 |
| Rt. Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, OON |
OPINION
In Nigeria’s journey towards progress, a deeply concerning issue that continues to unravel is the web of job racketeering that taints the very fabric of our civil service. The practice of placing unqualified individuals in positions of great importance remains a festering wound - a wound that we must heal together, with a renewed commitment to integrity.
It is needless to state that at the heart of Nigeria’s struggle lies the unsettling fact that unqualified individuals often occupy vital roles within the civil service. Sometimes, individuals lacking the qualifications and expertise needed to drive true progress are given positions that require competence and dedication. This not only undermines the efficiency of our government operations but also fosters an environment ripe for corruption and a lack of accountability.
The racketeering, nepotism and favouritism plaguing government jobs are now carried out with so much impunity that certain 'Grade A' parastatals don’t even bother to publish job vacancies. Trading is regrettably what recruitment into Nigeria’s civil service has been reduced to with the most lucrative jobs given to the children of the Aristos or in some cases, the highest bidders.
Amidst this ugly scenario, the House of Representatives constituted an Adhoc Committee chaired by Rt. Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, OON, whose mandate is to investigate Federal MDAs, Parastatals, Ministries and Tertiary Institutions on the mismanagement of the Personnel Recruitment, Employment, Racketeering, and gross mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) by both government bodies and private corporations.
The evil in Nigeria’s civil service which the Committee probe is unearthing is what has robbed the country’s public sector of efficient and effective service delivery. It is safe to say that the Committee's work is much more than just providing jobs for the sons of nobody. It is a crusade to prevent qualified candidates with something to offer from being sacrificed for mediocre and least qualified ones.
Regrettably, merchants of corruption and impunity, as usual, would not allow such cleansing to hold and as a result, they are employing all antics to deviate the Committee from carrying its mandate. A Premium Times publication of Tuesday, August 29, 2023, titled: “INVESTIGATION: Nigerian lawmakers probing job racketeering are extorting money from agencies”, was nothing but a deliberate attempt to distract the committee from bringing competence and sanity into the Nigerian Civil Service.
The Gagdi-led committee investigation no doubt is a crucial step towards dismantling this deeply ingrained issue, highlighting our collective commitment to change. And, Nigerians are aware that fighting corruption and impunity is not an easy task as they always have a way of fighting back. As a result, well-meaning and patriotic Nigerians strongly throw their weight behind the Committee because of their confidence in its honesty, sincerity, commitment and expertise.
Therefore, despite the present distraction in the form of corruption allegations against some members of the Committee and the many ones yet to come, the Committee as assured by the indefatigable Chairman, is far from waning and that it would make its findings public for all Nigerians to see the rot in the civil service, with the view to finding an everlasting solution to such menace.
Our prayer is that God Almighty should continue to guard and guide the Committee in its quest to bring hygiene into the civil service and in the process, move Nigeria to higher heights.
0 Comments