Suwaid: A Metaphor For Red-Tapeism In Civil Service

mms plus August 25, 2019 ON THE SPOT MANAGER Leave a comment 581 Views

Sometimes one wonders what kind of legacy the civil servants want to leave in the course of their career in civil service when one considers the enormity of damage some of them create in the system. Some are not worth being called civil servants but civil evil, destiny killers, opportunity killers, civil robbers, and many others. There are many of them on the verge of retirement now whose attitude have attracted public dislike to them so much that contractors, and the industry stakeholders are wishing that they have miscarriage of fortunes before or after retirement. Why would a civil servant trash or file away a contractor’s document or journalist’s proposal of estimable value from official treatment for months? Suwaid (not real name) of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is not in the good books of many media men and contractors because for more than one year he has kept people’s documents away from the management’s processing, hence stirring the question: Is he acting on the instruction of the MD, Hadiza Bala-Usman? The public is confused as his colleagues in the office. Suwaid has killed joys! But he used to be a good guy and a wonderful comrade. What has happened? Suwaid Why? Why? Why? How does he feel receiving spiritual attacks through dangerous prayers of victims, especially the “fall and die” version of the prayers? Can Suwaid and his ilk retire peacefully, at last? There are many Suwaids in the civil service, who forget that there is a season for everything.

What baffles one more is that this is happening in an era of ease of doing business policy of the government. There are Suwaids in NIMASA, NPA, NSC, NRC, and other parastatals across all sectors. Invariably, Suwaid is now a metaphor for red-tapeism in Nigeria’s civil service.
It is too bad that he allowed himself to be used as a sacrificial lamb for the many sins of others. The surprise all this months is that the CEO seems to have been indifferent to the act in the face of damaging complaints brought before the management. This is unlike the Amazon, Hadiza! What went wrong? These hidden documents are still begging for attention. This piece of communication does not wish to be applauded by all. It seeks to address this systemic menace frontally through identifying the problem and the persons responsible, and exposing them for a positive change. The sin(s) of a worker should no longer be transferred to the CEO in a civil service set up. Why not revert the document(s) to a superior’s office if need be than kill an idea without reasons?