It’s often said that the growth of a nation hinges on the strength of its educational system. Expanding on this notion, one could argue that the success of a nation also depends on the caliber and commitment of its civil service. This is a challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s reformist 16th President, grapples with daily. He wants to move swiftly, but the civil service is vast, and its engine grinds slowly. He has made speeding it up a priority, and rightly so.
The civil service serves as the backbone of government administration. It translates policies into actionable plans and ensures that the President’s vision materializes into tangible benefits for the populace. Whether it’s issuing permits, allocating public resources, or delivering essential services, the civil service is the lubricant that keeps the nation functioning and ensures that the right initiatives are incentivized.
Therefore, the success of President Tinubu’s agenda heavily relies on optimizing the civil service for efficiency. As part of efforts to achieve this, he has introduced monthly evaluations focused on predefined key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and promote accountability. Naturally, this entails consequences for underperformance. However, will Nigerians, whose interests the President is fervently advocating for, support him in this crucial endeavor?
The experience of El-Rufai, another prominent reformer, serves as a cautionary tale. Alarmed by the inability of school teachers to pass a competency test designed for primary school level, he rightfully removed them from service to pave the way for more capable educators. As any serious administrator would, he recognized the crucial role of public education in leveling the playing field and empowering the underprivileged. He refused to entrust the state’s children to teachers who couldn’t meet basic standards.
Yet, his noble intentions clashed with a pervasive mindset that has hindered Nigeria’s progress: the belief that the civil service is merely a means for anyone, regardless of competence or productivity, to draw a salary from the state. In this thinking, while the state has an obligation to pay everyone that makes it onto its payroll, it cannot set or enforce standards, under the threat of strikes and electoral punishment.
El-Rufai faced similar threats as protests broke out in the state, with even self-proclaimed intellectuals on social media defending the rights of incompetent teachers to shape the future of the state. Despite his resolve, he eventually had to find a compromise to reintegrate some of them into the system.
This is the harsh reality of Nigeria—a fate that President Tinubu may encounter if he insists on excellence as the minimum acceptable standard. However, progress cannot be achieved if the machinery of government remains rusty.
It has long been argued that citizens share as much responsibility as the government for effecting lasting change and progress, even if some think it is an attempt by the government and its apologists to abdicate its duty. But this is a case where the role of the citizens couldn’t be clearer. President Tinubu wants to cut the red tape so Nigeria can turn the corner and deliver its promise to its citizens. He is ready to set the standards and enforce them. But success can only be achieved if Nigerians, including the civil servants, answer the call to duty, not insisting that only the state has obligations to be met.
