LEAD-P: Repositioning Nigeria’s Civil Service
By Abdulsalam Mahmud,
Before now, the Nigerian civil service appears to be at an evolutionary culdesac. Its accelerated march to the Eldorado was seemingly halted. Several existential challenges plagued its growth and institutional transformation.
From the allegation of redundancy to unskilled workforce, and then, nauseating corrupt practices by top civil servants, Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, the narrative about the federal civil service in particular, gave everyone a serious migraine.
For those who may have forgotten, former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of blessed memory, in 2009 made a bold attempt to fix the federal civil service, when he inaugurated the Stephen Osagiede Oronsaye Committee on the restructuring and rationalisation of government parastatals, commissions and agencies.
Aside from the work done by the committee led by Mr. Oronsaye, a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, nothing significant was done by the federal government to reform the civil service, particularly in the direction of nurturing the leadership qualities of federal workers, on the verge of attaining positions of authority in the service.
The strategic innovation called Leadership Enhancement and Development Programme, LEAD-P, however appeared to have started correcting, among several other things, the leadership capacity deficit in the civil service.
The top talent training course for civil servants in Grade Level 10-14 is the brainchild of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, OHCSF. As part of the programme, participants are required to undergo an 8-week internship in a private sector organisation to gain requisite experience in efficient work processes, organisational values, ethics, innovation, and effective management styles.
The programme, which identifies civil servants with high leadership potential and provides them with in-depth capacity building based on a specially designed curriculum, was introduced by the OHCSF, in partnership with the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation.
Last year, 118 workers participated and were graduated in the inaugural edition of the programme. At the ceremony held in May 2022, Dr. Yemi-Esan explained that LEAD-P is a key component of the first pillar of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP) 2021 – 2025, which is Capability Building and Talent Management.
Yemi-Esan noted that the rigorous training programmes which the 118 officers were subjected to, was “unprecedented in the annals of capacity building in the civil service and is truly career transforming and life changing.”
She pointed out that priority of the initiative was geared towards addressing the need to strengthen and reinvigorate the civil service workforce through well-structured and sustainable capacity building programmes. She stated that a total of 43 training modules, comprising 17 generic and 26 sectoral modules were developed and taught to the participants, adding that the modules cut across the basic training needs of civil servants and knowledge of other sectors outside the public service. The aim, according to her, was to expose participants to a broad spectrum of knowledge as future leaders.
In his keynote address, Mr. Boss Mustapha, the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SSG, said the training programme provided participants with requisite skills required to perform effectively in the 21st public service, where governance is measured by the quality of its service delivery. Mustapha observed that leadership development for effective succession planning, has over the years, remained the bane of the civil service. He noted that Nigeria’s problem is not lack of good plans or policies but rather, dearth of capacity or will to implement LEAD-P and other manpower development initiatives.
Mustapha therefore charged participants to play a critical role in mentoring their subordinates, urging them to make themselves available for service and be good ambassadors of LEAD-P and the Nigerian public service in general. Smarting from the auspicious hosting of its maiden edition, the OHCSF, last Friday held the graduation ceremony for the second LEAD-P cohorts, numbering 106.
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At the event, Vice President Kashim Shettima, represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Office of the Vice President (OVP), Dr. Tope Fasua, urged the graduands to see the opportunity as a call to serve more effectively. He affirmed that challenges of leadership are changing and becoming more complex in present times.
Shettima expressed optimism that with rigorous training such as LEAD-P, there is hope that the public and civil services are primed co-workers, game changers and change ambassadors. He further encouraged them to be more committed to the task of building the nation. On her part, Dr. Yemi-Esan urged the graduands to properly take responsibility in driving the successful delivery of the eight (8) focus areas of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration.
She affirmed that the LEAD-P graduands are properly trained to drive the delivery of the eight focus areas of the Tinubu government, which include reforming the economy to deliver inclusive and sustained growth; strengthening national security for peace and prosperity; boosting agriculture to achieve food security and unlocking energy and natural resources for sustainable development.
Others include enhancing infrastructure and transportation as enablers of sustainable growth; focus on education, health and social investment as essential pillars of development; accelerating diversification through industrialisation, digitisation, creative arts, manufacturing and innovation and finally, improving governance for effective service delivery.
Yemi-Esan, while speaking further in her keynote address, also opined that the introduction of the programme is a direct response to the glaring knowledge and skills gaps identified in the civil service, which constituted the major barriers to the ability of the service to effectively discharge its core responsibilities. She buttressed that the top-talent programme was conceived and structured to identify, train and retain the best Officers in the Service, who would become the face of the envisioned New Federal Civil Service, in terms of providing requisite technical and leadership skills.
She added that the choice of focusing on the middle level Officers on salary grade levels (SGL) 10-14 is informed by the need to lay a solid foundation for the future. Yemi-Esan explained that the cardinal objectives of the LEAD-P is to change the mindset of Officers, as well as increase their self-awareness and patterns of behaviour to be able to influence the mindset of other workers with a view to making them capable of leading work teams.
She also expressed optimism that LEAD-P will address the lingering challenge of succession planning in the nation’s civil service, as well as its negative public perception in the areas of efficiency, results, knowledge and attitudes, stating that in no distant time, this class of officers will be the most sought after to drive the delivery of critical projects and programmes.
Dr. Yemi-Esan noted that the pioneer set of 118 Officers, earlier graduated in May, 2022 have all been deployed to specific and strategic national assignments across various MDAs. “Their duties include providing technical support to the political leadership and leading essential project teams, amongst others”. She added that the 106 Graduates of the 2nd batch will be deployed to complement the good work started by the 1st set.
Also speaking at the event, the Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, FCSC, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, commended the HoSF for choosing to stand out in deepening the affairs of the service. He said that LEAD-P is a testament that the present headship is ready to effect change in the service for the better. The Chairman, Aig-Imouhkuede Foundation, Mr. Agboje Aig- Imouhkuede described the ceremony as a celebration of persistence and risk-taking by the graduating participants. He reiterated their foundation’s commitment to public service transformation.
The graduation lecture titled, “Strategic Leadership-the Essential Skills,” was delivered by the Chairman of Fate Foundation, Mr. Tajudeen Afolabi Adeola. He advised the graduands to emulate the lives and times of our founding fathers and trailblazers such as late Jerome Udorji, Adamu Fika, Ahmed Joda, Phillip Asiodu, Dike, Dora Akunyili and others, whose services were borne out of genuine commitment and selflessness.
He urged them to imbibe the principles of integrity and accountability spiced with humility. He admonished the future leaders to lead not just with authority but with empathy, insisting that they should start viewing their duties as a call for more serve, as well as endeavour to leave a legacy of positive impact.
Mahmud is the Deputy Editor of PRNigeria and wrote in via: [email protected].
