Government Service and Governance

At the present time, in Nigeria, only a handful of civil and public servants take their duties seriously and wholeheartedly. Their attitude is directly related to the position of government in the three tiers on issues of workers' welfare and conditions of service. Indeed, the focus of those on government payroll in any given line of duty or assignment is what is in it to gain and not what ought to be done. In other words, selfless devotion to duty is no longer there. Assigned tasks in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies are no longer done properly and promptly. A sizable number of workers no longer possess a sense of responsibility. Who is to blame ? For several years now, the monster of indiscipline has continued to fester, with due process as the major casuality. The struggle for ''power'' among government workers is the most prominent activity going on in most offices. Sharp practices are the order of the day. This is partly as a result of the sectional democracy in vogue today. At the Federal, State and local government levels, workers, who are co-opted to generate revenue for the government, make good use of the opportunity to protect their future. The source of inspiration for this category, of workers, includes stories of government workers who retired in 2010 and are yet to be paid their gratuities. Workers should be devoted and committed to duty, to avoid negative reports from their superiors. Sadly, the crop of leaders we have in Nigeria are in too much rush to actualize self-serving ideas, which have no direct bearing with the disturbing situation everywhere presently. The worrisome question everywhere at present is : has the insensitive attitude of government ensured workers' devotion and commitment to duty ?