Re: Kano Government and the Civil Service

I feel compelled to write this rejoinder in response to the above write-up on your daily publication of Daily trust August 20, 2019. The need to set the record straight was so overwhelming, in view of the cascade of half-truths and disgruntled obfuscation portrayed therein by miscreant with the sole objective of casting aspersion and […]

I feel compelled to write this rejoinder in response to the above write-up on your daily publication of Daily trust August 20, 2019. The need to set the record straight was so overwhelming, in view of the cascade of half-truths and disgruntled obfuscation portrayed therein by miscreant with the sole objective of casting aspersion and demeaning the hard-earned image of the Civil Service in Kano State.

The writing which to all intents and purposes was glazed and seemingly laced with a subtext of malicious intent to portray the present administration in a bad light was at best mischievous and to a large extent ill-advised.

The target of criticism was focus exclusively on the recent policy of the State Government to reform the top echelon of the Civil Service by relieving Permanent Secretaries of their post. The strategy required that all eligible Civil Servant including the former Permanent Secretaries can apply for the posts.

To set the record straight, what the author failed to realized was, the initiative was in a bid to reinvigorate the Service at the management level by initiating reform measures aimed at providing a fresh perspective and giving a unique opportunity to Civil Servants with requisite competence, who have reached the top grade level to aspire to the position of Permanent Secretary. A rigorous selection process was applied to shortlist for the eventual appointment to the positions based on merit.

This rather than being an afront to the service or an avenue for settling a vendetta as the writer suggested, was a basis to inject new blood and new ideas into a stagnated system that has been strait-jacketed by a misguided sense of entitlement. Government simply cannot let it be business as usual as the Civil Service was at a crossroad, where the hitherto doctrines of discipline, decorum and neutrality have been thrown to the dogs by some disgruntled elements.

It is unfortunate, that the parochial penmanship of “Bahago” was not so forthcoming when the service was being compromised and privileged positions were used to willfully sabotage government. Recall if you will, the various incidences where sensitive, confidential documents and official information was recklessly leaked in a blatant disregard to the oath of secrecy and the ethics of the Service.

If anything, the writer and his cohorts should extol the magnanimity of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje whom upon assumption of Office in 2015, carried along all Permanent Secretaries he inherited from the preceding administration irrespective of creed or loyalty to ensure continuity in government.

This was indeed a clear departure to the previous administration which upon assumption of Office summarily retired Permanent Secretaries and demoted others to directors and even classroom teacher at their prime. To this day the service is still reeling from the effects of this incursion. Not to be outdone, a tenure policy for Permanent Secretaries and Directors was introduced which wreaked havoc to the Service as an institution and symbol of stability.

It took the intervention of Governor Abdullahi Umar’s administration to repeal the improvident policy, and the same Permanent Secretaries the current administration is accused of victimizing were the foremost beneficiaries of the action.

Consequently, the precedence has been set, one need not search too far in the recent past to find the antecedence. History has shown recurrently that the actions of government are usually preceded by mitigating circumstances which have always heralded the introduction of reform in the Civil Service.

The purge of the Civil Service by General Murtala regime, retirement of the top brass of the military in the fourth republic by then President Obasanjo and the tenure system introduced during the time of Goodluck Jonathan, are case in points. History has taught us that each successive government ushers in its own brand of reform and depending on one’s view point, these actions have the tendency to be narrow-mindedly misconstrued as prejudicial. Only the benefit of hindsight tends to vindicate such actions as well-intentioned and purposeful.

To relate to advanced democracies, the Singaporean Civil Service considered among the best in the world introduced in circa 2000, a Public Service Leadership Scheme where Permanent Secretaries have to retire even if they haven’t attained the retirement age/period, to provide opportunities for younger officers to rise up the ranks.

The republic of Ireland, a former Commonwealth Country, with its Civil Service steep in the British’s tradition inherited by other fellow Commonwealth nations, introduced the “Strategic Management Initiative” which interalia ensured that the post of Permanent Secretary is no longer “permanent”.

In best practice environments such as the private sector, management shake-ups and reorganization are essential to the growth and efficiency of organizations and enterprises. Corporate restructuring is commonplace and driven by the necessity to adjust to an ever-changing operating environment.

Here at home, the Ganduje administration within its purview, introduced reform measures to address certain challenges perceived in the civil service. To ensure it remains apolitical and fit for purpose to attain the developmental aspiration of the citizenry. To diminish this objective to mere witch-hunting and inconsequential victimization of a few individual is to demean the true intent of the action.

Furthermore, before the appointment of the current Permanent Secretaries, there was a Circular relieving them of their appointments and requesting all qualified, including the relieved to apply for re-appointment if interested. It may interest all and sundry to note that those that were said to be victimized never re-applied. Rather most of them preferred to apply for retirement. This refusal to apply for reappointment and opting for retirement after being relieved of the position of Permanent Secretary justifies retirement on substantive grade levels (Directors) as the case may be.

The crux of the matter is that human beings must accept change as a constant in life, and the only fear one should have is the inability to accept it. It is part of the dynamism of the Service and it provides an opportunity for it to evolve and respond to the needs of its constituents and the citizenry.

It is imperative if one is to therefore, disparage the actions of government to do so based on objectivity and fairness to all sides, not just to serve a predetermined agenda. The narrative should be, to place all perspectives on a scale of balance, in order to judge fairly the cause rather than criticizing the effects, after all he who comes to equity, should come with clean hands.

Sulaiman Shu’aibu writes from Kano