I don't fully understand what's going on in the country but for now I'm going to discuss and even analyze my observations. This morning, as I was walking to the cybercafe, I saw a motorcade of men in military uniform. That's right, not military men or soldiers but men in military uniform (fatigues) wielding machetes in broad daylight. What's going on at Aba or even in Nigeria? This was this morning (8.02.2021) along Aba-Owerri Road, in Aba. Hmmm...insecurity is everywhere and the military personnel are now contributory agents. And definitely machete-wielding military men or soldiers or again men in fatigues. I hope this will be the last regime by an ex-military personnel. We want to be sure when we are in a civilian administration and when it's military rule. Haba, people! O di egwu o.
That was a little digression up there. Now, I'd like to write on the 27 contrasts in the Nigerian civil service. I haven't long in the service to understand what's actually transpiring. I'm beginning to worry about my safety at work. I thought it was civil service that I agreed to embark upon; I had no idea it's a different ball game. I've thought seriously about these contrasts. They aren't direct opposites, but contextual opposites. So, use to taste but if you are patriotic you'll agree with me that our country is in trouble. Baby mamas have hijacked our country and many men are afraid for their lives. Whatever is going on is rude. Whenever I'm at the Secretariat at Umuahia, all I hear are noises of people singing or praying. What's that during office hours? Ewoo! Why do people watch and pray (or prey?) when office duties should be done. Chei! It annoyed me like praying in one lecturer's classes at the University of Ibadan was definitely perplexing and annoying. There's a place for everything fellas. Turning the office into Mount Horeb or whatever is appalling and whoever it's entertaining should desist from being a whore.
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My office at Obingwa Local Government of Abia State. The walls leak rain water till date
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I don't think that the socket is functional. I didn't try to find out.
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Dirt and floor flooded any time it rained
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| Cultural Unit office Obingwa LGA |
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A table that I am supposed to sit at at work daily (Obingwa LGA)
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- Work experience or work experiment: Cognate experience in civil service is seen as work done in related areas as the one being sourced or done. Many Nigerian civil servants don't have work experience because they haven't been given the proper orientation and assignment for their jobs. If all people have done for years as administrative officer or whatever schedule they fulfill has been to conduct prayer sessions how then have they acquired cognate experience. Sometimes the job feels like a trap. Instead of being given an assignment, the officers assign spies to watch one's activities. Nobody learns this way and no society has grown nor developed as a spy syndicate.
- Job or welfare: What is a job? It a paid position of regular employment. It is a task or piece of work especially one that's remunerated. It's not welfare, which is a social procedure that gives money to people in need for their well-being.
- Salary or welfare palliative. Salary is paid to people engaged to perform certain tasks. Welfare palliative requires no work and need is the only requirement.
- Comradeship or conspiracy. I've noticed that from day one conspiracies started because some people came to work with baggage. Although appointments came from a central body removed from everybody, some people found ways to bring their personal businesses to the office. Those with misgivings towards other works came together to find ways to start a gossip network. No civil service even in France should run this way. Leave your baggage at home. Comradeship is the hallmark of civil service not conspiracy.
- Civil service or gossip racket(eering). Civil service is a training school. In fact, it continues what was started at school. Although it provides a useful litmus test for running checks on the education especially tertiary education received, it is not an end in itself. Gossip appears to be the only functional value that people have gathered in the offices to do. I witnessed its prognosis at Ile Igbon during my NYSC in Ibadan. Theresa Agbugui and the Air Force officers could have best served out of a beer parlour than an office. She told me herself how all she did was entertain them with gist. Now, I know she was gossiping rather than gisting with those officers.
- Service or personal aggrandizement. Service is selfless personal aggrandizement is not. Need I say more?
- Work or prostitution/harlotry. Men are not to use the Nigerian civil service to compensate their baby mamas. It doesn't yield productivity. It breeds corruption and empowers only prostitutes.
- Spy or monitor. A spy is that person who watches the activities of other people for personal gain. A monitor watches over someone with the intent to analyze progress and solve problems.
- Orientation or dehumanization. Is office orientation given for learning or dehumanization?
- Censorship or freedom. Censorship is given to curtail freedom. Freedom doesn't negate discipline or responsibility.
- Red tape or promptness. Developing countries are the way they are because promptness is considered weakness or desperation. Red tape are those rules that hinder progress and promptness. Matters are unnecessarily delayed in order to carry our personal vendetta or vengeance. The West is laughing at this trend in developing countries because it's a canker worm eating at our development.
- Confirmation or lamination. Confirmation of employment is given after satisfactory work has been given and all things being equal the right candidate has been appointed to a position. When due process is not done or credence is not given to integrity and the wrong person is confirmed, it become calamitous. Imagine laminating a document with typographical errors. Are you going to ignore the typos or retype your document? Or are those errors done deliberately and laminated to seal them in? Ejikwa m ogu o.
- Governance or witch hunt. Superior officers in civil servants are the leaders and not the boss. Of course, the word boss is used to discuss who's in charge of duties and delegations. It's not about invincibility. Nobody in the Nigerian civil service is interminable. Nobody hired himself or herself. Governance is not witch hunt. Witch hunt suggests using people's actions and words against them irrespective of their relevance. It's propaganda against people who don't support own views.
- Legality or illicitness. The civil service should be a bastion of legality and not where illicitness hides and causes trouble for others. Nigerians wetin una talk? Should we go get all the Aninis of Nigeria and type offers of appointment and hand to them. Come join give them AK-47 and machetes to bring to work? Na wah!
- Charlatanry or qualification. Qualification means meeting the standard for certain appointments or positions. Charlatanry means not being skilled or qualified to do a certain job. Charm isn't qualification. It's promising but qualification is still important.
- Personality/personification or impersonation/imposture. There are many impostors in the Nigerian civil service. Some people have the consent of their friends to impersonate them. All the parties are culpable. Nigeria should tell if giving credentials during recruitment is illegal. It should be as it encourages certificate racketeering and imposture/impersonation.
- Chivalry or promiscuity/perversion
- Union or syndicate
- Plot or promotion
- Peace or indulgence
- Delegation or indolence
- Dialogue or savagery. Violence at work is uncalled for and should never be tolerated. Dialogue is the way to go.
- Schedule or scheme. Schemes are either systematic plans or devious plans. Which one do you use in your work pattern? Schedules suggest a list of things to do and the timetable for doing each thing.
- Productivity or couch potato syndrome
- Reality or irony
- Rules or voodoo
- Transparency or cabal
Bonus: Literacy or illiteracy
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