Benue State University, Makurdi

Public Bureaucracy and National Development in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges

ASAJU, Kayode^*
AYENI, Evans^*

Abstract

The role of the Nigerian public bureaucracy in achieving national development has in recent times been emphasized in public discourse. This was due to the increasing role of government in development processes evident in response to the present global pandemic called coronavirus. The government has been a major participant in the efforts to ensure the social well-being and development of the citizenry through the provision of diverse essential goods and services delivered by public bureaucracy. Public administrators thus have a major task in ensuring that government policies and programme are effectively implemented and that the targeted beneficiaries benefit from them. However, there seems to be a wide gap between policy formulation and policy implementation of policies handled by the public bureaucracy. Despite resources made available to implement government policies and programmes, most of them have failed to achieve desires objectives due major to poor implementation. The public bureaucracy in contemporary times is the major machinery for implementing government policies and programmes in Nigeria and it plays an important role in ensuring the success or failure of such policies and programmes gear towards national development. It is because of the foregoing that this study examines the role of Public bureaucracy in the efforts at achieving national development in Nigeria. The study relies on secondary data, which are analysed qualitatively using the content analysis. The paper concludes that the onus or task of achieving the objectives of national development is dependent on efficient, professional, disciplined, motivated, politically neutral, honest, and incorruptible public servants. Unfortunately, these values or ethics are missing and as such constitute an impediment to having an effective, efficient, and professional public service that could drive the wheel of national development in Nigeria. The paper thus recommends among others that government at all levels should ensure that recruitment and other appointments into the service are on merit rather than other primordial factors. This should incorporate staff with the requisite qualifications, skills, experience and aptitude. Also, the government should embark on policies that will improve the working conditions of the public servants by providing adequate and better welfare packages and a living wage that could attract professionals, motivated dedicated and committed public servants that will put in their best in the service of the country.

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