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A
J
PAM
African Journal of
Public Administration
and Management
Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020
Chief Editor
Prof. Malcolm Wallis
Editors
Dr. Mataywa Busieka
Dr. Florence Wachira
Prof. Gabriel Ukertor
Assistant Editors
Jessica Omundo
Julie Muia Mutunga
AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 1AJPAM Guide to Contributors
AJPAM is the official Journal of the African Association for Public Administration and Management
(AAPAM), Africa’s continental professional association for public administrators and managers.
AAPAM brings together policy makers, management practitioners and scholars associated with
the state and non-state sectors. AAPAM is also affiliated with other International and professional
bodies across the globe.
AJPAM is a bi - annual publication published in January and July each year. Manuscripts
discussing a range of issues of public administration, leadership, management, development and
related matters across the continent and from other parts of the world are welcome.
AJPAM’s editorial policy is to publish original works that are practical and scientifically based
and /or suggest new insights and innovative ideas in African and Global Administration and
Management.
Authors are charged 100 USD (One Hundred United States Dollars) for each paper published in
AJPAM as from 1st January 2018. Payment is effected The money shall be paid when submitting
the final copy after peer review (see account details below) Relevant bibliographical notes,
literature and book reviews are invited as well.
Relevant bibliographical notes, literature and book reviews are invited as well.
Interested contributors are advised to submit their manuscripts in electronic format in MS word
by email, two hard copies of the manuscript may be sent in addition. The articles should comply
with the following:
1. Title page, with full names of author, an abstract of 150-200 words and relevant key
words
2. Be formatted in MS word, be typed double – spaced with a size 12 font.
3. Not exceed 6,000 words.
4. Bibliographic references should be in the Harvard style
5. Ensure that in the event that endnotes are used, they should be very brief, limited to
observations and comments that do not form part of the bibliographical reference.
Endnotes should be numbered in the text and placed in a consecutive order at the end of
the text, immediately before the list of references.
6. The Tables and Figures should be appropriately named, numbered and placed in the text.
Authors are advised to ensure that their articles;
a. Present new knowledge in the field of Public Administration and Management.
b. Employ scholarly and professional language in English or French.
ii AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020c. Generate discussions that can lead to mapping out solutions to challenges of Public
Administration and Management.
d. Express perspectives from different African Regions.
e. Contain, as far as possible, implications for public sector managers and administrators.
AJPAM is a refereed journal as all articles are subjected to a rigorous process of peer review
before publication. The views expressed in articles are those of the author(s). Neither AJPAM
nor AAPAM can be held liable for any residual errors. However, by the authors agreeing to the
decision of AAPAM to publish their articles, they are in effect passing their copyright to AAPAM.
Authors are entitled to two copies of the issue of the Journal in which their articles are published.
Contributions should be forwarded to: aapam@aapam.org and info@aapam.org
AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 iiiContents
Message from the Editor v
State Formation, Identity Value of Citizenship and the Role of the Civil Service:
Patterns and Trends in Nigeria 1
Jide Balogun
Integration and Inclusivity: Fundamentals for Transformation of Governance and
Public Administration in Africa 14
Bashi Mothusi
Perspectives on Gender and Corruption in Botswana: Lessons and Implications for
Anti-Corruption Policy 25
Abiodun Marumo Tito Omotoye
Imperatives: The Five P’s: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships and
Sustainable Development Goals - The Need to Transform Public Administration
and Management 44
Dorothy. Mpabanga and L. Sesa
Female Leadership and Key Decision Making in the Roman Catholic Church: Is
There Hope at the End of the Tunnel? 59
Chikerema A.F, Sithole A and Colonel. S. Chikwavira
The Theory and Practice of Local Governments’ Monitoring Role in Implementing
Decentralisation. The Case of Uganda
68
Stephen Gunura Bwengye
iv AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020Introduction by the Chief Editor It is a great pleasure to introduce to you the latest edition of AAPAM’s journal which has for many years served as a forum for debate and information pertaining to public administration and management in Africa. The journal has regularly tried to serve its readers by publishing articles that are a reflection of the changing landscape of public services in Africa. As a journal that is written both for academics and public servants, the journal has been a bridge which links to sometimes unduly separate worlds of government on the one hand and higher education on the other. The journal is firmly aligned to AAPAM’s commitment to promoting research aimed at contributing to solving the development needs of African states. It is very pleasing that the present volume includes an article by Professor Jide Balogun from Nigeria who has a long association with AAPAM going back to the early days of the journal. He was our first editor. I have in one of my bookcases a copy of the issue of January 1992 which contained five articles by distinguished African academics and public servants. He is ideally placed to write for us an historical piece on state formation in Africa. His article is a reminder of the importance of history and therefore the need to eschew the narrowness of what in some quarters has been termed ‘presentism’. Thank you, Professor Balogun, for your article in this volume and for your pioneering service for AAPAM and its members. The other articles tackle contemporary themes. This volume includes an article by Mothusi on the inter- related issues of integration and inclusivity in Africa; these are issues of growing importance in debates about development in general as well as emerging as key concerns for Public Administration and Management. For example, such issues were often raised by participants at the 2018 AAPAM Round Table in Botswana. Another theme which is picking up momentum is that of gender. Omotoye looks at the case of Botswana and spells out the implications for policy makers of the ways in which gender and corruption are connected. It is well known that the sustainable development goals are now very much on the agenda for Africa. However, the implications for Public Administration and Management are not always seen as clearly as they need to be. The article by Mpabanga and Seta helps to improve this state of affairs in their article which pinpoints what they see as the 5 ‘Ps’. As we need to give greater commitment to sustainable development, their article is a timely reminder of the need for more effective state action in support of the SDGs. Finally we include a piece from Zimbabwe which is about the Roman Catholic Church. Chikerema, Sithole and Chikwavira have carried out research which reminds us, inter alia that non - government organizations have been of growing importance for some years now. It is hoped that more articles of this sort can be carried in the journal to remind us that the public sector should not be divorced from the important work being done by churches and other NGOs. Also of importance is the article on project management in local government in Uganda by Bwengye which highlights the need for significantly more effective monitoring without which critical data cannot be reliably obtained. The article presents a large amount of information arising from fieldwork undertaken for the author’s doctoral thesis. AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 v
I hope you find much to interest you in this volume and that you enjoy reading the articles. I also hope you will continue to support your journal as it strives to deliver on our vision and mission which, in a nutshell, is to promote excellence, professionalism and best practice in African states. Prof. Malcolm Wallis Chief Editor vi AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020
State Formation, Identity Value of Citizenship and the Role
of the Civil Service: Patterns and Trends in Nigeria
M. J. Balogun1
Abstract
The article argues the proposition that where those currently running a state cannot legitimately
claim to be its founders, securing obedience to the state requires, at the minimum, that genuine efforts
be made to implement inclusive, identity-strengthening policies and programmes. Specifically, if a
state appears unable or unwilling to provide credible answers to dominant concerns—especially,
concerns for personal security, for equal and unimpeded access to essential services, and for
unhampered exercise of rights that neither imperil nor annihilate opposite numbers’ rights--the
citizen will inevitably look elsewhere for support. Herein lies the significance of the civil service’s
role. The article begins with a conceptual framework depicting the circumstances under which
individuals and groups surrender fractions of their freedoms to enable a central authority to tackle
problems that are beyond the capacity of individuals. It then proceeds to track the process of state
formation in Nigeria. In the accompanying sections, the article examines patterns and trends in
the growth of the civil service, assesses the role of the bureaucracy in the development of modern
Nigeria, and discusses the future role of the civil service.
Key words: State, State Stages, Legitimacy, Indigenous, Natives, State Systems
The Whys and the wherefores on their behalf. At yet another time, it takes
the intervention of a foreign power to establish
of State Formation and
order in a distant but hitherto anarchic society.
Survival: A Conceptual
Framework Examples of forceful personalities creating
order out of chaos abound in history. They
State creation is not a science, let alone an include Genghis Khan, the brain behind one
exact one. At one time or place, it might of the largest empires in history; Alexander the
owe its existence to the empire-building Great, who united the Greek city-states and
instinct of an individual endowed with a led the Corinthian League.2 Other historic
few attributes—notably, charisma, foresight, figures that brought formerly autonomous
ingenuity, astuteness, ruthlessness, courage groups under diverse forms of centralized rule
and determination. On another day, the state are Charlemagne, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, the
only emerges when individuals, like those in Muslim Caliphs, and the Ottoman Sultans.
early Greek city-states, meet to decide issues Among Africa’s state builders are Sonni Ali Ber,
of common concern or, failing that, implicitly Askya Muhammadu Ture, Oduduwa, Shaka
or explicitly mandate a central authority to act the Zulu, and Othman Dan Fodiyo, the erudite
Islamic scholar whose teachings contributed
1
Director, DRM Associates, former Senior Adviser, UN Headquarters,
New York, and former Director-General, The Administrative Staff 2
He was variously known as King of Persia, Babylon and Asia, and
College of Nigeria e-mail: balogunjide@hotmail.com King of Four Quarters of the World.
AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 1largely to the overthrow of the superstition- The State’s Claim to Obedience
prone and corruption-ridden Hausa city states
and their replacement by the Caliphate. Who brings a state into being is at any rate not
as important as the efforts made to proceed
Where a state owes its existence to individual from the founders’ dream to the institution of
acumen, it becomes the individual’s personal measures aimed at securing the loyalty of the
preserve. In that case, the ruler is at liberty to associating parties and at preserving the state’s
say l’etat c’est moi (the state it is me). His death sovereignty and territorial integrity. The dream
does not terminate his “proprietary rights” as is likely to turn into a nightmare where what
the rights are inheritable by his descendants. was earlier promised is different from what is
subsequently delivered.
As it so happens, it is not in every case that
an individual unilaterally and successfully This raises the question why one state waxes
imposes his will on a freedom-loving people. strong while another constantly struggles to
A people may by itself, and considering past survive. Why is one state obeyed while another
historical ties, existing cultural affinity, and/ is constantly and, at times, successfully, defied?
or the perceived benefits of association, decide The realist school of thought’s answer to this
that its overall interest lies in surrendering a question is simple: the will of a state prevails or
fraction of individual rights and investing a fails depending on how far the state founders
central authority with the residual sovereignty are prepared to go to apply brute force and
to safeguard collective interests and freedoms. cunning in order to interdict anarchy and
This is the case where a “People” come enthrone civil order. The average individual,
according to the realist thinkers, is too self-
together to “give themselves” a constitution
absorbed--too self-seeking--to part with his/her
or to ratify a ‘social contract’ empowering the
rights and freedoms. It is then up to a central
state to take authoritative decisions--decisions
authority to insure itself against rebellion by
which, with a bit of luck, would serve the
applying a combination of subterfuge, cajolery,
interests and reaffirm the rights and freedoms
bullying and coercion. After all, freedom left
of the associating groups.
unchecked produces a life that Hobbes terms
“poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes,
On yet another day, the state comes into being,
1985:223).
neither because an individual proactively and
unilaterally decide to create one, nor due to
What does one make of a state founded on a
a community’s spontaneous or instinctive mixture of force and deception? Are the state
embrace of order over lawlessness, but apparatuses of control and coercion really
because a foreign power sees an opportunity anchored on the ‘will of the people’ or are they
to bring the benefits of “civilization” to a mere illusions created to give an appearance of
medley of warring tribes, and pave the way popular consent?
for the exploitation of the colonized territory’s
resources. According to the realists (particularly,
Thucydides, Hobbes, Machiavelli, and
Morgenthau), moral values are mere illusions.
Norms of right and wrong are created by
2 AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020individuals and cultures, not discovered the idealists insist that even when rights are
through a rational process of deduction and foregone for the greater good of society, the
experimentation. Since they evolve under sovereign still has an obligation to safeguard
different circumstances, moral values are whatever is left of those rights. The challenge
invoked only when they serve a concrete then is finding the right formula that balances
interest but cast aside when they do not. state sovereignty with individual freedom. This
is the essence of Rousseau’s social contract
The idealists differ with their realist (Rousseau, 1987:148).
counterparts not only on morality but also
on why individuals submit to a central The Legitimacy of the Post-
authority. John Locke agrees with the view Colonial Kingdom
that man’s natural inclination is toward
perfect and complete liberty—liberty to do It is all well and good drawing up a social
what concerns none but the doer. However, contract that safeguards the rights and
where the realists place emphasis on a blend freedoms of the individual. As argued in this
of wile and intimidation, Locke and other paper, such an arrangement might work where
idealists underscore the significance of reason. a critical mass successfully challenges the
He contends that as one endowed with the “divine rights” of Kings and/or constructs a
reasoning faculty, the individual is too sensitive state founded on the will of the people. The
to the risks of anarchy to renounce allegiance arrangement will, in all probability, break
to organized government. down in states created by external colonial
powers.
The state of nature might thus be lacking in
centralized government, but not in morality. Heterogeneity erects insuperable obstacles
The moral awareness of an otherwise anarchic to state formation in post-colonial states. It,
society explains the individual’s readiness to heterogeneity, also opens up opportunities for
submit to a central authority. The individual the consolidation of patron-client arrangements
is fully conscious of the fact that s/he cannot and rent-seeking. Appealing to ethno-religious
behave as s/he wishes all the time, because sentiments, and applying methods fair and
to so do is to expose one to the aggressive, foul, aspiring leaders pay little attention to the
predatory and freedom-pre-empting urges of needs and demands of diverse constituencies.
the other. As soon as power falls into the hands of the
seeker, s/he leaves nothing undone to retain it.
The only historical exception to the rule of S/he starts by bending public institutions to
unbounded freedom is Adam, but then he was his/her will. In no time, state institutions are
all alone and had the Garden of Eden all to turned into the stomping grounds of politically
himself. Regardless of the fact that Adam’s connected individuals, notably, “first ladies”,
descendants lived in a state of nature for first sons/daughters, political god-fathers, and
several millennia, individuals had to sacrifice those authorized to act on “instructions from
some of their rights as they “grew and above”.
multiplied” and the chances of one person’s
choices conflicting with another’s increased Long-time success demands that conscious
exponentially (Balogun, 2011). All the same, and sustained efforts be made to command
AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 3the allegiance of heterogeneous groups to an Pre-Colonial System of
externally imposed ‘social contract’. This
Government
warrants enacting and executing measures
that incrementally enhance the “identity value
It is not as if the “primitive” tribes lacked
of citizenship.” In a post-colonial state, neither
systems of government and social control.
realism’s fallback on cunning and compulsion
The Hausa-Fulani and Bornu societies, as
nor idealism’s reliance on reason would suffice
Lugard discovered, were under one form of
in holding the state together. The post-colonial
centralized rule or the other. The hierarchical
state will live or die depending on whether
structure in Hausa-Fulani states placed the
it is the state rather than the sub-cultures
Sultan (Sarkin Musulumi or Leader of the
that responds effectively to the citizen’s
Faithful) at the apex of the Caliphate. Below
daily concerns—particularly, the yearnings
him were the Emirs in charge of provinces,
for personal security, and for access to life’s
the District Heads posted to districts, and the
necessities.
Village Heads assigned to villages and hamlets.
The lower-level officials served as the “eyes
This underscores the critical role of the civil
and ears” of their superiors, in much the same
service bureaucracy in the state formation
way as the enderassies (provincial governors)
process. The bureaucracy’s legal-rational
did in Imperial Ethiopia. More or less the same
authority, its formalized processes, its
pattern prevailed in Bornu where the Mai (later
reservoir of technical know-how, these and
Shehu) sat atop the Kanem Empire.
other attributes, adequately prepare it for
its civilizing mission, which is essentially the Powerful as he was, neither the Sultan nor any
mission of shepherding a community from the of the Emirs ruled alone. Each was assisted
state of nature (or lawlessness) to the state of by high-ranking officials and advisers. A
order. corps of specialized personnel performed
essential functions in Islamic states. Ma’aji,
The State Formation Process in the Treasurer, supervised the Treasury, and
Nigeria: The Early Stages the Alkalis decided criminal and civil matters
by applying the Shari’a legal code. Dogaris
Nigeria came into being neither through the and Yandokas (police constables) maintained
efforts of an indigenous empire builder nor law and order, while minor court officials
by the resolution of a constituent assembly ministered to the needs of the palace. Other
convoked by the people with the aim of creating officials were designated to collect haraji (poll
for themselves a state. At no time did Nigerians tax) and jangali (cattle tax). The Ma’allams
gather to “give themselves a constitution” imparted religious education at the madrassas,
delimiting the powers and obligations of rulers. taught Arabic to those seeking exposure to
Nigeria emerged when a foreign conquering Middle Eastern literature and to non-Western
power, Great Britain, subdued, pacified, and sources of knowledge, or tutored adults unable
incrementally merged hitherto autonomous, to master Arabic grammar on how to read and
stand-alone, possibly, reciprocally antagonistic write Ajami, basically, Hausa texts written in
tribes into a federation of nationalities. Arabic characters.
4 AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020In the south-West, mid-West, and the Niger Rudiments of Modern
Delta, the inhabitants came under the rule of
Administration
paramount rulers, among them the Oni of Ife,
the Oba of Bini, the Alafin of Oyo, the Olu
The seeds of a nation later known as Nigeria
of Warri, the Awujale of Ijebuland, the Alake
were sown in the nineteenth century. At the
of Egba, and the King of Bonny. However,
initial stages, private commercial interests
none of the paramount rulers exercised any
teamed up with the Crown to establish the
authority that rivalled that of an Emir. Where
rudiments of public administration. For
an Emir was empowered to issue general
instance, in 1879, a number of British
and specific directives to lower-level officials
trading firms competing with their French
(District and Village Heads), a typical Yoruba
counterparts came together, with an initial
Oba’s authority over subordinate chiefs (like
capital of £125,000, to form the United Africa
the Baales, the local equivalents of District,
Company, UAC. Shortly thereafter, another
Village, Ward, and Clan Heads) was titular
firm, the National African Company, NAC,
rather than real.
opened for business. On 10 July 1886, NAC
The centralized system of government in was granted a royal charter and its name
the Hausa-Fulani and the Yoruba, Edo, and was changed to the Royal Niger Company,
allied societies stood in stark contrast to the Chartered and Limited.
system adopted in segmented, “stateless” Igbo
The Royal Niger Company doubled as
and Tiv societies. Among the “tribes without
a business enterprise and as surrogate
rulers”, authority to regulate social behaviour
government. Besides engaging in normal
and discharge essential functions is shared
commercial activities, it maintained law and
among various institutions, especially, clan
order within its territory, imposed taxes,
heads, councils of elders, age-grades, secret
collected custom duties, organized a modern
societies, priests, medicine men, and ad hoc
police force, and established a network of
vigilante groups.
courts. This was to be expected. After the
Regardless of the system of government Berlin Conference of 1884/ 85 settled the
in vogue at any time or place, and with the European powers’ claims to African territories,
possible exception of the Islamic states under Great Britain, unable to mobilize the resources
Shari’a law, authority to rule rested not on needed to administer its own share of the
law or reason, but on a mixture of personal loot, devolved overseas state formation and
charisma, encoded myths, superstitions, and construction responsibility “to those who
“the ways of the ancestors.” Naturally, conflict were willing and anxious to accept it.” (Kirk-
frequently arose over how to respond to Greene, op. cit., p. 262)
ongoing challenges in light of the gods’ decrees
Great Britain did not cede total control of its
and the spirit mediums’ interpretations.
territory to the Royal Niger Company. Before
the Company was granted a royal charter,
Britain had maintained a token presence
in coastal areas and parts of the interior.
Precisely, in 1860, a British consul was posted
to Lokoja, and a year later, Great Britain
AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 5formally annexed Lagos. Thereafter, British essentially to carry “civilization, humanity,
commercial interests and the slowly emerging peace, good government and Christianity”
colonial administration jointly embarked on a to the farthest end of the earth (Allen &
combination of military conquest, diplomacy, Unwin:1963). Lugard thus proceeded
and ‘pacification’ (Balogun, 1983:69). to reorganize the traditional system of
government. He established five grades of
The indigenous populations did not give up chiefs (each with an insignia of the Crown’s
without a fight. In the delta area, local chiefs authority), clearly defined the chiefs’ powers
led the resistance against foreign incursion. and functions in a Native Authorities
The Royal Niger Company, in particular, Proclamation, and laid down general norms
had to call in troops to suppress local armed of behaviour. In 1904, he introduced a single
insurrections. To ensure lasting peace in the system of indirect taxation in place of the
Oil Rivers area, it sent King Jaja of Opobo variety of taxes imposed by emirs and chiefs,
into exile in the West Indies in or around and in 1911 he established the first set of regular
1887. Other chiefs that were either pacified or native treasuries. In no time, the traditional
subdued were King William Pepple of Bonny rulers became the colonial regime’s agents and
(1854), Chief Nana of Jekris (1894) and the active collaborators, basically, the instruments
Oba of Benin (1897). to mobile local support for colonial rule.
In 1900, Great Britain formally assumed If Indirect Rule entailed tinkering with the
responsibility for the administration of Nigeria. traditional system of administration in the
It not only took over all the territories hitherto North, the conditions prevailing in the Colony
and the Southern Protectorates warranted a
administered by commercial enterprises, but
radical break from the past. Lagos, with its
also carved them into three Protectorates—the
flourishing trade and an annual turnover of
Niger Coast/Southern Protectorate, the Lagos
£500,000, could afford to establish modern
Colony, and the Protectorate of Northern
institutions. In the Yoruba societies of the
Nigeria. Each was, to all intents and purposes
Southern Protectorate, Governor MacGregor
and on account of its diverse character,
had started by relying on the Obas (traditional
governed as a separate and autonomous entity.
rulers) and their councils for advice. He soon
veered towards direct rule.
As a cost-saving measure, Britain experimented
with the system of Indirect Rule—one entrusting
In 1901, MacGregor promulgated a Native
the administration of local communities to
Authority Ordinance setting up provincial and
existing traditional institutions, and leaving
district councils, and a central Native Council
broad policy in the hands of the colonial
to advise the British on Yoruba traditions.
administration. The experiment succeeded in
All the councils were closely monitored. A
the North, was tried and quickly discarded in traditional ruler who exceeded or abused his
the south-West, but it failed woefully in the authority was liable to be summarily deposed.
segmented societies of the East. Like their Northern counterparts, the Southern
chiefs were co-opted into the foreign rulers’
While pledging to keep the indigenous
apparatus of control.
institutions intact, Lugard did not totally
renounce Lord Curzon’s pledge, which was
6 AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020In the Niger Coast (Southern) Protectorate, rulers to swear an oath of allegiance to the new
Sir Claude Macdonald and Sir Ralph Moor state’s founder, the British Crown; introducing
relied on traditional institutions but ensured a new colonial badge consisting of interlaced
that the operators were schooled in the British triangles known as “Solomon’s seal”;
concept of “natural law and morality”. In issuance of a single weekly gazette carrying
1900, he brought all the native courts under official news and supplements; replacing the
the supervision of a local British supreme court protectorate administrations’ “general orders”
and repealed all “unjust and barbarous” laws. with a uniform set of standing orders; and
standardizing printed forms and stationery.
The segmented units in the eastern enclave
of the Southern Protectorate were not easily Legality became the new state’s organizing
adaptable to the requirements of Indirect Rule. principle. To pave the way for the ‘authoritative
The ‘house’ system was originally expected allocation of values’ and legitimize the actions
of the emerging colonial bureaucracy, the
to relieve the Protectorate administration of
government was formally established by
the drudgery of day-to-day administration.
Letters Patent and other Instruments. Under
However, as authority did not reside in a single
the new order, the Governor-General became
potentate but was diffused among segments
virtual head of government with the power to
(e.g., elders, age sets, secret societies, clans and
preside over the Executive Council, direct and
kinship groups), the British looked everywhere
control government departments, and liaise
for a “chief” but found none. The first person
with the Colonial Secretary in London.
that stepped forward was promptly recognized
as a “chief”, appointed “by warrant” and The Southern and the Northern Protectorates
given a “staff/instrument of office”. The were re-named ‘provinces’ under the control
experiment soon ended in disaster. Lacking of two Lieutenant Governors. Each was
popular support or legitimacy, the warrant responsible for the administration of areas
chiefs antagonized their “subjects”, dented under his jurisdiction. He supervised the
the image of the colonial administration, and activities of the departments in the provincial
contributed largely to the Aba riots of 1929 secretariat. As the office of Minister did not
(Balogun, 1983: 72). exist, each Head of Department doubled as
chief executive and de facto policy maker.
By 1914, the Protectorate administrations In defiance of the doctrine of Separation of
had found solutions to many of their teething Powers, the Legal and Judicial Department was
problems. On the first of January that year, one of those reporting directly to the Governor.
the Protectorates of the South, the North and The provincial court which, according to
Lagos Colony were amalgamated into a state Chief Justice Willoughby Osborne, “brings
named Nigeria (coined from “Niger area”). English justice practically to the door of every-
one”, was itself an appendage of the colonial
Thus began the process aimed at creating a
bureaucracy, as all political officers and other
state founded on legal-rational principles, and officers so designated were commissioners of
replacing primordial loyalties with allegiance the court.
to a supra-ethnic dominion. The measures
adopted in this regard were both symbolic The absence of local political control
and substantive—e.g., getting the traditional devolved huge responsibility on the colonial
AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 7bureaucracy. Even though a Nigerian Council People’s Congress, NPC, in 1951. Over time,
was established in 1919, substantive executive the three political parties became forces to
authority remained with the Governor. In reckon with. However, they were mostly
1922, a Legislative Council was created (for regionally based parties, with the NCNC
the Colony and the Southern Provinces). controlling the East, the AG the West, and the
However, of the forty-five members, only four NPC the North.
were elected; the rest were the Governor’s
nominees. In any case, the Council exercised Meanwhile, the Richards Constitution of 1947
no legislative oversight over the executive had provided for the establishment of a Central
and the bureaucracy. The Executive Legislative Council and a House of Chiefs for
Council (comprising the Chief Secretary, the the Northern and the Southern Provinces. In
Attorney-General, the Financial Secretary, 1951, the Macpherson Constitution introduced
the Commandant of the Nigerian Regiment, elements of representative government along
and the Heads of specialized Departments) with the ministerial system of government.
continued for a long time to dispose of high-
The promulgation of the Lyttelton Constitution
level policy matters without reference to any
in 1954 capped the colonial authorities’
legislature. The excuse given for bypassing the
state formation and maintenance efforts in
Legislative Council was that it was a “veiled
Nigeria. Azikiwe became Premier of the East,
oligarchy” which needed to be checked by the
Awolowo, that of the West, and Ahmadu
executive’s “responsible autocracy”.
Bello, the Northern Premier. From then on,
indigenous political elites were to assume
The March Towards Self-rule
increasing responsibility for the governance
of the country, including the responsibility for
The colonial regime’s “responsible autocracy”
policy formulation, executive leadership of
itself did not go unchallenged. First, the
Ministries, approval of the traditional rulers’
Nigerian Youth Movement, led by Herbert
appointments and regulation of their conduct.
Macaulay, passed up no opportunity to attack
alien rule and demand immediate transfer of
Expansion in Scope of
power to the people’s representatives. When
the Movement split in 1941, Dr Nnamdi Government
Azikiwe joined a faction that, in 1944,
became the “National Council of Nigeria Due to budget constraints, the earliest
and the Cameroon”, NCNC(NCNC:1960). period of colonial rule in Nigeria was one
To check the NCNC’s expansion in the of ‘lean government’. In 1913, a year before
Yoruba south-West, Chief Obafemi Awolowo amalgamation, the total revenue of the
and other prominent members of the Egbe Nigerian government as a whole was £3.4
million, while total expenditure stood at £2.9
Omo Oduduwa, which is a Yoruba cultural
million. Government revenue increased from
organisation formed the Action Group, AG,
£2.2million in 1912 to £5.5 million in 1922.
in 1950. Not to be left behind, the alumni
Within the same 10-year period, recurrent
of the Katsina College, led by Ahmadu
expenditure jumped from £2.1 million to £6.5
Bello a member of the Sokoto royal family,
million.
transformed their own cultural organization,
Jam’iyyar Mutanen Arewa into the Northern
8 AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020Notwithstanding the fiscal constraints, the million at the then prevailing exchange
colonial bureaucracy led initial efforts at rate) to replace the assets and rebuild the
enhancing citizen identity with the embryonic infrastructure destroyed during the civil war.
state. It constructed roads, bridges, and a It further earmarked a total of N2.05 billion
network of railways, administered education for public investment, and another N3.43
and health programmes, provided agricultural billion for private sector development. The oil
extension services, and above all, maintained windfall was expended on a variety of projects,
law and order. The construction of the 847- and the establishment of new agencies. The
mile Western railway line, linking Iddo in the government acquired majority shareholding
South with Nguru in the North, commenced in in commercial banks. It also sold insurance
1893. In 1905, the first motor road in Nigeria policies, ran supermarkets, engaged in retail
was constructed to link Ibadan with Oyo. By and wholesale trade, provided shipping and
the early 1930s, the Public Works Department port administration services, and acquired
had constructed over 3,700 miles of roads additional aircraft for the national career.
across Nigeria.
The push to “modernize” continued under the
In 1945, the colonial administration launched
military regime only to be slowed down by
a ten-year programme of reconstruction and
structural imbalances. By the 1980s, budget
development at a total cost of £55 million.
overruns had started having serious fiscal
This was made up of £23 million in colonial
and macro-economic implications. In no
development and welfare grants, £16 million
time, the federal and the state governments
in loan funds, and another £16 million from
were compelled to swallow the bitter bill
local revenue sources (Balogun:1983).
of structural adjustment. As part of the
The scope of public administration expanded austerity measures instituted from the 1980s,
rapidly from then on. Thus, on the attainment the currency was devalued, public agencies
of independence on 1st October 1960, the were either merged or abolished, agricultural
Federal and the Regional Governments subsidies were withdrawn, novel revenue
launched the First National Development Plan mobilization methods were explored, and
spanning the period 1962-1968. Implementing public spending was drastically reduced.
the Plan warranted the creation of new
agencies, the recruitment of additional staff, The Civil Service’s Role in the
and, as to be expected, expenditure increases. Evolution of Modern Nigeria:
The cycle was repeated with the launching of
an Appraisal
the Second National Development Plan, 1970-
74. Although prudent spending kept public
Contemporary Nigeria has passed through
expenditure in check during the three-year civil
a number of phases—phases that are
war, the situation changed dramatically with
significantly different from those traversed
the inauguration of an ambitious post-war
by the colonists. Having been pacified,
programme of reconstruction, resettlement,
subjugated, amalgamated, and latter clothed
rehabilitation and development.
with the garb of constitutionalism, post-
The Second Development Plan set aside the colonial Nigeria went through the stages of
sum of N600 million (approximately US$900 institution building, institution decay, military
AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 9intervention, institution regeneration and Minister. This coincided with the period when
“civilianization”, and, as noted in the final the Eastern and the Western Regions attained
section, system decomposition. The role as internal self-government and were under the
well as the fate of the civil service was closely effective control of their Premiers (Nnamdi
tied to these vicissitudes. Azikiwe in the East, and Obafemi Awolowo
in the West). The North (led by Premier Sir
Institution Building Ahmadu Bello) did not become internally self-
governing until 15th March 1959.
The high points of the institution building phase
are the “Nigerianization” of the higher civil Frictions frequently arose between, on the
service, the wholesale transplant of Western one hand, Ministers who were the political
forms of government onto the Nigerian soil, and heads of Ministries, and on the other, senior
the adoption of the Westminster civil service career officials. While the former placed high
premium on political loyalty, the latter flinched
norms and practices (like professionalism,
from any suggestion to bend towards a political
anonymity, non-partisanship, accountability,
direction. The only possible exceptions were
integrity, and security of tenure).
the police, and the customary courts. Police
Up to 1948, the higher civil service remained officers and customary court judges had little
the exclusive preserve of Europeans. As at problem moving against the opposition, and/
that year, only 172 senior posts were occupied or looking the other way when politically
by Nigerians out of a total of 22,071. The connected persons broke the law. All the
Nigerianization process gathered momentum overzealous officials needed to act was their
when the Foot-Adebo Commission proposed political masters’ nod or frown, as the case
additional measures. However, while the might be. This has adverse consequences for
process proceeded rapidly in the East, the West the integrity of the inherited institutions, for
and, to a certain extent, at the Federal level, the service delivery capacity of the civil service,
the Northern Region lagged behind in the and for identity value of citizenship.
“Nigerianization” of its civil service, preferring
to give priority to “Northernization”. In 1958, Institutional Decay,
only 48.1 percent of Federal civil service posts Rehabilitation, and Relapse
at the senior level were occupied by Nigerians.
This contrasts sharply with Western Region’s The 1962 crisis in the Action Group (which
74.9 percent. By 1963, the percentage of senior culminated in the declaration of a state of
posts encumbered by Nigerians had risen to emergency in the Western Region) undermined
89.5 in the Western Region and to 87.0 at the the integrity and effectiveness of public
federal level. service institutions. The deeper the Region
sank into crisis, the greater the pressure on
As Nigerians assumed increasing responsibility the career civil service to dance to the tune of
for the running of the civil service, the political the ruling party. Unfortunately, rather than
leaders (those who fought for and “brought abate, the crisis soon engulfed the whole of
in” independence) were consolidating their Nigeria, culminating in the Major’s coup of
positions. In 1957, Sir Abubakar Tafawa January 1966, the assassination of prominent
Balewa was sworn in as federal Prime Northern and Western leaders and military
10 AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020officers, the breakdown of civil order and well as the civilian government that has ruled
the massacre of Igbos during the “Ar-raba” Nigeria since 1999.
riots, the declaration of the Igbo-led Eastern
Region as an independent state of Biafra, Under normal circumstances, Nigeria’s
and the prosecution of a three-year civil heterogeneity should be a source of the
war. Throughout the volatile years, the civil country’s strength. Heterogeneity should foster
service played a critical role in stabilizing the openness and pluralism. Regrettably, it has, in
wobbly ship of state, and in re-establishing the the hands of cynics, turned into post-colonial
authority of the Nigerian state. In fact, had Nigeria’s albatross. On the pretext that they are
a few federal civil servants not been vigilant, championing the interests of “their” people,
the centrifugal clauses inserted in the Aburi howsoever defined, transactional leaders have
established their suzerainty over the public
Accord would have turned Nigeria into a loose
space prior to personalizing and manipulating
confederation, and ultimately split the country
government structures, acts and decisions.
into autonomous, ethnic-based states.
Politicization rears its ugly head at different
The civil service played an equally decisive role
stages of state formation, but most especially at
during the military era. With the politicians
that of personnel recruitment. A public service
sent packing, the lot of formulating policy
post falls vacant, but before open competitive
initially fell on senior civil servants but was
processes are exhausted and candidates are
later shared with politically non-aligned
transparently assessed against the expected
“Commissioners” (Ministers). The civil
deliverables, an all-out war breaks out pitching
servants’ role intensified pari passu with the
one interest against another. Each contesting
expansion in the scope of public administration.
bloc never gives up until it applies methods fair
The erstwhile anonymity of the civil service
and foul to have its man on the job. The ‘federal
vanished as senior career officials made public
character’ provisions of the constitution have
pronouncements on government policy. “Super
been grossly abused, with top government
Permanent Secretaries” were so powerful that
functionaries (from the President, through
no major decisions were taken without their
Ministers, to Senators) hiding behind them to
knowledge and/or inputs. It was therefore not
fill key vacancies with their children, relatives,
surprising that the Permanent Secretaries and
party stalwarts, and other highly connected
other high-ranking civil servants became a
candidates3.
target of attack. They were among the 10,000
public officials that were summarily removed
The Civil Service and Nigeria’s
as part of the Purge carried out by the Murtala
Mohammed regime in 1975.
Future: A Summation
The shake-up of the public service made The first generation of leaders acknowledged
it difficult taming that beast known as as self-evident the link between, on one hand,
corruption—a beast that the Buhari-Idiagbon the implementation of inclusive policies and,
regime fought relentlessly between 1984 and on the other, identification with the Nigerian
3
The most recent embarrassing example is the appointment
1985, but which returned with a vengeance as Head of the Civil Service of a person previously indicted in a
under the Ibrahim Babangida and the Sani Government White Paper. His only qualification is coming from
a geo-political zone the President is courting ahead of the 2015
Abacha military regimes (1985-1998), as election!
AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 11state. They realized that it was not enough to than on qualitative change in governance and
“bring in independence” or to act as if they in people’s living standards (Ake, 1994). To
were the conquering armies that created and capture or retain power, the new-breed leaders
“owned” the state. As the inheritors of the employ a mix of outright manipulation of the
sovereign powers of the post-colonial state, electoral process, violence, bribery, deceit, and
they knew they had to show some tangible flagrant abuse of the ‘power of incumbency’.
results--at least, within their regions. Their record to-date in combating that menace
called corruption has been dismal.
The colonial rulers’ immediate successors
were particularly keen on sustaining the Top judicial officials are openly accused of
“modernization” process. They invested in delaying and denying justice through needless
education, health, irrigation, agricultural adjournments, selling favourable verdicts to
extension, and infrastructural development the highest bidder, and undermining the rule
projects. The Western Region prided itself on of law. Corruption is as rife in the police as
being the first to establish Africa’s television it is endemic in the country as a whole. In
station (WNBS/WNTS) and to construct its 2011 report, Transparency International
Tropical Africa’s first skyscraper (Cocoa notes that Nigerian civil servants took bribes
House also in Ibadan).4 amounting to N450 billion (roughly $3
billion) during the 2010/2011 fiscal year
The Northern Region opened schools and
alone. It consistently ranks the country low
colleges imparting Western knowledge,
on its Corruption Perception Index (CPI). In
while retaining the madrassas for Arabic and
September 2014, vigilant airport officials in
Islamic studies. It built hospitals, clinics and
South Africa detained a Nigerian plane laden
rural health centres; implemented irrigation
with hard currency (wads of crispy new notes
and water development projects; provided
totalling $9.3 million). Since the amount was
veterinary and animal health services; and
not declared, the organized crimes unit of the
supported the farming communities with
government stepped in. Before the situation
credit, advisory and storage facilities. Kano’s
got out of hand, but to the embarrassment
cotton and groundnuts pyramids were indeed a
of Nigerians, their government owned up to
testimony to the North Regional Government’s
collusion in the plainly illegal act. And that
agricultural development efforts. The Eastern
was just one of such acts, the one that came
Region was not left behind. It too implemented
to light!
an ambitious programme of modernization
and development.
The future of Nigeria hinges on the leaders’
determination to reform the civil service
The later-day leaders are different from their
and reposition it for the challenges of
predecessors. With the possible exception of
the short-lived Murtala Mohammed regime state formation and maintenance. Reform
and the Buhari-Idiagbon government both of efforts need to go beyond high-profile
which waged a war on indiscipline, succeeding ministerial rationalization and downsizing.
generations of leaders have placed greater Re-engineering structures and processes for
premium on the capture and retention of power integrity, productivity and improved service
delivery should be the highpoints of future
4
The first African to hold the post of Speaker of a legislative
assembly (Samuel Ade Ojo) also belonged to the Western Region. reforms. Reform will only be meaningful if
12 AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020the civil service bureaucracy steadily moves away from the spoils system to one anchored on merit. Career officials should be able to discharge their constitutionally mandated obligations without undue partisan political pressure. Anything less would impair the civil service’s capacity to implement inclusive programmes, programmes that strengthen citizen allegiance to the state. References Ake, Claude, 1994 (press interview) The News Magazine, January 17, 1994. Balogun, MJ, 2011, Hegemony and Sovereign Equality: the interest contiguity theory in international relations (New York: Springer) Balogun, M J, 2009, The Route to Power in Nigeria (New York: Palgrave-Macmillan) Balogun, M J, 2001, “Diversity Factors in state construction efforts in Africa: an analysis of challenges, responses, and options”, African Journal of Public Administration and Management, vol. XIII, Nos 1and 2, Jan and July Balogun, MJ, 1983, Public Administration in Nigeria: a developmental approach (Basingstoke: Macmillan) Burns, Sir Alan, 1963, History of Nigeria (London: Allen & Unwin) Gann, L.H., and P. Duigman, 1978, The Rulers of British Africa 1870-1914 (London: Groom Helm) Hobbes, T., 1985, Leviathan (in C.B. Macpherson, ed.) (London: Penguin Classics) Jones, G.I., The Trading States of the Oil Rivers (London: Oxford University Press) Kirk-Greene, 1968, Lugard and the Amalgamation of Nigeria (London:Frank Cass) Locke, John, 1965, Second treatise of civil government, Chapter II, in J. Plamenatz, ed., Readings from liberal writers (London: George Allen and Unwin) Morgenthau, Hans, 1967, Politics among nations: the struggle for power and peace, 4th edition (New York: Alfred A. Knopf) Nicolson, I.F., 1977, The Administration of Nigeria 1900-1960 (Oxford: Clarendon Press) Nigerian Handbook, Tenth edn, 1933 (Lagos: Government Printer) Rousseau, J-J, 1987, The basic political writings, trans: Cress Dam and P. Gay (Indianapolis: Hackett) Soneye, M. Ade, and M J Balogun (eds), 1963, Report of the Workshop on the Relationship Between Policymakers and the Higher Civil Service (Badagry: ASCON Press) Thucydides, 1954, The Peloponnesian War, trans: R. Warner (London: Penguin Classics) White Paper on the Reorganization of Ministries, West Regional Legislature, Sessional Paper no. 2, 1959 AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020 13
Integration and Inclusivity: Fundamentals for
Transformation of Governance and Public Administration
in Africa
Bashi Mothusi1
Abstract
This article discusses ways and means through which public administration can be transformed
in Africa through embracing the two fundamental concepts of “integration and inclusivity”. It
starts by briefly discussing the introduction of MDGs and a shift towards SDGs and Agenda
2063 which requires countries to change the manner in which they conduct their business. It also
discusses the two concepts of integration and inclusivity as well as indicates their importance in
terms of enhancing good governance. The article also presents a brief discussion on the concepts
of governance and good governance and captures the five things that ought to be done to promote
integration and inclusivity which are fundamentals for the transformation of public administration
in Africa.
Key words: Innovation, Integration, Inclusivity, Governance and Transformation
Introduction have been conceptualised and operationalised
had to change to accommodate emerging
The pursuance of the Millennium Development expectations, needs, demands and aspirations.
Goals (MDGs), Sustainable Development In 2000, the United Nations General Assembly
Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063 has presented concrete and specific development
necessitated the realignment of government goals and targets to improve the lives of all
institutions with a view to making them more citizens across the world. The main aim of
transparent, accountable, efficient and effective these goals, which are commonly referred to
in service delivery. The political landscape a Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
has had to embrace democracy as a form of was to free humanity from extreme poverty;
governance where all citizens can be placed illiteracy; gender inequality; high child
at the centre of the development process and mortality rates; HIV and AIDS, malaria and
actively participate in the decision making. other debilitating diseases; environmental
On the economic front, the realignment of degradation as well as weak and unfair trading
African economies ensured that all citizens partnerships among countries by 2015.
participate and benefit from various economic
activities undertaken by the government, MDGs and a Shift towards SDGs
private sector entities and non-profit making and Agenda 2063
organisations. Additionally, the culture of
citizens and the manner in which various issues Different countries around the world and
University of Botswana
1
different regional blocs embarked on a journey
14 AJPAM | Vol. XXVII No. 2 January – June 2020to achieve the aforementioned Millennium an extension of the MDGs. The report titled
Development Goals. Resources were mobilised “MDGs to Agenda 2063/SDGs Transition
and the pursuance of these goals yielded Report 2016” presents the underpinnings of
different results for different countries and Agenda 2063 succinctly by stating that;
regions. For example, in March 2013, a review
of the performance of SADC countries revealed “Agenda 2063 is a long-term development
that they were likely to meet the 2015 targets framework that aims to materialize the
for two MDGs, which are MDG 2: achieving vision of: an integrated, prosperous and
universal primary education, and MDG 6: peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens
combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and other and representing a dynamic force in the
diseases (Chipika & Malaba:2013:xi-xix). The world. It is anchored by seven aspirations
that are supported by corresponding
review further revealed that the SADC region
goals, priority areas, targets, and strategies
has made remarkable progress for most targets
(MDGs to Agenda 2063/SDGs Transition
in MDG 3: promoting gender equality and
Report, 2016:13)”.
empowerment of women; MDG 4: reducing
child mortality: and MDG 8: developing a
Agenda 2063 places citizens at the centre of
global partnership for development. Hence,
the development process. This is not surprising
a conclusion was made that the region has
because a concerted effort has been made to
registered satisfactory progress in five out of
spread democracy to all parts of the world and
the eight MDGs.
African countries have moved away from one
party systems and apartheid to multi-party
The same review clearly indicated that the
democracy.
performance of SADC member states under
three MDGs was below par. These MDGs The SDGs 2030 and Agenda 2063 place
are MDG 1: eradicating extreme poverty and an expectation on countries to align their
hunger; MDG 5: improving maternal health; National Development Plans (NDPs) with the
MDG 6: the fight against malaria and TB and global development goals. NDPs are usually
MDG 7: ensuring environmental sustainability. a compilation of all the policy issues that the
The ability to achieve or failure to achieve government intends to address over a given
these goals by different member states was period of time. These include problems or
greatly influenced by political, economic, challenges faced by citizens with regard to
administrative, legal, socio-cultural factors health, education, sanitation, transportation,
(Chipika & Malaba, 2013:xi-xix). tourism, environmental protection, food
insecurity, terrorism, rule of law and others.
When recognising that almost all countries
Hence, projects to be implemented in response
around the world would not be able to attain to the identified challenges are usually reflected
all the MDGs by 2015, the UN General in the NDPs. Aligning the NDPs with SDGs
Assembly presented a new agenda in 2015 and Agenda 2063 means that countries must
which ushered in Sustainable Development realign or restructure their institutions as well
Goals (SDGs) 2030 and Agenda 2063. The as change the manner in which public policies
year 2016 marked the beginning of a transition are formulated and implemented.
period from MDGs to SDGs and Agenda
2063. There are 17 SDGs, some of which are
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