Theory and Practice of Public Administration and Civil Service Reforms in Nigeria, Tunji Olaopa, Spectrum Books Limited, Ibadan, 2008 pp 293.

Contrary to popular practice among Nigerian scholars in the 21st century in which little emphasis is placed on quality but on commerce or economic gain, Tunji Olaopa’s book Theory and Practice of Public Administration and Civil Service Reforms in Nigeria stands out as an outcome of basic research. The book is a critical reflection on the principles and practice of public administration in Nigeria from its colonial root to date.

Divided into six chapters, the book in first chapter, Theories of Publication Administration banishes the controversy that public administration is neither a discipline nor a minor discipline. This is sufficiently justified in the various allusions to important scholars such as Adedeji Adebayo, Dimock, Nigro, Henri Fayol, Woodrow Wilson, Fredrick Taylor, Dwight Waldo, Luther Gullick, Max Weber, Elton Mayo, Chester Bernard and Herbert Simon.

The theories by all these scholars no doubt proved two important points-first, that public administration is a very important is a very important discipline whose principles require learning and education and second , that what many people refer to as the principles of scientific management are ipso facto principles of administration.

Although Olaopa did not make a categorical assertion that public administration is a substantive discipline, the practical framework set out in chapter did justice to the age-long paradigmatic crisis about the locus of public administration as a discipline.
Olaopa distinguishes between the traditional model of Public Administration and the New Public Management (NPM) approach. According to him, in spite of the romantic patronage of the approach in the west, the model is grossly insufficient to capture realities obtainable in the Nigerian context.

Chapter two of the book is an attempt to develop a functional theoretical framework for repositioning the Nigerian Civil Service for better performance. To this end, Olaopa examines four major theories: New Public Management, Public Choice, Agency Theory and Transaction Cost Economics. He not only succeeds in merely doing a conceptual review of the major theories but shows preference for the NPM which he himself criticizes in the previous chapter as not being too amendable to the Nigerian situation.
Although the civil service traditionally appears professional, actual practice shows that there has been no system in the real sense that takes care of the professional development in the Nigerian public service.

The need for re-professionalization was found imperative in the scheme of things in Nigeria. He specifically drew the reader’s attention to the major problem of professionalization, arguing: “Today public servants work within complex policy frameworks and under intense economic, social, technological and competitive pressures, hence encounter increasing, often conflicting demands from citizens, interest groups and politicians”.

The third chapter presents an interesting documentation of the historical phases that public administration had passed though in its evolutionary process. Three basic eras namely colonial tutelage, institutional transfer and home rule. The chapter also underscores the contributions of both indigenous administrators as well as professional administration; their contributions to the discipline and practice of public; administration reforms in Nigeria and the contributions of training institutions and professional bodies. Some of these institutions include the old Ife Institute of Public Administration, ABU Institute of Public Administration and Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry.

Chapter four concentrates on the evolution of the Nigerian civil service from the colonial and pre-independence era up to the Ayida Reform of 1995. Not much of critical analysis was done except for the failure of the reforms which are traced to the incursion of the military and its attendant affect on the Nigerian Civil Service.
Chapter five take-off from the problems created by military misrule, which made the delivery of social services inexorably inefficient; state of general welfare deplorable, corruption level remarkably high and compliance with civil service norms, ebbing.

Olaopa himself acknowledges that civil service renewal programme of the immediate past Obasanjo administration has its limitations such as the poor central coordination, haphazard implementation and ineffective training.
In addition to the criticisms of the reforms by such scholars as Professor Mabogunje, Professor Adebayo Adedeji, Poldano and Fika, Olaopa also argues that the reform is still largely incoherent and uncoordinated.

What is apparent from the critique of the reforms is that it is too elitist and as it has little bearing on the plight of the common man in Nigeria.
The sixth chapter grapples with the development of a pragmatic framework for national reforms geared towards socio-economic transformation. Professor Ladipo Adamolekun’s proposed framework is adopted. The framework centres on four factors, namely: state legitimacy; clear vision and strategic development direction which is stakeholder derived and people centred; and focus on development outcomes such as political freedom, participation and physical security.

Following the forgoing, Olaopa underscores the imperativeness of the challenge to evolve a new Federal Civil Service along the optimal system model which recognizes that the existing system of public administration is out-modelled and that there is need for re-professionalization in order to address the critical gap between public expectations and civil service response capacity.
In short, Olaopa proposes a new career professional development scheme with emphasis on abolition of executive cadre using e-government solution, professionalization of personnel administration functions and change of existing cadres into functional field of specialization, among others.
The book concluded with a postscript where important questions are raised concerning how best to generate a better civil service for the country.

On the whole, this book is a basic compendium of knowledge in the areas of theory of public administration and civil service reforms in Nigeria. It is a quick reference point for any researcher working in the area of the reforms particularly during the Obasanjo administration.
However, the book is deficient in level of critical analyses such as the hidden political motives underpinning the reforms, the economic implications-cum-the value benefit of the reforms and the underlying international impetus warranting the reforms. In other words, most of the reforms were stage-managed from the west and were based on western values.

The book also fails to capture the inability of Obasanjo’s administration to match his rhetorics about stamping put corruption with the eventual performance in which he only succeeded in expanding the frontiers of corruption.
Nevertheless, the book highlights the bias and inclination of the author who was the head of the secretariat of the reform team that developed the national strategy for Obasanjo hence, his perspective of resources raised in the book is understandable.
•Oladoyin (Ph. D) is senior lecturer and acting Head, Department of Public Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.