By Joy Odor
Dr Onujabe Nasir, a retired Director in the Federal Ministry of Education on Tuesday advocated for reforms in Nigeria’s Civil Service, emphasizing the need to eliminate corruption and implement merit-based appointments.
The call to action aimed to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the civil service, tackling issues like partisan politics, red-tapism and unaccountability.
According to him, the Nigeria factor is the bile in the civil service and must be removed so that everything can go well, saying when the bile is in the meat, the meat becomes bitter and can’t be eaten.
The former Director who made this known in an interview with Journalists during his 60th birthday and retirement celebration in Abuja on Tuesday, lamented that there is a notion about the Nigeria civil service that “The more you go, the less you understand.
Dr. Nasir noted that for the country to make meaningful progress and be productive, the civil service must be reformed.
Recall that Nigeria’s civil service has undergone numerous reforms, but these efforts have yet to yield lasting improvements which the retired civil servant’s proposal highlights the urgency of addressing these challenges to enhance national development.
He challenged the civil servants and the teeming Nigerians on character and integrity, pointing out that “Integrity will debar you from not doing the wrong things.
“It will make you accountable and also make you serve the people selflessly” he pointed.
The former Director urged people in authority to eschew nepotism, but embrace humanity as one, stressing, “If we look at humanity as one, we’ll get it right in Nigeria.
“Actually this thing (the notion) brought corruption, I must tell you point blank. The civil service of Nigeria needs to be reformed so as to get it right. I passed through it, I knew what it was. I won’t say I’m a victim but I have learnt a lot.
“So, if Nigeria must progress and be productive, the civil service has to be reformed so that the Nigeria factor should be removed”, he said.
“When pressed on what kind of reform he meant, Dr. Nasir stated, “You know reform is very very wide, but if you want to narrow it down, I’m talking about character reform.
“We have to change from the usual to the unusual. The unusual is that we must follow what is good, and do away with what is bad in the civil service.
“If you lose integrity you won’t do the right thing. If you lost integrity, you would want to deviate” he noted.
