A critical appraisal of the payment of civil servants salary

The Civil Service is the administrative bureaucracy which occupies an essential position in the political system of nations. Throughout the world, the contributions of Civil Service in promoting sustainable and equitable economic growth are receiving increasing attention. Efficient and effective management of the Civil Service are critical to sustainable socio-economic development of a nation. Thus, any government that neglects this body is headed for socio-economic and political destruction. The civil service is an essential part of any society’s growth and development. Bezzina (1994) opined that Civil Service refers to employees selected and promoted on the basis of a merit and seniority system, which may include examination, (as cited by Anazodo, Okoye, & Chukwuemeka, 2012, p.17) The Civil Service in Nigeria is of a colonial creation. The model of Civil Service bequeathed to Nigeria by her colonial master (Britain) was narrow in structure and objectives. It was basically structured in such a manner that enabled colonial masters to successfully extract the much coveted financial and material resources needed by their controlling metropolitan powers.

One major preoccupation of the present administration of the civil service has been Policy Reforms aimed at improving the machinery of government and service delivery generally. They play a major role in boosting the economy and improving the general wellbeing of all citizens. More so, the civil service and her reforms and acts where sustained after independence was the parlous state of the economy of the nation, and the erosion of public confidence in government and its institutions to deliver the much expected dividends of democracy. The civil service is supposed to be a separate that should not be taking care of at the mercy of the state and federal government.

What is practice in Nigeria or the way the civil servants in Nigeria are treated is the opposite of what it ought to be. In payment of their salaries, it is seen as a rare privilege being done to them instead of a right. A worker deserves a reward for the services rendered and is not expected to be given that on the basis of being done a favour.

The fact that when a governor pays his workers, he is seen as a good governor or ‘alert governor’ is appalling and disheartening. A payment of salary is considered as rendering the dividends of democracy and having the interest of the civil servants at heart. This has further made the civil servants gullible and incapacitated in taking important parts in determining the right practice of democracy. Little wonder, corruption still continues to ravage the country’s socio-political, economic growth and development and the perversion of justice by the judicial body.

This paper is therefore a critical evaluation and investigation into the general belief that the civil servant’s salary is a privilege and not a right and further seeks to reconceptualise this age-long tradition and brings an appreciation and dignity in labour in Nigeria.