President Bola Tinubu yesterday swore-in Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF). She took over from Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, who retires on August 14, 2024.
Since her first appointment as Permanent Secretary in 2017 by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs. Walson-Jack has worked in the Service Welfare Office of the Office of the HCSF, ministries of Niger Delta Affairs, Power, Water Resources and Sanitation before she was redeployed to the Ministry of Education, following the retirement of the then Permanent Secretary, Mr. David Andrew Adejo in January this year.
As a successor to a woman, her appointment excited many, especially those working to promote gender balance in the realm of Nigerian politics. Her background as a lawyer, who was called to the bar in 1987 after a law degree at the University of Lagos, Mrs. Walson-Jack started her journey as a State Counsel in the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, and was among the pioneer staff of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Justice, following the creation of the state in October 1996.
While congratulating her for attaining the peak in her career and wishing her a successful tenure in office, it is apparent that Mrs. Walson-Jack would be bringing a long and rich experience to the nation's civil service in her new position, which has been aptly described as the engine room of government. She will no doubt need her experience in driving the government programmes and policies, as well as her talents to reform and sanitise the civil service that we all can be proud of.
Her predecessor, Dr. Yemi-Esan, after being conferred with a Fellowship Award by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), had argued that the civil service had recorded positive developments from what it used to be decades ago. She disagreed with those who described the Nigeria civil servant as corrupt and unproductive.
This assertion by Dr. Yemi-Esan certainly does not capture the general view of our civil service as many Nigerians believe there is a need for reform and reorientation of the civil service to make it service oriented, and for it to key into government's policy delivery.
The new HCSF should therefore know that her position requires action, rather than lamentation. She must be open to criticism and receptive to wise counsel. Even the best of systems need constant improvement to remain above board.
We at the Daily Trust urge Mrs. Walson-Jack to hit the ground running and face the many challenges facing the civil service in the country head-on. She must confront corruption, which is widely believed to be endemic and entrenched in the service. It is an open knowledge that many civil servants, who are being paid to offer services to the people, now demand for gratifications to do their work. Those who refuse to cooperate end up being denied such services. Cases of missing files are not new for those familiar with many government offices.
Contractors are also required to 'grease the palm' of some officials before they are considered for government contracts. Capacity and efficiency no longer matter to such officials, which explains why we are battling with substandard projects all over the place, from our roads to hospitals and even institutions of learning.
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We urge the new HCSF to uphold the integrity of the office she is about to occupy and guard her own reputation and self-esteem. She should be guided by transparency and accountability, reward excellence and sanction wrongdoings. She must not toe the path of some of her predecessors who are having one or two cases with the anti-graft agencies. As the president said in the statement announcing her appointment, she must discharge her "Duties with innovative flair, integrity, and stringent adherence to the extant rules and regulations of the Civil Service of the Federation."
This appointment is an opportunity for Mrs. Walson-Jack to write her name in gold: this she will do when she is able to turn the nation's civil service into a pool of dedicated men and women who we all can be proud of.
