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Olaopa Lists Ways To Transform Public Service
The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has listed measures for transforming public service for productivity.
Olaopa spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the Inaugural Conference and the Launch of the Centre for Public Sector Governance .
Prof. Tunji Olaopa giving his speech at the event in Abuja on Tuesday.
Olaopa who spoke on “Strengthening Leadership and Ethics in Public Institutions” commended the launch of the centre by Dr Ernest Ndukwe , former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). He noted that the launch of the CPSG was a spirited patriotic effort by tested high-end professionals.
He said that such professionals who “have a deep sense of the significant binding capacity and capability constraints that have been circumscribing Nigeria’s development journey and her potential, do not want to resign to the ‘siddon-look’ option, but have chosen to give back through strategic interventions as a generational think tank investment.”
According to him, CPSG therefore constitutes a significant addition to institutional, structural, and managerial architecture, floated to offer services targeted at unlocking Nigeria’s potential in its journey to recover the lost years and therefore fulfil destiny .
Olaopa decried the idea of the public service which has been bastardised, noting : “And we all are familiar with how the public service is taken in Nigeria. To say you are working in a public institution is to mean a lot of things.One, it translates to doing whatever you like—arriving at work anytime, utilizing workplace environment for personal business, loafing during work-hour, or being essentially unproductive.
Indeed, given this perception of the public service, it is no wonder that the Nigerian government has lost its position as the employer of choice.”
Olaopa who described public service as a special calling and service to country, a calling similar to the Levitical order of priesthood in the Old Testament, listed some steps to make public service productive .
The public administrator said that a modern public service should be “fast moving, intelligent, professional; information-rich, flexible, adaptable and entrepreneurial; less employee-focused and rule-driven, delivers quality service;
performance-focused, accountable and inspired to uphold the vision of a transformed Nigeria; capable of creating the policy climate that will unlock the energy of the private sector and other sectors and to install a new productivity paradigm in the national economy;
operated by multidisciplinary team of new generation public managers and project teams ”
For him, such an institutionally reformed system needs a transformational manager rather than a mere administrator, and that such a public manager requires twenty-first century professional acumen that enables him or her to get things done in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, performance and productivity.
“The public service system needs a well-trained workforce as well as a commitment to the value of neutral competence rather than a concern with survival and managerial control. Professional attributes would include: foresight and provision (strategic, pro-active orientation); entrepreneurship (risk-taking, innovativeness); excellence/merit (constant search for perfection); impact or result-orientation (focus on performance and productivity); moral rectitude (responsibility, political neutrality, public spirit, accountability, equity, transparency, subordination of private/personal interest to public good) (UN, 1998: 19)”, he said.
Noting the first charge of the transformational administrative leader, Olaopa said: “The transformational administrative leader is first saddled with the challenge of overseeing the establishment of a value-based public service institution that moderates the persona and personality of its workforce which will require the implementation of a change management framework; initiating a cultural adjustment programme would aim to establish a new administrative ethos.
“This ethos is founded on the idea of excellence in service, meritocracy and spirituality that facilitate personal and public accountability. The transformational leader being a change agent has compelling responsibility to create a change space.”
But he noted that the new generation transformational administrative leader will have to face the contingencies attached to the VUCA—volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous—environment that influence administrative and institutional matters.
“This VUCA complicated change process will be further complicated by the new normal arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and by a new phenomenon that is now called polycrisis—the dynamics of interconnectedness of the problems and crises of the world in ways that heighten the virulence of each crisis and then even more complex to resolve.
“The pressure of doing more with less that is undermined by funding constraints; the service delivery challenge that has been aggravated by the COVID-19 new normal; the twists and turns of government shifts especially in terms of policies and performances; the challenge of managing and retaining the flexible and capable workforce; the need to combat silos mentality that prevent the system from stepping out of its myopic system thinking; and managing volatile and changing citizens’ needs and expectations”, he noted.
He noted that impactful leadership would demand a change management intelligence with ingrained capacity to withstand the polycrisis that has complicated the administrative environment in Nigeria.
“This change management needs a leader/change agent that can combine both the traditional and new skills and competences to both engage with and anticipate any new forms that the polycrisis could take which could be damaging to the public service system or undermine its efficiency. At the traditional administrative level, the change manager is expected to still maneuver through the following
roles: an expert—advising the government on policy decisions, a regulator—oversight over outsourced and externalized functions of government, an engager—shaping the larger issue of the public good and how it affects the community, and a reticulist—identifying new skills and expertise and bringing them together to achieve good results and outcomes”, he added .
He also stressed the importance of competences such as interpersonal
skills: facilitation, empathy, political skills; synthesising skills: sorting evidence, analysis, making judgements, offering critique and being creative; organising skills: group work, collaboration and peer review.
Others include communication skills: better use of new media and multi-media resources; ability to use methods, procedures, processes, tools, techniques, and specialized knowledge to perform specific tasks; ability to work cooperatively with others, to communicate effectively, to motivate and train others, to resolve conflicts; be a team player; ability to see the organisation as a whole and solve problems from a systematic point of view, not simply reacting to issues that are important now but working proactively to anticipate the kinds of issues that will be important in the future.
The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has called on Nigerians to join hands with governments at all levels to build a country where unity and peace would continue to prevail over division and silence the echoes of conflict.
Governor Abiodun made the call during the Special Church Service held to mark the year 2025 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Ake, Abeokuta.
The governor also called on the people to ensure that the legacies of the fallen heroes remain alive, saying that they fought for the territorial integrity of the country.
L-R: Akarigbo and Paramount Ruler of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi; Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide; State Chairman, Nigerian Legion, Master Warrant Officer Orukotan Olumuyiwa (rtd); Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; the Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu; Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo and the Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo, Oba Lawrence Jaiyeoba, who represented the Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona at the Special Church Service held to mark the year 2025 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Ake, Abeokuta, on Sunday.
“Today, let us pledge to honour their memory not only with ceremonies but with actions. Let us build a Nigeria where unity prevails over division, where peace silences the echoes of conflict and where the sacrifices of our heroes inspire us to serve one another selflessly,” he said.
Governor Abiodun added that the welfare of the families of the country’s fallen heroes shouldn’t rest solely on the shoulders of the Nigeria Legion alone, but should be a shared responsibility of the people of the country.
He added that their sacrifices should be enshrined in the heart of the country’s history and the fabric of the collective consciousness of the people.
“We must ensure that the legacies of our armed forces remain alive, enshrined in the heart of our nation’s history and the fabric of our collective consciousness.
“The Legion has continued to ensure that the families of our fallen heroes are well cared for. However, this responsibility should not rest solely on the shoulders of the Nigeria Legion alone.It must be seen as a collective duty, a debt that we all owe in honour of the memory of our departed men and women.
“As a nation, it is our moral duty to support and care for them, ensuring that their sacrifices are never forgotten,” he said.
While noting that the armed forces remembrance day isn’t just a day in the calendar, but a sacred moment to reflect on the sacrifices of the country’s fallen heroes and recommit ourselves to the ideals for which they stood, Governor Abiodun noted that their sacrifices were a testament to their patriotism, resilience and courage.
“They stood firm in the face of adversity defending the unity of our nation during times of war and unrest. They faced life threatening situations to ensure that the dreams of millions of Nigerians will not be extinguished.
“Their blood, sweat and tears have sown the seed of hope, peace and national pride, let us all take a moment to appreciate the families of this heroes; the unsung heroes who endured the pain of loss with unyielding grace,” he added.
The governor promised to continue to implement measures that would help cushion the bumps on the path of the economic renaissance of the country for all of its citizens and residents, adding that his administration would continue to support law enforcement agencies in the state.
In his sermon, the Rt. Rev’d Emmanuel Akinrodoye, the Bishop of Egba Diocese, the African Church, stressed the need for Nigerians to appreciate God despite the nation’s numerous challenges, saying it was only when they acknowledged God’s benevolence that He could heal the land.
He said it was imperative for Nigerians to remain prayerful especially for the families and the nation, be steadfast in faith, be united and extend hands of fellowship by using their gifts and resources to uplift others.
Bishop Akinrodoye called on the government to provide security agencies the needed resources to overcome insurgency that is troubling the nation, calling on Nigerians to show love to security personnel who are working round the clock to protect the nation as well as the families of those who paid the ultimate price for the peace of the nation.
Prayers were offered for the peace of the nation , Ogun State, the governor and families, while Governor Abiodun read from the book of Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 to 10.
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