Right Sizing the Civil Service — A Dream

By Aliyu U. Tilde

Right-sizing the civil service is the dream of every President, Governor, LG Chairman and concerned public administrator. Going about it without political backlash is the problem. You need the courage of my friend to brave it.

I think we need to discard the notion that civil servants are lazy. No. The jobs are just not there to make them active, due to lack of funding or they are overtaken by technology, that is putting aside the problem of overstaffing. Many feel wasted. Almost every soul—more so an educated one—would like to find something to keep him busy and earn a dignified living. I believe we all carry the work gene.

If I were a Governor, I will pursue right-sizing with all vigour I would pursue any project in the state. I would even consider it an investment and the most important policy thrust of my administration. Put briefly, I would push the retirees along with their energy, skill, knowledge and retirement benefits to the private sector to generate an unprecedented economic growth.

In the end, the retirees and my state will be many times richer and happier. Wabba and his NLC will not come for my head. Instead, they will crown me as the CCF, Chief Comrade of the Federation.

Here comes my dream.

Process:

1. Sensitize public servants on the right-sizing program and the wealth creating opportunities it engenders.

2. Shortlist redundant workers and voluntarily retirees.

3. Calculate the total retirement expenditure. Do not be scared. It is an investment.

4. Phase the retirement over four years or so, if necessary.

5. Take loan to settle the retirement bill, a soft or single digit one from advocates of right-sizing like World Bank and IMF, payable over 50 years with a 10 year moratorium.

6. Train, before retirement, each of the retirees on what they intend to use their retirement benefits, seeking the assistance, if necessary, of NGOs and development partners to build capacity and markets of retirees and their products.

7. Pay every retiree his benefits on the day of his retirement from the loan.

Benefits:

1. Many civil servants will voluntarily prefer to move to the private sector and become active.

2. Enriching the private sector with skilled and educated elite.

3. Mass employment of youths that will serve the small businesses the retirees will establish.

4. Fast economic growth especially in mining, agric and food processing and education, for which the country has a home market—not to mention export crops.

5. Absence of rancour among the population.

6. A win-win solution.

7. My state will be one of the richest state in Nigeria.

8. Lots of requisite money for development of the state and better paid civil servants.

Challenges:

1. Huge retirement bill, running into billions certainly. Not a problem if right-sizing is seen as an investment.

2. Many of the retirees would still be on pension depending on the years they put in service or the pension scheme operated, leaving the state with a residual monthly bill that may be half of their service payroll status.

3. The state may still be using a good portion of its resources to repay the loan with interest unless a long term loan is acquired.

4. Difficulty in switching from public to private sector by many retirees leading to collapse of the businesses of many.

5. A reckless, populist successor may come, see the small size of the civil service, and revert to status quo ante, employing his political supporters and their children en masse.

Is it dawn? Sorry, I was dreaming.

Aliyu U. Tilde is the Commissioner of Education, Bauchi State, Nigeria.