republic was even shorter – a mere four years, notwithstanding the advancement in technology, knowledge and political sophistication. Much worse was the giddy and experimental Third Republic, which endured for one crazy year and a few months before it expired under the weight of insincerity, immaturity, presumptions and societal and judicial contradictions. Seeing then that with each succeeding republic, the experiment with civil rule became more convoluted, more demanding and less successful, it was logical to fear the worst for the Fourth Republic.

    That that negative expectation has not been fulfilled is probably a testimony to the people’s resilience, having suffered the indescribable torment of past military governments to the point of preferring anything else but military dictatorships. For as it is well known, the people themselves have not substantially changed either in terms of the discipline required to make a fair constitution workable, or in terms of creating the right atmosphere for the emergence of a leadership with the charisma and character necessary to revivify and redirect the country. In addition, as in the other republics, particularly the Second and the Third, there was never really a constitution properly describable as the people’s constitution. The case of the controversial Third Republic was even worse. Though governors had been sworn in and the National Assembly inaugurated, there was no constitution enacted to guide the democracy it pretended to have brought into being.

    So, in more ways than we care to pay attention to, this republic has done the impossible by surviving for so long. It is not a democracy yet, but it is significant that it is not a democracy because those saddled with that historic responsibility of laying its foundation did a damnable job. This, in fact, is why civil rule is tottering, and democracy remains far-fetched, if not a chimera. By far the most culpable in this wise is of course the irrepresible Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who still thinks that by merely midwifing a change from one president to another, he had recorded a feat. However, in spite of the weaknesses evident in the constitution, it would still have been possible to nurture real democratic government and change had Chief Obasanjo understood what the concept meant and expected of him, its philosophical and metaphysical significance, and its irreplaceability, not to talk of its proven capacity to mediate and moderate interrelationships and conflicts.

    The story of the past 14 years is, therefore, one frustrating and herculean effort to build a great edifice on a badly constructed foundation. Though the current leadership has made an even worse mess of governing the country than the last two presidents, and the mess is getting even messier with torrents of anti-democratic practices, it is urgent to find the right leadership able and willing to give what it has; for no leader can give what he doesn’t have, no matter how assiduously he is indoctrinated. If the republic is to be saved, and if real democracy is to be instituted, a fundamental change is required to make the republic endure, obviously shorn of the tentativeness that has afflicted the country since independence.

     

  • Civil servants seek holistic reform

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged the Federal Government to ensure a genuine restructuring of the civil service for an effective service delivery.

    Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, ASCSN’s Secretary General gave this advice this while fielding questions from reporters at an interactive session in Lagos.

    This advice is coming against the backdrop that the Federal Government was about restructuring the civil service. Head of Service, Alhaji Isa Sali, had given the hint at a strategic planning retreat for permanent secretaries and directors in Lagos that the Federal Government had called for a review of the vision and mission of the civil service.

    Lawal said only a genuine reform would help the government to achieve its planned review of the public service.

    “There should be new ideas to enhance capacity to deliver public services. Restructuring should not be a way to embezzle government fund.

    “In the past, consultants had used reform or restructuring to make money from civil service without any impact. It should no longer be like that,’’ Lawal warned.

    He lamented that civil servants, instead of reporting cases of corrupt enrichment they discover, usually turned the other way for fear of being sacked.

    The union’s scribe further warned of a nationwide strike or court action if Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State failed to reverse the appointment of a retired military officer as permanent secretary in the state.

    He said the appointment contravenes Section 282 Subsection 2 of the Constitution on appointment of civil servants.

    “The appointment of a retired military officer as permanent secretary breaches the provision of the constitution. You can only appoint qualified civil servants as permanent secretaries,’’ he said.

    He urged the governor to reverse the appointment in order not to promote the culture of impunity.

    Lawal said the union had invited the governor to a roundtable meeting without success.

    He added that civil servants in the state were disappointed about the appointment and the recent sack of their colleagues.

    About 22 Chief Inspectors of Education and 19 Local Education Secretaries were sacked recently for not being on their duty posts when the governor paid unscheduled visits to their schools.

  • Civil War 2012

    Civil War 2012

    I  enjoyed your historical analysis you titled “Albert agonistes”. I think Prof. Achebe has forgotten Nigerian history so soon or must have been suffering from hangover or senility or amnesia. Please post this article on the website to educate those of his like minds. – Chief Ayo, Ilesa.

    Achebe has long been writing in vain for the elusive Nobel Prize. His latest book showed he is filled with malicious rage and perhaps fractured mental balance. Thank you for dissecting his despondency and silly belly-aching. – Anonymous

    Those of you hiding Achebe for There was a Country are Yoruba who think Awo is infallible. Achebe is eminently right to relive, as catharsis, his experience during that our dark episode ; just as Soyinka wrote hisThe Man Died, and he – and we – his compatriots are the better for it! This is neither bigotry nor anti-Yoruba outburst. Awo didn’t deny that he didn’t order food blockade but he gave his reasons why he had to do that (The Nation08-10-12). My advice, however, is for Achebe to let go. There was a Country should act as the ultimate catharsis. – +2347068194122

    I read your piece and reaction to the ridiculous assertions of Pa Chinua Achebe about the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in his new book. Your postulation and analysis are inviting, realistic and academically stimulating. I have some vital questions for Pa Achebe and his horde of blind supporters: what would have been the fate of Nigerians if the Igbo had won the war? –Dave Blankson, +2348058514944.

    Re: “Albert agonistes”. Ojukwu could not take orders from Gen. Gowon and unlike Brig. Ogundipe who was the most senior military officer then, he declared a republic within Nigeria and dragged the Igbo and Nigerians into a war they were not prepared for. In war, there are casualties and collateral damages but Ojukwu should be blamed for this and not Awolowo. Prof. Achebe will end up doing himself more harm than good in his latest “tale by candlelight”! –Kayode A, Abeokuta, +2348073821313.

    It is very unfortunate that you chose to attack the personality of Achebe, instead of intellectual analysis and constructive criticism. The issues raised: 1. Should starvation/deprivation be used as war tool, like Chief Awolowo did? 2. When you declare “no victor, no vanquished”, should the people (losers) be denied of their life savings in various banks, just like Awolowo did, giving 20 pounds to each Igbo family irrespective of the amount they had in the bank? How about the banning of used clothes – the only cheap ones the Igbo could afford at that time, etc. I hope you can direct your pen to a professional debate and not on personalities. – +2348035181866.

    I think your piece was educative and analytical with reasonable facts. With all due respect to Prof. Achebe, his views are extreme, biased and lack analytical merit. Achebe should continue to enjoy his self-exile, instead of throwing “ethnic bazookas” that would continue to create needless tension at home. – +2348023185207.

    I am worried about the approach and response of you guys in The Nation to issues that have bearing on the Yoruba. Achebe’s new book which is not even in the market yet is being dissected and you guys are taking part for a whole. How do you review a serious intellectual work from a mere excerpt meant to market the book? Please The Nation is a highly respected newspaper. Don’t destroy it – Dr. Sam Aghalino, Unilorin, +2348039435843.

    Ripples: Thank you, Dr. Aghalino, but you, an academic of all people, should know that informed controversies do not destroy newspapers. Rather, they help build newspaper brands. As for your Yoruba/The Nation bother, my answer is simple: Nigeria is a federation and the media is federalised. So, let every shade of opinion fly.

    The war came and went. But 42 years after, the atrocities and other issues of the war are still being discussed. You know why? Those things that led to the war are still with us. I may not want to discuss Achebe’s position on Awo. Even as a Biafra veteran who fought on the side of my people aged 15 in 1967, Pa Awo remains a man after my heart for his high level of discipline. But he was very wicked to the Igbos. Achebe has every right to write his memoirs anytime he feels it is right for him. – +2347052461117.

    Well done comrade. I suggest people read the books, Brothers at Warby John de St. Jorre (Faber and Faber Ltd, 1972) and Biafra Story by Frederick Forsyth (Penguin London, 1969). The other voluminous book is Crisis and Conflict in Nigeria by AHM Kirk-Greene (a documentary source book, 1966-1970, 2 Vols, Oxford University Press, London 1971). The only solution to all is the convocation of a national conference. Thank you. – Col. Gabriel A. Ajayi, +2348037258268.

    “Albert agonistes”, a breakfast well served. One wonders why some people are held in perpetual bondage because of their unforgiving spirit of their own past mistakes, and the mistake of others. ‘Let go’ should have been the rhythm Achebe is dancing to now in quarter-to-end of his life, as against creating more civil wars within a conquered nation. – Yinka Ayanleye, +2348023178156.

    Please can you let Achebe and his ilk know that Col. Adekunle Fajuyi chose to die because of Ironsi, an Igbo man; that Soyinka risked his life going inside Biafra to persuade Ojukwu to recoil from war, and suffered solitary confinement for 22 months because of Igbos; that not a single Igbo was killed in Yorubaland and my Igbo lecturer at the University of Ibadan was most at home. Such a pity an 81-year old would choose to foul the air before departing. – +2348065475303.

    The Yoruba intelligentsia got it wrong in your response to Achebe’s book. I am happy that you agreed that the Civil War was a gang-up against the Igbo but your allegation that the Igbo ganged up against Abiola remains pure fiction, even if a few of our leaders misbehaved. After all, we did not starve or reduce the Yoruba class to nothing with an equivalent amount of 20 pounds. Igbo too were part and parcel of the June 12 struggle, men like MCK Ajuluchukwu, Arthur Nwankwo, Joe Igbokwe, Udenta Udenta and others. – Arinze Igbueli, +2348058054767.

    For those of you with the rare gift of intellectual pen power, the truth which hitherto has been kept from the public is out. What indeed triggered the pogroms was the provocative Igbo youths taunting northerners over the killing of the Sardauna. Can you please delve into the archives for the copy of Drum Magazine that featured on its pages the photograph of the body of Sarduana derisively (between February and March 1966) by the Igbo. Please ferret the Drum edition out, for the sake of posterity. – John Jimoh, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, +2347064370351.