Civil Servants And Chieftaincy Titles

The Federal Government recently took a decision said to be aimed  at sanitizsing the Federal Civil  Service even as some view it as a mere shadow  chase.
The Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji  had in a circular sent to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the  Federal  Government banned all federal civil servants from accepting chieftaincy  titles and other sundry awards  except after retirement or disengagement  from the service.
According to the HOS, it had come to the notice of government that some civil servants are in the practice of soliciting  for chieftaincy titles and sundry awards, an act he described as inimical to the principles of anonymity, integrity and political  neutrality which are core values  of the civil service.
It is indeed heart- warming to know that government has woken up to its responsibility of ensuring sanity  in the civil service. Just about two months  ago,  a directive was given to prevent civil servants from engaging  in any form of business except farming at weekends.
We all know that a lot has gone wrong with the Nigeria civil service and any move aimed at remedying the situation will be appreciated.
However, I wonder how stopping civil servants from accepting chieftaincy titles will help in achieving the desired result and restoring  the civil service to its past glory. How many civil servants receive chieftaincy titles yearly, if I may ask? I’m  sure the number will  be so minimal compared to the  number of people from all walks of life equally recognised by the traditional rulers. The truth is that the directive is discriminating and failed to consider the possibility of civil servants being honoured for their  selfless services, the growth of the economy and the  development of their  communities. Many  civil servants from their  meagre  resources  have helped their  communities in various ways and deserve to be recognised  and appreciated.
One would think that instead of dwelling so much on an unimportant  issue as chieftaincy title, the Head of Service should think of ways of curbing bribery, corruption and other  impunities in the civil service. Just  last week I heard  that some civil servants in Nigeria  have more than one jobs. Some work in both state and  federal  civil service at the same time. Some work in private  companies and the civil service.  Some  civil  servants are seen in their offices once a month or more. Some  who attempt  to go to work spend  only a few hours in their offices and leave for their private business. It is in civil service that we have the highest number of “ghost” workers in  Nigeria. The  money meant  for these “ghost” are shared  by some well-placed officers.
So, these are some of the   issues  that need to be tackled if the dignity of the civil service  must be restored. The HOS  should look into the poor attitude of civil servants  to work. Many people have  always  described  civil service as a lazy  man’s job due to unbecoming attitude  of some workers to their jobs. There  is also need for proper re-orientation of civil servants. They need to be educated on the  dignity of  labour. Improved  workers welfare is also paramount if we must have a sanitised  civil service.
Most  importantly,  those at the helm  of affairs need to  show good examples to their  subordinates. It is not possible to expect civil  servants  to shun bribery and corruption when those they look up to are corruption personified. Our leaders need to be more transparent in their  dealings.
It will also be advisable to consider  the  constitutional  angle  of the ban on chieftaincy title. Some civil rights group have posited that the blanket ban may have curtailed the civil servants  rights to freedom  of association.
A civil rights groups –Human  Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) said  the directive violates the law against discrimination and breaches Nigerians’  desire to advance our cultural practices.
In the words of the group, “if  government is so minded to ban the holding of any religious or cultural titles, which by all intents and purposes, is unconstitutional, it must also ban  all Nigerians from embarking on religious pilgrimages  to foreign countries and carrying the bogus foreign titles that go with such  expensive ventures such as  Jerusalem Pilgrim (JP) or Alhaji as the case may be”.