By Chijioke Amu-Nnadi
I just got a call from a friend whom we call Mkpouto-Abasi. She works with one of the radio stations in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. While I was the head of the corporate affairs department of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, she had done me a few favours. She is still on her old beat, doing the grinding job most journalists in Nigeria do.
On an earlier visit to Uyo, when I ran into her, I had asked her what else she had been up to. Besides her usual job, she’s taken to producing tiger nut drinks for sale, among other items she sells. She has a young family and every extra money comes in handy. And then she informed me that she is hopeful about joining the Akwa Ibom State civil service. She had taken the first ICT-based test and did well enough to be shortlisted among the candidates for the next round of interviews.
This had piqued my interest and concern. And then, as a typical Nigerian, I asked her if I could speak to a few friends I knew who were highly connected to, and in, the government of the state. Her response surprised me: “There is nothing anyone can do about that. The process Governor Umo Eno has put in place does not favour any shortcuts or influence peddling. Everything is on merit. “
And yesterday, she informed me that she had attended the oral interview and was hopeful. Again, she declined any intervention, restating that she trusted the process and it was going to be entirely on merit. She said: Ï believe God that I will get the employment. I did well enough at the oral interview, i think (laughter), so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. The truth is, even if i don’t get it, I know it was not because someone else used a godfather to displace me.
How is it possible that in Nigeria, notorious for serial underhand dealings in governance, this would be possible? Here I am, offering this kind of help to someone who desperately needs it, and she says I shouldn’t bother, that it will come to nothing? That no matter, Governor Umo Eno is determined to ensure that the process accepted only the best applicants?
I know many high- ranking officials of the government, including the state’s Commissioner for Information, the impressively brilliant Hon Aniekan Umanah, with whom I share a professional and personal relationship going back over 35 years when we were young journalists in Lagos. And the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ekerete Udoh, a man of prodigious skills, likewise. And yet here I am told, no, warned not to bother.
Intrigued, I took it up with Hon Aniekan Umanah, and I received the same information. “Governor Umo Eno is committed to building a state that will rank among the best in Nigeria and beyond. And building a credible and efficient civil service, which is the bedrock of government and the key to good governance, is an important aspect of, and strategy for actualising, that vision. This process has been put in place to ensure that only the best Akwa Ibom has to offer are employed.”
And I asked: “So no hope for my friend?” His reply was both simple and instructive: “There is always hope. But she has to get in on her own performance. It’s a good thing that she scaled the first hurdle. The next is entirely up to her and I do wish her all the best. But, no, there’s nothing anyone can do to influence the process.”
This was not the usual Nigerian way. Here in Akwa Ibom State, being fashioned after the moral principles and pragmatic vision of its reverend governor, Pastor Umo Eno, something unusually brilliant and structurally inspiring is unfolding. The Umo Eno way. Take this employment process, for instance.
In a brief sent to me by Edidiong Stanislas, a staff in the Office of the Commissioner for Information, the process was called the “the digitalised recruitment into the civil service.” It stated that the recruitment would bring in 3000 qualified professionals into the State Civil Service, adding: “Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has consistently reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to digitizing the State’s public service, insisting the move is aimed at promoting merit, transparency, and efficiency while eradicating the influence of godfatherism.
“The Civil Service is the engine room of governance. The quality of people we bring into the service in this 21st century matters. The world has even moved to AI now, so we need people who at least understand basic computing to the extent that they can take an exam. This system will also eliminate godfatherism. People should have confidence that they got into the service by merit—by passing the required exams. We’re in the 21st century, and that’s the way it should be.”
It added that some candidates applauded Governor Umo Eno for delivering on his promise and expressed joy that the era of godfatherism in getting employed into the civil service is over. And it became clearer why my friend was adamant that I should not speak on her behalf. Perhaps, I could have jinxed her employment.
But, I wonder again, how is that possible in present-day Nigeria? And the answer stared back at me: because it is possible.
For far too long, Nigeria has suffered from a wave of godfatherism that has not only undermined its civil service, but has derailed in many aspects its drive for the kind of development that addresses the needs of the people, and goes so far as to fulfil them. Once Nigeria was proudly called the giant of Africa. Today, the reality is far from that lofty, almost arrogant self acclamation.
And as the bedrock of governance, the civil service in Nigeria, at local, state and federal levels, must bear the brunt of the blame. Administration after administration, the Nigerian dream has suffered several levels of devaluation, while corruption, graft, unprofessionalism, bad governance and a poor articulation and implementation of policies have all conspired to keep Nigeria at the lower rungs of development.
That is why what Governor Umo Eno is doing deserves commendation and support. That a present-day Governor would walk this path offers hope for the future of Akwa Ibom State and should be replicated by other governors, as well as every man or woman in a position of authority, who presides over any recruitment process. We are running out of time as a country. But Pastor Umo Eno is showing, in many aspects of his governance strategy and overall vision, that hope is not lost.
And while I support and respect Mkpouto-Abasi’s stand, I support and respect, even more, Govenor Eno’s principled and professional stand. Because the entire state stands to benefit, not just my friend.
