African Journal of Institutions and Development (AJID). Vol. 14. No.

25

GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SERVICE ACCOUNTABILITY IN NIGERIA:

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

Matthew Funsho Bello, PhD

Department of Public Administration
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Gombe State University,
Gombe – Nigeria
matthewfbello@gmail.com

Abstract
The civil service is the engine room of modern government. It comprises an assemblage of career
officials, recruited in a civil capacity to serve the citizenry. By their training, they are equipped
to champion the course of development by faithful implementation and evaluation of government
polices and programmes. They are expected to do this in a transparent and accountable manner.
Over the past decades, accountability which is a core feature of good governance has been
central in public sector management. Accountability is important for effective performance in the
public sector because both elected and non-elected officials need to show the public that they are
performing their responsibilities in the best possible way and using the resources provided them
effectively and efficiently. This paper is aimed at examining good governance and the
impediments to public accountability in Nigeria, and recommends remedial actions for effective
public accountability and performance in Nigerian public sector management. The article adopts
qualitative method in gathering data from various sources. It traced the absence of
accountability in public sector management in Nigeria to the incursion of the military into the
Nigerian public administration. It shows with relevant examples how the culture of non-
accountability and poor performance has eaten deep into the fabric of the society. It therefore
proposes some measures to address the malaise of public accountability in Nigeria. The article
contends that unless good governance is in place with public accountability carefully observed,
effective public sector performance cannot be realized.

Key Words: Good Governance, Accountability, Civil Service, Nigerian Public Administration,
Performance

Introduction
The primary concern of the citizens in a good civil society is that their government must be fair
and good. For a government to be good it is essential that their systems and sub-systems of
governance are efficient, economic, ethical and equitable. In addition the governing process must
also be just, reasonable, fair and citizen-friendly. The administrative system must also be
accountable and responsive besides promoting transparency and people’s participation. The test
of good governance lies in the effective implementation of its policies and programmes for the
attainment of set goals. Good governance implies accountability to the citizens of a democratic
polity and their involvement in decision making, implementation, and evaluation of projects,
programmes and public policies. In this perspective transparency and accountability become
invaluable components of good governance as well as of good administration. Transparency
makes sure that people know exactly what is going on and what is the rationale of the decisions
taken by the government or its functionaries at different levels (Niranga, 2013).

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African Journal of Institutions and Development (AJID). Vol. 14. No. 25

Conceptual and Theoretical Discourse

Good Governance
It is imperative to understand the meaning of the word ‘governance’ in order to have a
clear view of the concept of good governance. Governance refers to the exercise of political and
administrative authority at all levels to manage a country’s affairs. Governance entails the proper
management of state institutions and structures to enhance socio-economic and political
transformation of society. The governance process embodies the social bond existing between
the government and the governed, and its capacity to enhance popular trust and galvanize
popular participation in the political system (see Egwu, 2006; and Adejumobi, 2004). The
institutional and human capacities for governance determine the way in which the effectiveness
of public policies and strategies is attained, especially in service delivery. This is in tandem with
the definition given by World Bank Report (1989), that Governance connotes the exercise of
political power in the management of a nation’s affairs. Put differently, governance encompasses
the state’s institutional and structural arrangements, decision-making processes and
implementation capacity, and the relationship between the governing apparatus and the
governed. According to the Report of the Commission on Global Governance “Our Global
Neighbourhood” (1995) governance is:
“The sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and
private, manage their common affairs. It is a continuing process through
which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and co-
operative action may be taken. It includes formal institutions and
regimes empowered to enforce compliance, as well as informal
arrangements that people and institutions either have agreed to or
perceive to be in their interest.”

Having understood the meaning of governance, we can now discuss the term “good governance”.
Politically, people may disagree about the best means of achieving good governance, but they
quite agreed that good governance is absolutely imperative for social and economic progress
(Oburota, 2003 cited in Ogundiya, 2010 p. 201). Then, what makes governance a good or a bad
one? This is perhaps a philosophical question which may attract endless and multifarious
answers. Fundamentally, the question of good and bad is ethical/moral. According to Madhav
(2007) good governance has much to do with the ethical grounding of governance and must be
evaluated with reference to specific norms and objectives as may be laid down. Therefore, to
describe governance as a good one and to determine whether it is a bad one requires the
understanding of the essence of the state which are not only embedded in the constitution but
also a function of the religious ideals and the nature of current problems confronting the state.
The question about the essence of the state formed the major preoccupation of the earlier
philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, Rousseau and others. The essence of the state to these early
thinkers is to promote the common good (economic interest, political interest and the security of
life and properties). Thus, public authorities have the common good of the state as their prime
responsibilities. The common good stands in opposition to the good of rulers or of a ruling
group. It implies that every individual, no matter how high or low, has a duty to share in
promoting the welfare of the community as well as a right to benefit from that welfare (Eboh,
2003). Common implies that the “good” is all inclusive. In essence, the common good cannot
exclude or exempt any section of the population. If any section of the population is in fact
excluded from participating in the life of the community, even at a minimal level, then that is a
contradiction to the concept of the common good (Eboh, 2003). Then, what is good governance?
Good governance can be seen as democratic governance which is largely characterized by high
valued principles such as rule of law, accountability, participation, transparency, human and civil
rights. Little wonder, when Odock (2006) defined good governance as a system of government

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African Journal of Institutions and Development (AJID). Vol. 14. No. 25
based on good leadership, respect for the rule of law and due process, the accountability of the
political leadership to the electorate as well as transparency in the operations of government.

Good governance, as a concept, is applicable to all sections of society such as the government,
legislature, judiciary, media, private sector, corporate sector, trade unions, and lastly Non-
Government Organisations (NGOs). Public accountability and transparency are as relevant for
the one as for the other. It is only when all these and various other sections of society conduct
their affairs in a socially responsible manner that the objective of achieving larger good of the
largest number of people in society can be achieved (Madhav, 2007). The African Development
Bank views good governance as one that embodies and promotes effective states, mobilised civil
societies and productive private sectors. While the United Nations development programme
(UNDP, 1996) sees good governance as a commitment and the capability to effectively address
the allocation and management of resources to respond to collective problems. Good governance
also refers to the ability to deliver goods to various stakeholders by making the various agent of
political system work for the betterment of the citizens especially the marginalized section of the
society. Sasmal (n.d.) stated that:
“Good governance establishes the rule of law, enforces contracts and
agreements between the individuals, maintains laws and order and
guarantees security to the people, economises on cost and resources,
determines the optimal size of government and makes best possible use of
government resources.”

Following these definitions, good governance has eight major attributes. It is participatory,
consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and
inclusive and follows the rule of law (United Nation’s Committee for Development Planning,
1992). It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and
that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also
responsive to the present and future needs of society. The eight attributes of good governance are
explained below:
Participation: Participation by both men and women is a cornerstone of good governance.
Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or
representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily
mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in
decision making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of
association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand.
Rule of law: Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It
also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial
enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police
force.
Transparency: Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a
manner that follows rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and
directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. It also
means that enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms
and media.
Responsiveness: Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all
stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.
Consensus oriented: There are several actors and as many view points in a given society. Good
governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in
society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It
also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human
development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only result from an
understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community.

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Equity and inclusiveness: A society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel
that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This
requires all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or
maintain their well being.
Effectiveness and efficiency: Good governance means that processes and institutions produce
results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal.
The concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of
natural resources and the protection of the environment.
Accountability: Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only
governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be
accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Who is accountable to whom
varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization
or institution. In general an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be
affected by its decisions or actions. Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and
the rule of law.

Obama (2006) pointed out that for all the progress that has been made, the African continent
generally has not yet created a government that is transparent and accountable, one that serves its
people and is free from corruption which undermines the governance process. Indeed Obama
noted that:
Governance in Africa is crisis ridden and it is a crisis that is robbing
honest people of the opportunities they fought for. Corruption erodes the
state from the inside out, sickening the justice system until there is no
justice to be found, poisoning the police forces until their presence
becomes a source of insecurity rather than a source of security. In the end,
if the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists,
to protect them and to promote their common welfare, all else is lost.

Civil Service
Conceptualizing the civil service has not been an easy task. Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides a lead of what the civil service of the federation is. It
conceives of it as: Service of the federation in a civil capacity as staff of the office of the
President, the Vice President, Ministry or Department of the government of the federation
assigned with the responsibility for any business of the federation... This definition of the civil
service appears to centre more on the structure of the civil service than how it carries out its
responsibility. It may therefore, be seen as, an institution of government that is run by men and
women employed in a civil capacity to carry out the responsibilities of government and enjoys
security of tenure of office till retirement. For the purpose of achieving the goals of government,
the civil service is expected to be an assemblage of well trained, knowledgeable, public spirited
and incorruptible elite corps of men and women who are equipped to give effect to policies and
programmes of government at less cost to the people.

Flowing from the above, all these values could be better achieved under a system of government
where there is freedom of speech, liberty and fraternity. Hence, a democratic system that has
these features as some of its core values, present the best environment for the goals of the civil
service to be realized. Democracy may be seen as government of the people through their elected
representatives. Democracy itself may not achieve its core values unless it practically addresses
the question or imperative of how resources of government are used to promote the welfare and
well-being of the people. This brings to fore the concept of governance (Agbodike, Osawe &
Igbokwe-Ibeto (2015).

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Governance became popular in the late eighties when it became apparent that resources of the
State have to be judiciously used to fulfill the goals of development. Consequently, transparency
and accountability in the use of power and resources of the State became prioritized. Thus,
governance is viewed as the use of State resources and power in an accountable way to achieve
and promote the well-being of the citizenry. The United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP, 1997) asserts that governance is “the exercise of economic, political and administrative
authorities to manage a country’s affairs at all levels”. No longer will the global system tolerate
blatant abuse of State’s power, institutions and resources. Perhaps, this is what Hyden and Courts
(2002) have in mind when they aver that: “governance refers to the formulation and stewardship
of the formal and informal rules that regulate the public realm, the arena in which State as well
as economic and societal actors interact to make decisions”. Here lies the imperative of popular
participation.

Popular participation is key to the governance agenda in the public realm. The people ought to be
part and parcel of government decisions, programmes and projects for them to contribute to their
efficient and effective implementation. In other words, the people should be carried along if they
are to be beneficiaries of these activities of government. It is clear from these assertions that not
only are there rules to regulate the public realm; such rules must be accounted for by those who
use them in the interest of the masses. Unless this is done, policies, plans and programmes of
government may not benefit their intended targets. It would appear this was the case in the 70s
and 80s that prompted the governance agenda (Agbodike, Osawe & Igbokwe-Ibeto (2015). The
utilitarian theory with a sprinkling of the popular participation theory appears to us heuristic for
analyzing the subject matter of this investigation. The essence of government everywhere is to
promote the welfare and well-being of the people under its authority that will culminate in the
greatest happiness for the greatest number of the people in the society. While this is assumed to
be the popular motif of government, the reality often deviates from this norm. In most cases, the
elite tend to dominate the masses leading to impoverishment and discontent.

The civil service can resolve this anomaly if it carries out its responsibilities with a high sense of
patriotism, transparency and accountability to members of the public it is meant to serve.
Connecting with the people at all levels to bring about a change in their material condition, is
crucial to overall societal development as the people are empowered to contribute to the
evolution of social change in the society. Yet, formal organizations have to be structured in
specific ways in order to achieve the goals of efficiency and effectiveness in administration. To
this end, several models have been tried However, for modern public organizations, Max
Weber’s model appears most valuable. What is the nature of this model? Answer to this question
form the crux of the section that follows.

The Nature of the Civil Service and Democratic Governance

The West Minister model of the civil service is structured along the lines of Max Weber’s
typification of formal bureaucracy. Weber in his articulation of bureaucracy came up with some
major elements which he considered sacrosanct for the efficient functioning of any formal
bureaucratic organization. Akhakpe (2007), Ekhator (2003); Mullins (1999); Olugbile (1997);
and Nobbs (1984) summarized the main features of Weber’s ideal bureaucracy as follows: (1)
appointment of officials according to technical qualifications and merit: officials are not elected;
(2) rules and regulations govern official’s specialized work: officials work impersonally showing
neither fear nor favour to anyone; (3) promotion allows efficient officials to climb higher in the
hierarchical power structure: officials enter a career and do not expect preferential treatment, or
property rights related to the office; (4) fulltime officials devote themselves to the work of the
organization: officials are expected to carry out their duties impersonally and completely; (5)
continuous business is carried on faithfully by the officials: the office does not come to an end
with the death of the holder; (6) written documents are used to conduct official business:

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everyone is subject to formal equality before the rules; (7) public and private life are divided by
the segregation of organizational activity from the official’s private life; public monies and
property are separated from the official’s private property; (8) limited compulsion by officials is
allowed but without hatred or passion, and hence without affection or enthusiasm; and (9)
salaries of officials are fixed with right to pension. These impersonal rules suggest to us that
there are ethical codes that guide the conduct of officials in the discharge of their official
obligations. Indeed, ethics in administration could be conceptualized as rules and regulations
officials are expected to conform to in the discharge of their official obligation. These rules
according to Maduabum (2008) tend to ensure uniformity of operation (Agbodike, Osawe &
Igbokwe-Ibeto (2015).

It is important to note here that these features of formal bureaucracy theoretically could conduce
for efficiency in administration which is essentially its aim. Yet, it would appear that there is
nowhere in the world where this model has been fully operated. Besides, the Weberian
administrative construct is culturally symptomatic in that it came from the study of a particular
scenario and then generalized.

Similarly, the West Minister Model of the civil service inherited at independence in Nigeria,
advances some principles that are aimed at making the service stable apolitical and efficient.
These features include: Permanency, a point alluded to in the features of bureaucracy; non-
partisanship that is, civil servants should not openly aligned to a political party; and anonymity,
that is, officials are to be seen not heard-non prejudice to any policy issue or direction
irrespective of the party in power. In the case of the principles of the civil service, little attempt
has been made to apply its tenets universally, as some countries like France and the United States
have deviated from this norm by allowing their civil servants to make foray into politics without
losing their position in the service . Also, in the US, political appointees could be brought into
the service as head of ministries that is, as Director General, as the situation demands But most
ex-British dependencies like Nigeria still practice full-fledged British civil service model with all
its trappings. All these have occurred, in spite, of apparent failure of the system to meet the
exigencies of the time, that is, the socio-economic and political challenges facing developing
countries like Nigeria. The problem according to Davidson (1993) is that, Africa was wrong in
believing that the actual work of government and decisions depending on it, can only be
exercised by a civil service trained and tested in authoritarian habit and practices. The outcome
of this practice has been catastrophic for national development because the civil service has
grown to be an institution that is unresponsive, unaccountable and alienated from the people it
was meant to serve (Olugbemi, 1987, 1979).

Democratic governance is meant to give more effect to the role of the civil service in promoting
the welfare and well-being of the people. Democratic governance requires that public officials
and elected representatives of the people carry out their responsibilities to generate transparency,
particularly in the flow of information from government to the people and vis-à-vis. The
activities of the government and its officials should be open to public scrutiny thereby availing
the people the opportunity to understand government policies meant for them and how they can
affect their lives in positive ways.

Another key feature of democratic governance is accountability and responsibility of public

institutions. Public servants should be accountable to one another and members of the public for
actions and decisions made and carried out in the socio-economic and political sphere. This is
particularly the case when it comes to the use of power and resources exercised and used by
public office holders on behalf of the electorates. Hitherto, power and resources of government
were used without much accountability to the people. But this is expected to change under

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African Journal of Institutions and Development (AJID). Vol. 14. No. 25
democratic rule because information flow is better, elections are periodic and the possibility for a
day in court for any one is ever present.

The rule of law further strengthens these mechanisms put in place to checkmate abuse of power
and resources of the government. Promotion and protection of the fundamental human rights of
the people are put in the fore-burner! There is freedom of association and expression, right to fair
hearing, freedom of information, independence of the judiciary and its workers, among others,
are to be in operation and prioritized where there is democratic governance. However,
socioeconomic rights are still not justifiable under the constitution of Nigeria. Again, democratic
governance requires that there is equal participation by all stakeholders in policy initiation,
formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. It gives groups or communities
opportunities to make important inputs to decision and policy making, based on the
understanding of their environment, culture and socio-economic values. This is in consonance
with the bottom-up, people-centric approach to development. This is particularly the case where
interest groups are crucial actors in policy making, implementation and evaluation. The failure
rate of plans and programmes is high in Nigeria, one could argue due to exclusion of
stakeholders in these processes. This civil service can facilitate this process by mobilizing
interest groups and other stakeholders in its activities (Agbodike, Osawe & Igbokwe-Ibeto
(2015).

Democratic governance requires that socio-economic and political institutions should have
legitimacy that will give both the people and those working within government ministries, the
latitude to carry out programmes for the people. Unless these institutions have legitimacy and
autonomy they cannot have the crucial support they need from the people to carry out their work
efficiency and effectiveness. Legitimacy and autonomy require that stakeholders accept that the
existing rules and regulations and actions of these institutions are carried out to meet their
interests and give their support to the process. Has the civil service been able to put these core
values of democratic governance into practice, in the discharge of its responsibilities, particularly
in the context of the Fourth Republic in Nigeria? To answer this question, there is the imperative
need to examine their interface with democratic governance in the course of this Republic.

The Civil Service and Democratic Governance in Nigeria

The civil service is said to have certain characteristics that stands it out in relation to other State
institutions. These include: an abundant supply of technical skills, a capacity for large scale
management, a disposition to accept and try new ideas, a time sense that makes it more interested
in the present and the future than in the past, better sense of punctuality and a greater concern for
planning, organization and efficiency, the tendency to see the world as a calculable, faith in
science and technology and belief in distributive justice as the ultimate goal of the State
(Olugbemi, 1979). These are very flattering qualities supposedly possessed by the civil service.
But the reality actually deviates from these norms. In Nigeria it would seem that the reverse is
actually the case as would be clear shortly.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Republic like its predecessors, inherited a civil service that is weaned in
authoritarian culture and has had a good romance with military rule perhaps due to some features
they shared such as: hierarchy of command, centralized authority, pan Nigerian values and
emphasis on training and corporate identity (Olugbemi, 1979). In spite, of this communality of
interests, the civil service has not been able to fast-track national development and improved on
or provide for higher standard of living for the people who expect more from their indigenous
leaders after many years of deprivation under colonial and authoritarian rules. It was against this
background that the Fourth Republic took off with new hopes for rapid socio-economic and
political development and consequently, better life for the people. Olusegun Obasanjo

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administration recognized the sorry state of the public service and the people’s discontent and
disenchantment with it, when he, Obasanjo (2004) observed that:
Public officers are the shopping floors of government business.
Regrettably, Nigerians have for too long been feeling short changed by the
quality of public service delivery by which decisions are not made without
undue outside influence, and files do not move without being pushed with
inducements. Our public officers have for long been show cases for the
combined evils of inefficiency and corruption, whilst being impediments to
the effective implementation of government policies, Nigerians deserve
better.
The catalogue of ills plaguing the civil and public services as articulated above, may not have
done justice to the litany of crises in this sector. It only scratches the surface of what has been
endemic maladies well documented by previous public service reform commissions. As has been
noted, efforts at reforming the civil service have taken two forms: the first group of public
service reforms is aimed at reviewing the salaries and other benefits of public servants. While the
second group of reforms is directed at restructuring the service for better performance; efficiently
and effectively. Interestingly, the formal group of reforms has been more successful than the
latter from the point of view of their implementations because it touches the very interests of
public servants, in a country where distributive justice is asymmetrical. Be that as it may,
successive governments have not failed to tinker with the public service with a view to making it
more responsive and accountable to the people. Overtime, however, members of the public have
developed reservations and sometimes disdain over civil servants inefficiency and
ineffectiveness in service delivery. Some of the mind burgling revelations of financial waste,
mal-administration and corruption in the polity could not have taken place without the express or
tacit support of civil servants in the various ministries where they are recorded. The pension
scam, the inflated two BMW cars in the aviation ministry, the kerosene and fuel subsidies
scandals, the hiring of aircraft by public officeholders at exorbitant rates among many others, are
some of these misdemeanours by politicians and civil servants. Surely, the citizenry and country
have been worst for it (Agbodike, Osawe & Igbokwe-Ibeto (2015).

Again, the President Jonathan’s administration has sought to bring sanity to the civil and public
services through the Steve Oronsanya committee on public service reform (The Punch,
3/3/2012). The committee recognized the fact that the public sector is too large and over-bloated
to be efficient and effective. It therefore, recommended merger and or scrapping of some
agencies and parastatals by government. Perhaps, due to the sensitive nature of these
recommendations, the federal government has decided to soft peddler on the recommendations
of the committee, particularly in view of the forthcoming general elections in early 2015. In the
words of President Jonathan (2010) inter alias: It has been hoped that significant servings would
be made from the implementation of government white paper on rationalizing public agencies.
Unfortunately, very little …saving are likely to be made from the implementation of government
white paper on rationalizing public agencies due to the fact that some of them are underpinned
by law which cannot be repealed in the short-run.

On a prima facie basis, this may sound wise but the issue about performance of the civil service
cannot be reduced to reduction of cost of running them but the ability to deliver quality services
to the people. In this regard, it is still business as usual in virtually all federal ministries. Public
service delivery has not improved in spite, of billions of Naira injected into them. Some would
argue that it is still early days to assess the government holistically. But from the benefit of
hindsight, it may be much of the same thing or business as usual for a long time to come, if no
real changes take place in how government conduct affairs of the various Ministries,
Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

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Public Accountability
Public accountability means that government and its employees are accountable and their
activities are open to the public. In essence, records of government activities should be open to
the people unless it involves security of the country (Bovens, 2007:453). From this definition of
public accountability, it is clear that the public entities that utilize public resources have an
obligation to account for the way these resources are allocated, used and the results these
spending have achieved. In other words, the main objectives of all public accountability
initiatives are to ensure that public money is spent most economically and efficiently; that there
is minimum of wastage or theft and that public actually benefit from public finance.

Public accountability rests both on giving an account and on being held to account. Therefore, a
public officer may not only be required to present his ‘doctored’ account but may face the
challenges of a certain compelling expectable stewardship from the authorities whose office he
manages, or enjoys. Public accountability, offers figure of trustworthy, dutifulness, justice,
clarity, attempt for improving and ethical qualification of public officials. Public accountability
ensures that the society gets value for its money and that public resources are not diverted to
private use (Ejere, 2012:19).

On his part, Odugbemi (2008) sees accountability as the ability of citizens, civil society and the
private sector to scrutinize public institutions and governments to hold them accountable. The
above implies that where the opportunity to scrutinize the activities of public institutions –
agencies and government is not available to the people, transparency or openness is more likely
to be affected negatively and the citizens are bound to suffer from the inactions of such agencies
of government. Therefore accountability and transparency on the part of public officials could be
seen as catalyst for the realization of enhanced performance of governmental agencies for
development in a society.

Problems of Accountability in Nigerian Civil Service

The problem of accountability has become recurring phenomenon in the Nigerian civil service; it
has become a culture of the service! The manifestations of problems of accountability include
corruptions, red-tapism, waste of human and material resources. However, of all these
manifestations, corruption is the most pronounced.

Corruption might take the form of mis-performance, or neglect of a recognized duty, or the
unwarranted exercise of power, with the motive of gaining some advantages more or less directly
personal. According to Nye(1967:427) “corruption is behaviour which deviates from the forward
duties of a public role because of private regarding pecuniary or status gain” corruption occur
when an individual illegally or illicitly puts personal interest above the interests of others and the
ideals she or he is pledged to serve. In the Nigerian civil service, the causes of corruption have a
linkage to the nature and character of the Nigerian state that is characterized by mass poverty,
deprivation, exclusion and low level of development of the productive forces and social relations
of production.

There is also the problem of red-tapism, which is a reference to the strict adherence to the civil
service procedures, rules and regulations. Although rules and regulations themselves are good; it
is this inflexibility and strict adherence to them that seems problematic. The rigorous sticking to
rules and procedures will sometimes leads to displacement of the goals of an organization.
Indeed, red-tapism is dysfunctional, restrictive and a drag to development. The problems of
waste of resources cannot be overemphasized. The unnecessary duplication of government
ministers and departments accounts for the massive waste of both human and material resources.
For example it is absolutely unnecessary and irrational to have a ministry of Agriculture and
another ministry for animals and forestry but this is what obtains in Benue State from 1999 to

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African Journal of Institutions and Development (AJID). Vol. 14. No. 25
2007. The unproductive nature of the Nigerian economy has resulted in high premium that is
placed on the public bureaucracy to the extent that such establishments and ministries are crated
mainly to reward cronies and political rejects at polls. These problems have continued to
overwhelming affect efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity in the Nigerian civil service. The
service therefore, needs to properly under a surgical operation rather than the usual palliative
measures as solution to the centre.

Public Accountability, Good Governance, and Effective Public Service Delivery: The
Nigerian Dilemma
Accountability is one of the buzz words in service delivery. As noted by Abata and Adejuwon,
(2012:30), it is a sine qua non for effective service delivery in the public sector. This enables a
government to be responsive to the governed. For too long, and historically speaking, that is, if
one takes a long view from the colonial era, and also as a result of the long spell of military
intervention in the country’s polity, these virtues of modern government the world over have
remained a fairy tale and a mirage for the Nigerian people. Accountability constitutes pivotal
features of any respectable public official or professional practitioner. An effective government
rest majorly on the available human and material resources which the nation could mobilize and
harness for government. Without mincing words, the issue of accountability in Nigeria has
become a subject of global concern and worry as it underpins the very essence of human
development at every level of human relationship. The main idea is that service providers should
have better incentives to respond to the needs of beneficiaries. Accountability applies in the
political, bureaucratic as well as market spheres (Besley & Ghatak, 2007:129).

Accountability is a fundamental but under-developed concept in Nigerian public administration.

Scholars and practitioners freely use the term to refer to answerability for one’s actions or
behaviour. Administrators and agencies are accountable to the extent that they are required to
answer for their actions. Beyond this on basic notion of answerability, there has been little
refinement of the term. Most of the discussions on the literature centre on the “best” strategy for
achieving accountability (Adejuwon, 2019). Accountability in service delivery may be conceived
of as processes through which communities and households can hold providers responsible for
the adequacy and effectiveness of the services they offer. For poor and marginalized
communities and households, public accountability can be achieved through giving them both
voice and suffrage; for policymakers, accountability can be demanded through the social
compact in which governments assist, finance and regulate providers of health care, nutrition and
environmental health services.

In Nigeria, the level of accountability among public officials in the management of public affairs
has consistently declined since independence. The rate of annual economic growth of the country
has generally declined over the period. At the same time, the efficient and effective delivery of
public service to the ordinary citizen has continuously deteriorated. A combination of these two
factors has resulted in widespread unemployment and poverty in the country. A recurring
decimal in the exposition of Nigeria’s development dilemma is the recognition of corruption as
the most imposing albatross. Almost all facets of the Nigerian economy are haunted by the
spectre of corruption. Corruption is the single most potent impediment to Nigeria’s development.
There is discernible trajectory in the mutation of corruption. The intensity of corruption in
Nigeria is proportionally correlated to the epochal transmutation of its productive forces: from a
bouquet of cash crops to oil economy. The fact that the new democratic leadership had to rely on
political power as the means of creating their economic base is a fact of immense significance. It
unfortunately created a tendency to make political power the means of accumulation (Ake,
1981:3). It was this use of political power to create wealth by the ruling class in the period
following independence that spawned corruption.

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Since independence, Nigeria has formulated various legal instruments and established a number
of watchdog institutions (like EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau) for regulating and
monitoring the ethical behaviour of its public officials. Besides, in the early 1990s, domestic
opposition groups assisted by the international community demanded and eventually achieved
the restoration of competitive party politics or multi-party in the country. However, despite the
existence of a number of legal instruments and watchdogs institutions for regulating and
monitoring the ethical standards of public officials, and the adoption of multiparty, the
management of public affairs and institutions by those who are entrusted with positions of
authority in the country has not improved (Adejuwon, 2019).

As noted by Odhiambo-Mbai (2003:2), the continued deterioration of the level of accountability

among public officials in the country shows that the adoption of multi-partysm has not
contributed to good governance. Given these facts, these pertinent questions therefore arise: what
have been the major causes of the lack of, or poor accountability among public official in
Nigeria? Why have the existing instruments and watchdog institutions for regulating and
monitoring ethical standards of public officials failed to ensure accountability? What strategies
need to be adopted in order to enhance accountability in governance among public officials?

It is quite clear that since independence, the level of public accountability in Nigeria has
consistently deteriorated. Thus, from the early 1990s, in order to improve the efficient and
effective public services delivery and promote economic development, domestic opposition
groups, supported by the international community in Nigeria began to demand good governance.
Needless to say, the continued deterioration of accountability in governance led to the decline in
the standard of provision of public services and economic growth. These in turn resulted in
increased unemployment and general poverty in the country. However, in the case of Nigeria the
deterioration of public service accountability may be attributed to the following factors:- The
autocratic or patron-client relations political process; The involvement of public servants in
private business; Poor terms and conditions of service; Deterioration of professionalism in the
public service; Ethnicity and nepotism.

Wendy (2004:7) has identified the causes of poor service delivery in Nigeria as inadequate
resources, management and misappropriation of funds, inadequate motivation of staff, lack of
technical competence, use of obsolete and outdated technology, undue government interference
and corruption. Akhakpe (2008:54) suggests additional factors as nepotism, bureau-pathologies,
poor infrastructural facilities, tribalism, favouritism, federal character principle, the poor attitude
of staff to government work, and bad human resources management. The most embarrassing of
these is corruption. Due to widespread corruption, abuse of office and the general deterioration
of other ethical standards in the country, one is likely to assume that there is no control
mechanism that could be used to enforce accountability. Yet this is not the case. Nigeria has
many legal and quasi-legal instruments and other watchdog institution specifically formulated
and designed for controlling public service ethics. Despite this fact, public accountability
constantly deteriorates as we have seen.

Generally, it is acknowledged that virtually all the unethical practices such as bribery and
corruption, patronage, reposition, embezzlement, influence peddling, the use of one’s position
for self-enrichment, bestowing of favours on relatives and friends, moonlighting, late coming to
work, abuse of public property, and the leakage and/or misuse of government information that
constitute the lack of accountability in governance which currently characterise the country's
public service (Odhiambo-Mbai, 2003:5). Furthermore, during the last five years, the respected
and authoritative. Transparency International has consistently placed Nigeria among the top ten
most corrupt countries in the world. The failure of Nigeria to restore the high level of
accountability similar to the one it boasted of immediately after independence despite the

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African Journal of Institutions and Development (AJID). Vol. 14. No. 25
restoration of multiparty more than a decade ago, shows that either the kind of multiparty
adopted has failed to democratise the country, or that democratisation is not a sine-qua non for
accountability in governance. It is quite apparent that the former is the case. In spite the
institutional framework put in place by successive governments to checkmate corruption, it only
thrived luxuriantly. Several factors appeared to have undermined these frameworks namely, lack
of political will; active connivance of those in authority, and unaccountable nature of governance
in the political history of Nigeria (Nwosor, 2011:2).

Towards the Enhancement of Accountability and Good Governance in Service Delivery in

Nigeria
Arising from the above analysis, it may be in order to make certain suggestions on how public
accountability in Nigeria could be enhanced. From the above discussions, it is obvious that
Nigerians need a change of attitude to governance if the nation must develop and move forward.
The challenges of public service delivery in Nigeria are surmountable, but to overcome them and
lay the foundation for a lasting development, the federal government should maintain peace and
stability, which is precondition for rebuilding confidence and providing security to the society
and investors, both national and foreign. For a meaningful, impact-felt public service delivery to
be successfully carried out in Nigeria, it must put into consideration the behavioural pattern, the
social context, as well as cultural milieu of the people whom the service is meant for, together
with the vehicle of the delivery of services. This means that there is need to exploit indigenous
knowledge in carrying out any required services in the public sector (Adejuwon,
2012:89).

Nigeria is not short of legislations to enthrone public accountability, yet it is unable to do so.
Several factors are at play in making the task of eradicating corruption and enthroning public
accountability in its body-politic a herculean task: these factors include lack of political will on
the part of the government, slow judicial process, politicisation of the anticorruption crusade,
elite conspiracy, playing the ethnic card and indifference of the masses (Nwosor, 2011:19).
Firstly, the political and administrative machineries which brings people to power in Nigeria
must be totally overhauled in order to produce dedicated, enlightened and God fearing
individuals who will be at the helm of affairs in the country. Conscious efforts at improving
public service delivery in Nigeria are still in its infancy. A lot of commitment and political will
from public office holders are required to change the value orientation of Nigerians, from that of
the "Nigerian Factor" to operating an efficient, effective economical and accountable public
service (Fagbemi, 2006:104). Promoting accountability therefore requires identifying who is to
be held accountable for what, to whom and how. In other words, it is an essential, in thinking
about accountability in a given situation, to distinguish between agents, individuals or
organizations that make decisions, and their principals, who have authorized their actions
(Keohane, 2002:5).

Strengthening accountability must be tailored to different modes of service delivery. At the

primary level of community and family services; including such factors as information and social
support for promoting breastfeeding or newborn care services; the ability of households to
purchase commodities, access information on services and transform both into better health
outcomes is central to increasing demand-side accountability. Citizens are increasingly asking
for workable solutions to everyday problems spurred by the unresolved challenges of poverty,
hunger, pandemics, environmental degradation, energy bottlenecks and security threats, only to
name a few. Effective service delivery must be tailored to the circumstances of Nigeria. This
requires a good evidence base and sound economic reasoning. The best way to make effective
policy is to make sure that policy is evidence based and learnt from experience elsewhere as well
as working to expand the evidence base for Nigeria. Equally, it is important to connect this to our
wider understanding of the principles of good policymaking in this area.

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African Journal of Institutions and Development (AJID). Vol. 14. No. 25

In order to bring sanity back to Nigerian public service, all the unprofessional tendencies such as
ethnicity and nepotism in appointments and promotions, lack of security of tenure and
appointment of non-career public servants into key positions in the public service should be
stopped. This would discourage public servants who are tempted to abuse their public offices due
to frustrations not to do so. In addition, Joseph (1990:7) also recommends that:
…the most decisive way in which (political) accountability can be achieved is through the
requirement that a government’s continuation in office depends on the active approval of the
people as expressed in competitive election.

He is of the opinion therefore that effective (good) governance requires institutional pluralism,
communal empowerment and meaningful popular participation. Zabra (2010:6) emphasizing the
role of public scrutiny and ethical standard in institutionalizing the culture of accountability at
public offices reaffirms that, public scrutiny is a very important instrument for sustaining
accountability and trust in public life and public officers, especially the elected officials, should
be subjected to higher scrutiny except with regard to personal life and standard; and ethical
standard as an effective way of sustaining democracy. In this regard, the watchdog institutions
such as Parliament, the Judiciary and Police should be strengthened to undertake their roles
effectively. Although there are a number of watchdog institutions in the country for controlling
public accountability, as we have seen none of these are independent and effective enough to
undertake the task. These institutions should be well staffed with competent personnel and they
should be provided sufficient resources to enable them perform their functions efficiently and
effectively. The anti-corruption campaigns and other related campaigns to entrench transparency
and accountability must be vigorous not timid. Such campaigns must be consistent in
applications and must be devoid of selectivity in applications and choice of battle fronts if they
are to retain credibility and to be internalized by all Nigerians (Idachaba, 2006:90).

In addition, extending incentive rewards to good workers is also another effective way of
promoting public accountability in the public service. Ultimately, public accountability in
Nigeria will most likely be achieved through vigorous democratisation of the state. Thus, we
propose that the ongoing democratisation process in Nigeria should be invigorated. Lastly, what
constitute good governance has been extensively discussed in this article as can be seen above.
Let Nigerian leaders follow these points religiously and at

Which Way Forward?

There are three fundamental elements that constitute our practical and realistic agenda for
fostering and promoting ethics and accountability in the Nigerian Civil Service. In other words
this practical agenda depicts the panacea or solution to the problems question.

i. Sound Economic Foundation

A basic element and solution to the problems of ethics and lack of accountability in the civil
service hinges on sound economic foundation. Since economy determines to a large extent the
other aspects of life, it follows that good morals, ethics and other society’s values can only be
adhered to in a society where there is a solid, sound and viable economic base. That is economy
that commands a high productive capacity and enables the citizens to sufficiently meet their
welfare needs. Education therefore plays pivotal role in this regard. That is a qualitative and
functional education that can improve human capacity and innovativeness through science and
technology. Indeed, this can transform the productive forces and the social relations of
production in the society and generally improve the quality of life of the people.

ii. Reforms

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Another important element towards eliminating unethical behaviour and problems of
accountability in the Civil Service is to embark on radical and realistic and workable reforms
rather than the usual cosmetic approach. Here we are concerned with reforms that have human
face. Thus, there is need for an enabling condition of service to be created. This has to do mainly
with adequate pay package and other economic incentives. If this servants will be discouraged
from using unethical means in getting economic benefits from clients and the public in general.
Another realistic approach in the reform process should focus on the restructuring of the public
service sector to avoid unnecessary duplication of department and ministries. This would
definitely prevent waste of resources in the system. A good example is the present effort at
restructuring and streamlining of the public service in Benue state by the Suswam administration.
This is encouraging and this should be sustained to accomplish meaningful results.
There is also the need to promote sound policies on recruitment, training and retraining of civil
servants to effective service delivery. These policies will contribute immensely to enhancing and
promoting professionalism, ethics and accountability. Recruitment and promotion should be
strictly based on merit, performance and achievement. Equally important as a tool to fostering
and promoting ethics and accountability is the need to strengthen and reposition the public
institutions of accountability. This involves mainly the legislature and its institutions that are
expected to promote accountability such as public accounts committee, the civil service
commission, the public complaints commission, the accountant-general’s offices and Auditor-
general’s office must be strengthened to be more focused and effective accountability
mechanisms.

iii. Quality Leadership

One of the agonizing problems confronting the Nigerian state is the leadership question. This is
the leadership that has failed to bring about good governance deriving form the nature and
character of the state.
Good governance entail the application of democratic principles in decision making process
based on the socioeconomic and political needs especially as it concerns the allocation of
resources in the society. Indeed good governance implies constitutionalism, rule of law and due
process. There is therefore, the need for visionary, committed, focused, disciplined, purposeful,
responsible, selfless and mentally resourceful leadership that has the capacity to positively
manipulate and propel the civil service towards attaining a high degree of ethics and
accountability in the system.

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