Etim Inyang was a Senior Police Officer (Divisional Police Officer in-charge of Diobu Mile I unit) and later an Inspector-General of Police, before he died. He was an uncompromising disciplinarian, but also a highly principled officer who always admonished those who deal with people to be firm without being unjust or malicious. What made him a philosopher among his peers was his fond statement that “A bird that can sing but refuses to sing, should be made to sing, or removed from the position of a singing bird”.
It becomes necessary to revisit Inyang’s philosophical statement because of the numerous lapses and intolerable laxity that afflicted the public services, after the Nigerian Civil War. Maybe the plague began with the “no-victor-no-vanquished” prattle of that period and the attendant culture of impunity that was prevalent then. In order to foster unity and put the past behind, no one was made to face charges of war crimes, including those who ordered the cold-blooded killing of some civilians who came out to welcome victorious soldiers.
Can there be serious doubts that much of current experiences can be traced to past wrongs, many of which bore some evidence of deliberate malice? It can hardly be denied that matters arising from the civil war are still playing out in present experiences. One of such experiences is the laxity which has made the civil service different from what it used to be before the Nigerian Civil War. An erosion of diligent service with civility is a part of what can be included in the corruption package.
From the culture of buck-passing, to the decline of account ability and discipline, civil servants are known to be clever prevaricators and equivocators. Neither are those supposed to be role models and motivators exemplary themselves. Consequently, it becomes instructive to heed the dictum that “those who live in glass houses should not throw stones”. From the falsification of academic qualifications to perjurative age declaration, public officials are known to be smooth operators in these matters. From politically influenced promotions, to malicious retirements, is there any malfeasance that is alien in the civil service? The situation even gets worse daily.
The decline in value and integrity becomes more worrisome when institutions such as universities are not free from the plague that besets the society. It may not be a common knowledge that fetish practices abound not only in the universities but also in other public institutions. Perhaps these practices may arise from internal wrangles, animosity and division which come about as a result of mutual fears. Anywhere that the spirit of collegiality is absent among a workforce, efficiency would easily be undermined. Factors which bring about such alienation usually include unfairness in the dispensing of rewards and punishments in any institution.
The Etim Inyang doctrine becomes relevant in current experiences nationwide because of the decline in the pride and culture of professionalism. A true professional in any discipline can easily be distinguished by one singular attitude, namely: commitment or devotion to service ethics. Such professional mind-set makes service rather than money his principal and primary concern or focus. A service-oriented and committed professional is comparable to “a bird that can sing”. But when such a professional singing bird refuses to sing, then he would either be made to sing, or removed from the position of a singing bird.
Professional bodies, as different from trade or labour unions, usually have regulatory code of practice and service-delivery ethics. Training programmes also include the inculcation of the professional code of practice and then a licence to practise. Processes of enforcing discipline in line with the code of practice are documented and can be applied when there is dereliction. More important is self-regulatory system imbedded in the personal attitude and character of the practitioner.
Be it medicine, law, journalism or engineering, any practitioner, referred to here as “a singing bird”, who, in his practice, refuses to sing like a singing bird, should be made to sing, or removed from that position. It takes strong institutions and professional bodies to enforce discipline. There should be no “sacred cow”.
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer at the Rivers State University, PH.

Bright Amirize