Delivering Public Services that Work: Vol 2

Modern public service in the country is, however, an evolution of the British colonial rule Okotoni, At independence however, Nigerians, following the indigenization programme, have to be trained to take over most of the workplaces in the Nigeria public service left behind by the departed foreign personnel Ogunrotifa, Amidst the challenged scarcity of local skilled manpower, Nigerian governments had to expand the role of the public service beyond the colonial legacy of tax collection to community service delivery and nation building.

There was the need to build a public service with a capacity to support the new government to plan and hasten the pace of the needed socio-economic development of the country. In fact, machinery of government that would promote accountability, transparency, predictability, participation, and efficiency and effectiveness was very much desired Okotoni, At independence therefore, the powers of the Nigerian civil service were rooted in the constitution of Nigeria to accomplish the function of appointments, advancement and discipline in the public service, predominantly as government business were planned under the departmental establishments such as Public Works Department, Health Department, Treasury Department, Forestry Department, the Nigerian Railways, the Electricity Board, the Telecommunication Board and the Nigerian Harbour Olowu, There have been several reforms aimed at addressing the crisis of corruption and inefficiency in the delivery of quality services in the public sector Olaopa, Despite these reforms, there has been no significant and appreciable improvement in the Nigerian public service.

Critical assessments have shown that these reforms have had little effects in making Nigeria Public Service effective and offer quality service delivery to the citizens Salisu, ; Anazodo et al. Empirical investigations have pointed out that government, perhaps more than any other organization, can benefit from the efficiencies and improved service delivery that stem from electronic administrative processes Nam, E-administration has the potentials to positively affect administrative effectiveness, efficiency and equity in services delivered to the citizens. The last decade has witnessed a marginally improved ICT adoption in public institutions in Nigeria.

Following the promulgation of the promulgation of the Telecommunications Act in July which further democratized the telecommunications space in Nigeria, the diffusion of mobile technologies have continued unabated Owens-Ibie, The telecommunication landscape is steadily changing with the introduction of GSM services, which has increased accessibility and provided opportunity for people to connect. In early , over million of the population have subscribed to mobile technologies Budde, There is therefore an urgent need to employ electronic mediated administration in all public agencies in view of prevailing concerns about the quality of service delivery in Nigeria.

The adoption of e-administration has the potentials of improving the internal workings of the Nigeria Public Service. This is because efficiency and effectiveness are key success criteria of government involvements and ICT driven processes increase the efficiency of government administration.

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This is a direct result of the replacement of the traditional bureaucratic approach by electronic information devices largely characterized by citizen-centric approach Nam, ; Kohlborn, Furthermore, e-administration enables citizens to have access to relevant information which will boost their wider participation in the decision process in the form of continuous opinion polling, instant referenda, tele-conferencing, digital cities, and discussion groups Snellen, In this regards, e-administration enhances an interactive policy-making process for effective democratic and good governance in Nigeria.

In the observation of Arjan de Jager , however, the adoption and the successful application of ICT in the operation of any government will depend on the awareness and understanding of the cost involved and the assurance of continued funding that result from a careful analysis of its opportunity costs. This follows that the Nigerian Government must be genuinely committed to funding the adoption of ICT in its agencies. It is pertinent to state that the paucity of committed leadership with the capacity to articulate broad e-government vision and also galvanize the necessary resources needed to implement e-government in Nigeria Oni, et al, , constitutes great hindrance to e-administration adoption.

Furthermore, as observed by Oni, et al. It also depends on the skills and culture of the public service. It follows therefore, that public servants in Nigeria must be ready for this paradigm shift of administrative process to change and programme management through ICT and support e-administration.

They must also be willing to build their ICT skills or at least be eager to learn and change. The ICT infrastructure requirement for e-administration takeoff in Nigeria is still rudimentary despite its increased diffusion in the country.

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The cost of internet usage in Nigeria remains on the high side for majority of the people. The high costs of internet usage must be brought down in order to enable the people for whom the government is going online for to be able to benefit from it.

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Moreover, the epileptic power supply in Nigeria poses a great hindrance to e-administration in the country. Very few of the teaming population have access to electricity as the power sector operates far below its capacity. Electricity consumption in the country is one of the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa.

A decisive step must therefore be taken by the government to address the issue of power supply in Nigeria to enhance the implementation of e-administration for effective and efficient public service delivery. Many laudable projects in Nigeria Public Service die at the instance of corruptive practices among government officers and e- administration can suffer the same faith.

Every loophole for embezzlement of funds allocated for projects, particularly, e-administration projects, must be blocked while agencies for curbing corruptive practices must be empowered for objective tackling of corrupt cases. Equally important is the deep rooted resistance to digitalization among Nigerian civil servants. Many civil servants are afraid of computerization because of the thinking that such will render some of them redundant Yusuf, Successful application of e-administration in the country therefore requires that public servants who man government bureaucracy are hard-pressed to change.

A mass campaign and sensitization of the public on the imperative of ICT for effective and efficient public service delivery is therefore. The information revolution has ushered in a new paradigm of administrative efficiency and effectiveness leading to improved delivery of public services necessary for economic development, peace and stability of a country. The adoption of electronic mediated administration in the public service has been seen to enhance the quality of public services provided by the government and its institutions and agencies to the citizens in an efficient, cost-effective and convenient manner and make the processes of governmental administration more transparent and accountable to the public.

While some challenges still pose serious impediments to the adoption and application of ICT in the operations of the Nigeria Public Service, the advantages that such adoption portends for improved, efficient and effective service delivery in Nigeria necessitates a political wills capable of ameliorating those hindrance. This will place the country on the pedestal of real time poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

Civil Service Reforms in Nigeria: The Journey so far in Service Delivery. American Journal of Social and Management Sciences, vol.

Public Service and Democracy in Developing Societies: Journal of Social Science, vol. State and Local Governance in Nigeria. Date visited 30 th January, Reforming Public Service Delivery. Journal of African Economies , vol. Changing Paradigms in Public Service Management. Undertaking a Literature Review: British Journal of Nursing , vol. An assessment of public sector service delivery in Nigeria: A case study of federal capital territory area councils, International Journal of Development and Sustainability , vol.

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Government Information Quarterly 31 , pp. South African Case Study. Public Service and Development in Nigeria: From Conquest to Independence: The Nigerian Colonial Experience. Historia Actual Online, no. Federal Civil Service Reform in Nigeria: The Case of Democratic Centralism. Problems and Prospects of Nigerian Bureaucracy.

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Journal of Social Sciences, vol. Journal of Social Science , vol. Digital Divides and the 'First Mile': Across Canada, rural and remote First Nations face a significant 'digital divide'. As self-determining autonomous nations in Canada, these communities are building broadband systems to deliver public services to their members and residents. To address this challenge, First Nations are working towards a variety of innovative, locally driven broadband development initiatives. We argue that broadband development policy in Canada must be re-framed to address the specific needs of First Nations.

The First Mile position foregrounds community-based involvement, control, and ownership: This is because it holds potential to move beyond the historical context of paternalistic, colonial-derived development policies, in the context of broadband systems development.

We argue First Nations broadband projects offer on-the-ground examples of a First Mile approach, and call for more research in this area. The authors would like to acknowledge and offer our thanks to everyone who participated in the discussions and research leading to this paper. The authors would also like to thank our partners for the Putting the last-mile First report: