University of Nigeria Research Publications

AGBOGU, Obiora Okezie A

utho

r

PG/M.Sc/02/33392

Title

Manpower Utilization in the Federal Civil Service: A Case Study of the Feral Ministry of Education Enugu

Facu

lty

Social Sciences

Dep

artm

ent

Public Administration and Local Government

Dat

e

September, 2005

Sign

atur

e

POWER <. , UTILIZATION 1~ THE FEDERAL CIVIL :...

, a .

RVICE: A CASE STUDY OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY

OF EDUCATION, ENUGU.

BY

AGBOGU, OBIORA OKEZIE

PG/MSc/02/3 3 3 92

(PRESENTED 1N PARTIAL FULFlLMEN' 1' OF TI-

REQUIREMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC

iDMINISTRAT1ON AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE

1WAR.D OF MASTER OF SCIENCE DEGREE 1N PUBLIC I, i" DMINISTRATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,

NSUKKA)

! . 8 . .I- ! . .. SUPERVISOR: DR. B. C. NWANKWO

. t " , I ) SEPTEMBER 2005

CERTIFICATION

1 5 i I ~ ~ b o ~ u , Obiora Okezie (Rev. Canon), a postgraduate student in the 1

l~epr t rnent of Public Administration and Local Government with the I

J~e~is t ra t ion Number PG/MSc/02/3 3392 has satisfactorily completed ihf

!requirements for research work for the award of the Degree of Master of

p7&%&bfypFT

Dr B. C. Nwankwo (Supervisor)

S,.

To my God and my very supporlivc wife Mrs A. N.C. Aybogu and

hildren, Chukwukadibia, Chukwudumebi, Chimzulukeme and

hiemelie.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . . I t My gratitude goes to the Almighty God who saw me through this course despite the 1 1 9 very difficult period through which I urdertook this course. 1 find it difficult to believe that 1

>am the one writing this project rcport for I never knew I would. This is another testimony of e the faithfulness of our God. Just trust liim and you will see the difference.

My special thanks will also go to my Supervisor, Dr U. C. Nwankwo, who was

always ready to listen to my demands even on the telephone. I-le would read through my

work at any odd place 1 light upon him and offer his advice without raisi~lg any eyebrow.

And even when found me being too slow, he chided me to ensure early completion of the

work.

I also thank Sir and Lady Eric Amobi who always harboured me at Nsukka any time

I came for the course and fed me sumptuously. They made my day each time I was around

not minding my boarderings. I

I also thank Dr Bob N. Agbogu who provided me a lab top Conlputer that has eased

.:the work tremendously. i : El Finally, I tllank my beloved wile and children who slwwed a great deal of

I! :;understanding while the course lasted.

May God bless you all!

AGDOGU, Obiora Okczie (Rev. Canon) DBPAK'TMEN'I' 01; 1'U DLIC ADMINISTRATION AND LOCAL GOVEIWMENT U.N.N.

ABSTRACT

It is a known fact that no country can develop without raising the level of literacy in

it. Therefore, any country that toys with its education is calling for trouble which may

eventually swallow it.

Governments at all levels i.e. at the Federal, State and Local levels are therefore

advised to not only enact policies in this sector but also carry such policies to their logical

conclusion. 'I'his requires adequate provision of funds at the educational sector, ensuring that

the right calibre of staff is employed at the various sectors of the economy and insisting on

adequate remuneration in all the sectors of the economy:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

.................................................................................. ITLE PAGE.. , i I

0 a .......................................................................... APPROVAL PAGE.. -11

... I .. ............................................................................... DEDICA IION.. ,111

................................................................... ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.. iv I

................................................................................... I ABSTRACT.. ,v

r T E R I: INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION.. ................................................................... .l . . .............................................. BACKGROUND '1'0 'THE STUDY;. . 3

STATEMENT OF 'THE PROBLEM.. .............................................. .7

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ...................................................... 8

................................................ SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.. .9

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE S'TU.LlY.. ................................ .10

ASSUMPTIONS OF TI-IE S'I'UDY.. ................................................. 1 1

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY I.

2 . 1 LITERATURE REVIEW.. ............................................................ .12

2.1.2 IDENTIFIED GAP IN LITERATURE IEVEWED.. ............................ ..34

i 2.2 HYPOTHESIS.. .......................................................................... ..35

i.2.3 OPERATIONALIZATION OF 1'1-IE KEY C0NCEI"I'S IN THE HYPOTHESIS..35

2.4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.. .................................................. .37 vi.

P ... i.4.1 APPLICATION OF THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK TO THE STUDY 37 )i

.......................................................................... 2.5 METHODOLOGY 39 . .

................................................................. 2.5.1 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 39

.................................. 1.5.2 INSTRUMENTS USED FOR DATA COLLECTION 39

. . ........................................................ p.5.3 METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS 40

I

I

3.0 MANYOWEK DEVELOI'MEN'I' AND UI'ILIZATION IN PUBLIC SECTOR

.......................................................... ORGANIZATIONS IN NIGERIA 41

3 .I . CONCEPTUAL EXI'LICA'TION OF MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT .............. 41

............................................ 3.2 FOKMS OF MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT 43

............................................................................... 3 .2.1 RECRUITMENT 43

.................................. ............................................... . 2.2 PLACEMENT ; 45

3.2.3 TRAINING ...................................................................................... 48 1 . 2.4 UTILIZATION AND RETENTION ........................................................... 49 1;

r . 3 MANPOWER MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY IN THE FEDERAL

1 MINISTRY 01; EDUCATION W II'H IiMI'kIASIS ON ENUGU ...................... 50

4.0 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ...................................................... 52

4.1 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ............................... 52

I 4.1.1 POOR QUALIFICATIONS .................................................................. -53 I b.1.2 POOR INCENTIVES TO HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY .................................. 55

4.1.3 AUTHORITY IN THE MINISTRY DOES NOT FLOW FROM 'TOP TO

BOTTOM ...................................................................................... -57

1.2 IMPLICATIONS OF FINDINGS FOK ADMINISTRATIVE EFFICIENCY ........ .60

5.0 SUMMARY. IUXOMMENDA1'IONS AND CONCLUSION ......................... 66

vii

1

................................................................................... 15.1 SUMMARY -66 1 . * ;

.................................................................. 15.2 RECOMMENDAIIONS.. -67 > ' 15.3 CONCLUSION.. ............................................................................ ..68 I

1.0 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Utilization of human resources is a very important concept

which ensures efficient production of commodities. Nothing can ever work

properly when any of the factors of production, to wit, land, labour. capital.

enterprise, is utilized inefficiently. These factors of production are so

important that actually care must be taken to use them in the right

combination that will ensure maximum production at the least price. This is

the bane of developing countries. Such countries try all sorts of things in

their bid to improve productive capacity. The most disturbing of them is the

reduction of labour in the face of rising unemployment level in the economy.

If one can take Nigeria as an example, a lot of inefficiency in its productive

capacity can easily be highlighted. In spite of the number of higher

institutions in the country and the unprecedented number of high level

manpower they turn out every year, the growth rate of our productive

capacity can best be described as stagnant and to a very large extent

negative..

The Ajaokuta steel plant which was commissioned in 1978 with a lot of

funfair is yet to take off, what with the sacking of the Chief Executive as

much as three times in five years. This means that between I978 and 1983

the outfit has seen three different Chief Executives. At a point, the

government found that the safest thing to do was to close the place down.

Also each successive government has had to grapple with the energy

production in the country. Huge sums of money have been sunk into that

sector with less than commensurate returns. The present Obasanjo

administration in the country has changed the Board of the organization two

times within its first four years in office. In one of these changes the former

Minister of Energy and Steel was made the Chief Executive of the

organization while the Chief Executive was made the Chairman of the Board

of Directors. One can only imagine the effect of this on the institution. Again,

the Late Bola Ige, a lawyer, was the Minister of Energy and Steel and a lot

of funds were sunk into it. That was the time Nigeria had the worst power

outage ever recorded in the history of the country. The lack of maintenance

of machines has - observed the House of Representatives Committee on

Power and Steel. - made electricity generation in the country epileptic. The

Chairman of the Committee said, "The power stations need repair and

overhaul. Some are overdue by fifteen years and if resources are available,

definitely NEPA has the manpower to make power availablen (Newswatch

Magazine, December 27, 1 999).

There is from time to time such gruelling fuel scarcity in Nigeria that is the i sixth largest producer of crude oil in the whole world that movement from

place to place becomes almost impossible. This is because the Turn Around

Maintenance (TAM) of our Refineries is many years behind schedule

(Newswatch Magazine, July 15, 1996). Even if we do not talk of shutting

down the Refineries for TAM, they operate below 50% of their installed

capacity most of the time.

The vehicle assembly plants in the country on their own part are functioning

in fits and starts. Some of them like the Vox Wagen of Nigeria Plc. have

completely folded up. Even the Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Ltd. has

remained an assembly plant for close to three decades of its existence in

the country. Our myriads of engineers not withstanding, we are not able to

have one made in Nigeiia car. All that we do in Nigeria is riding cars

produced in other countries. L

This is also true of the Bottling Companies in Nigeria. The Nigerian Bottling . .. . . .

Company makers of Coca Cola, Fanta Orange, Sprite, etc. only dilute the

imported mixed blends of these shades of drink. No Nigerian employee of l! >,

the company knows the formula for the mixture of any of these blends. How

can we develop when we remain consumers without becoming producers?

The researcher is at pains to understand the aims of our policy makers in , -

this direction. The much talked about technology transfer seems more of .

paper work than anything to be pursued to its conclusive end. Does

technology transfer rest only in the change of the school calendar (this has

been done up to at least two times) and the school system with reducing the r ' . age of entry into the school system? What was the original intension for

JS3 graduates who cannot continue into the senior secondary level? How

far has that been achieved since the inception of that system? It is

impossible to have the right people at the right jobs unless one addresses

these issues.

1 .I BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

In his article, "Basic Concepts and Principles of Manpower Planning", Dr. B.

C. Nwankwo (2000) opined that "it is, therefore, safe to claim that human

resources are about the most important of the three essential resources of

an organization. The other two being financial and material resources". He

also sees human resources as "the highest asset of any organization,

because no matter the amount of capital invested in an organization, its

success or failure depends on the quality of people who plan and execute

its programmes". In other words, if the people who plan and execute the

I programmes in an organization are of high quality, the organization will be

prosperous. But if the people who plan and execute its programmes are of

, poor quality, the organization will not prosper and might even collapse.

! That is why our problem in Nigeria is enormous. Nothing seems to be t

1 working in the country. Pick up your telephone, it is either dead or you are I

I

I eavesdropping on someone else's conversation or at best you will hardly I

I hear the person at the other end of the line. The National Electric Power

Authority (NEPA) is epileptic in its energy supply to the nation. The Ajaokuta

Steel Company has not taken off after more than three decades of its being 1

commissioned. In a country where there are over forty full fledged

universities and almost the same number of polytechnics and nearly all

having a Faculty of Engineering, our roads are at best, the quickest way to

commit suicide.

Does it then mean that the Federal Ministry of Education cannot articulate a

meaningful educational policy in the country and execute it to such an

extent that the entire country will be the happy for it? Majority opinion

believe that it is possible for the Federal Ministry of Education to formulate

very good educational policies and actually execute them very well for the

overall growth of the country, the reasons being adduced for the present

state of things are : -

I. POORLY ARTICULATED POLICIES : At the Federal Ministry of

Education, Enugu there is the claim that educational policies are

poorly articulated because of insufficient exposure of policy

formulators to contemporary policy issues. There is the claim of

inadequate funds that limits the possibility of organizing workshops,

seminars or even sending some staff to the ones being organized

locally or internationally. This makes the staff continue to do things

the old way. This may not necessarily be the. best in contemporary

settings.

2. INEFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION : The administration at the Federal

Ministry of Education, Enugu is said to be a little bit high handed.

Staff welfare is neglected so much that there is open grumbling

without anyone showing any iota of interest. People who are involved

in a vehicle accident in the course of discharging their duties are left

to fend for themselves and when they are discharged from the

hospital, the bills are left for them to settle. This obviously affects the

moral of the staff.

3. LUKEWARM TECHNICAL STAFF : The workers at the Federal

Ministry of Education, Enugu are said to be complacent,

non-committal and Lassez faire. They find it difficult to get into a job

and complete it at the scheduled time. There is a high rate of

absenteeism and flimsy excuses to stop work. This naturally affects

any job on hand. Sometimes the Ministry is forced to contract out

policy execution to some 'foreign' consultancy firms in order to meet

deadlines. Yet there is no concerted effort on the part of the powers

that be to find out why this is happening in an establishment that is

expected to formulate educational policies that will help the country

move fotward.

IRRELEVANT EDUCATIONAL POLICY : The rate at which males

drop out of schools in the Eastern States, especially the lgbo

speaking areas of the State does not borderthe Ministry. Again, of

what use is the first three years in the secondary school? One only

wonders the relevance of that first three years in the secondary

school. Is it just to prepare the children for entry into the Senior

Secondary School as a pre - requisite to getting into the university?

Or to put it another way, must every student who gets into a

secondary school eventually be found in the university? The policy

formulators have refused to address these issues. They are not

interested in the fact that the schools are dilapidating and that the

standard is falling so much in education.

INADEQUACY OF FUNDS : The Federal Government, on its own

part, is not interested in the rate at which the standard of education

is falling in the country. It is not interested in what is happening to

education nor how the sector is fairing. What with the non payment

of salaries, non provision of research funds, and the dearth of

books, the government finds these not to be significant. How then

can it provide funds to execute policies.

*. 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

. C, '

i 'It is, therefore, safe to claim that human resources are about the most i ,.

important of the three essential resources of an organization. The other two 1 ; being financial and material resources", Nwankwo (2000). Thus every

organization highly depends on its human resources for its progress i.e. if E , . $. the people who plan and execute its programmes are of high quality, the e; .:

organization will be prosperous, while the reverse is true if the people who

plan and execute its programmes are of low quality. That is why it is very

,: 1 difficult " to understand the happenings in Nigeria with its high yearly turn out I. t,

of highly qualified manpower from its more than forty universities and 1 .

polytechnics almost of that number and yet nothing is working in the

1:. country. What can be said to be the reason for the plane crashes in the

country. The railway which used to rank very high in long distance haulage I

I of very heavy equipments even before the Nigeria - Biafra war has

grounded to almost becoming nonexistent today. Long distance haulage of

heavy equipment and mass movement of people has become costly and

even to a large extent very painful and frustrating. What can be the reason

for all these? Is it because the human resources in the country is

substandard or is it due to wrong application of available productive

resources, more importantly human resources.

The researcher is not interested in whether the government is able to

provide money to maintain these facilities or not. He is not even interested

in whether enough manpower to man these facilities is being generated in

the country. The researcher is only interested in finding out how the

available manpower in the country is utilized. Hence he wants to know the

manpower utilization in the Nigeria Civil Service - A case study of the

Federal Ministry of Education.

This will enable the researcher know whether the facilities are not working

because the human resources that plan and execute these projects are of

the right quality or not. When unqualified personnel plan and execute

programmes, the programmes are likely to fail.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study intends to investigate manpower utilization in the Nigeria Civil

Senrice using the Federal Ministry of Education, Enugu as a reference point.

Specifically, the study intends to: - - 1) determine the qualification needs of the various posts in the ministry.

2) find out the experience required to occupy the various posts in the

ministry.

3) find out how the vacancies in the ministry are filled.

4) know the work environment in the ministry.

5) know the flow of authoritv in the ministrv.

F

E !assemble already manufactured vehicles. They have not been able to I

i articulate and manufacture any vehicle that is purely for Nigeria. The air

nditioners we use in the Nigeria are packaged abroad in an environment

at Is very much different from the one that it will be used in. This study will

able the government reverse the situation. Gross under utilization of

ntific and technological manpower is not unique to Nigeria. It is common

.developing countries (Evan, 1969; Eisemon, 1974; Moore, 1980; Bennell,

e firms also will gain as productivity will increase. This will most probably

uce the unit cost of the products. When the unit cost is reduced, the unit b I

will also be reduced. From the above reasoning for the gains accruing

overnment, it is obvious that the individual firms will gain tremendously.

kwill make competition favourable to the firm. This is likely to generate

re sales for the firm and hence more profit thereby making the firm smile

e workers themselves will gain as there will be job satisfaction. This will

ake the worker to put more effort and hence productiv~ty will increase. As

e firm generates more revenue, more incentives can be given to the

rworker in terms of extra pay, chauffer driven vehicles, furnished houses, etc.

I 1.6 THE SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study looks into the manpower utilization in the Federal Ministry of

Education. It does not consider the manpower requirement of the ministry. It

Is not interested in the various posts in the ministry. It is rather interested in

the utilization of the available manpower to engender higher productivity in

the ministry.

, The study is limited to a large extent by finance as only the Federal Ministry

' I 0f.Education in Enugu is studied. Nigeria is made up of thirty-six States and

j~nugu State is just one out of the thirty-six and the result may not

[representative of the entire country. Again. Federal Ministry of Education

nnulates the Educational policies of the government and even implements

m, yet there are other stake holders in the productive sector whose input

not be wished away. Such stake holders' influence in the utilization of

productive resources need to be studied in order to get a more balanced

a of the actual goings on in the utilization of human resources. In other

rds studies should be held in the Federal Ministries of Works and

owing, Solid Minerals, Health, Transport, Mines and Power, to name but a

k, This research did not cover those Ministries.

2.0 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE ,REVIEW AND

IESEAIKH METHODOLOGY

2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

Nwankwo (2000) opines, "every organization needs three main resources to

aurvlve. These are financial, material and human resources. An organization

needs money to pay its staff and to buy essential materials or equipments

Par its operation. The kind of material needed is determined by the nature of

the organization. Maximum production of services offered cannot be

achieved unless the essential material resources are available. Of course,

there is no organization without human resources. Even if an organization

has got all the money and the materials it needs, it must still find capable

people to put them into effective use.

It is, therefore, safe to claim that human resources are about the most

Important of the three essential resources of an organizationw. This is seen

h the light of the fact that none of the other two essential resources can

pera ate on itself. Each needs the human resource to make it active. In other

'Pwwde, no firm can operate without human labour no matter if it has reached p I ,

the highest level of sophistication. This explains why even in the present

dtspensation when the Computer has virtually sacked the human resource !. I I h 1s operation, the Computer still needs the human being to operate it. So

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The government will benefit when manpower is utilized efficiently. The

I facilities will function more efficiently and sources of unnecessary revenue 1 . ! I

I loss will be plugged. Money will be thus made available for providing more I 1 amenities for the people and the economy will grow. Ukaegbu (1988 p. 35)

1 argues thai'on the specific issue of human resource utilization, dependent

industrialization is primarily assembly in nature and therefore creates limited

employment opportunities (Kaplinsky, 1981). It is also unable to extract the

creative energies of highly skilled technical workers. Here, work is routine,

fragmented, repetitive and monotonous because the technology of I .

I production is so highly-packaged that it makes very little intellectual demand

1 on-em ptoyers.

1 Nlgerian scientists and engineers working in industries especially

I government-owned industries and multinational corporations, Ukaegbu 1 ; '

maintains, express low opportunity to use their skills, training and creativity; j r: I I job challenge is relatively low; and freedom to use their initiative is also very 1 I * I low. Those in the indigenously-owned private engineering

consulting1construction sectors tend to express greater utilization of their

capabilities because their tasks are design rather than assembly in nature.

Nigeria with over three decades of car business only assembles rather than

manufacture cars. A look at Peugeot Automobile Assembly plant in Kaduna,

Anambra Motor Manufacturing Plant in Enugu will tell the story. They only

the human resource which performed all the processes of production before I

Adam Smith's "division of labour and specialization theory" was propounded

can be seen not to be totally absent for production to occur. The most

sensitive Computer cannot operate itself. Neither can a billion naira buy

anything on its own. The human being is still needed to move the naira to

the point where it will purchase either land or equipment needed by the

organization. Again, a human being is needed to operate whatever

equipment the organization has. No wonder Nwankwo (2000) observes that

human resources "are the highest asset of any organization, because no

matter the amount of capital invested in an organization, its success or

failure depends on the quality of people who plan and execute its

programmes". This does not in any way suggest that once there is human

resource that production can go on. But what we are saying is that whatever

happens, the human resource is essential for effective production of

resources.

Louis Ruthenburg (1958), in discussing a growing crisis in apprentice

training, said:

There seems to be a smug assumption going the rounds

that automation, electronic data processing and other

manifestations of technological progress are eliminating

the need for the skilled craftsman. Nothing could be further

from the truth. The skilled worker has always been the

pivot on which every industrial operation turns, and

advancing technology, far from reducing the need for his

services, actually increases [it]. . . . Yet, today, this group

-upon whom, to a large degree, our industrial future

depends-is shrinking at an alarmingirate. Its older members

are dying off and not nearly enough young men are being

trained to replace them. If American industry does not take

steps to reverse this trend, its impact on our entire social,

political and economic structure will be little short of

disastrous. The impact of this trend in Nigeria where skilled

manpower is difficult to come by is only better imagined than

experienced.

This makes it imperative that every organization must be careful about the

quality of staff in its employ. It needs to be sure that each post is occupied

by the most qualified staff. Merit is, therefore an essential element in staff

recruitment and deployment.

Famularo (1 961 ) said:

"Just as many seeds can join to make a full-bloomed field of wheat,

the multiplication of human accomplishments, no matter how small

for any individual, will create an organization-one that is strong in

mind, fearless in spirit. The imposition of unnatural restraints, a

distrust in human dignity, a disregard for human achievement-all

surely lead to enslavement, a life mould from which each of us was

emancipated centuries ago. Time and again we have been living

proof that man, given adequate encouragement, can find in himself

unknown avenues of performance. The most important thing for you,

in your job, is to. bring into play the full potential of all your employees,

whatever may be their station. Whether we speak of a department, a

plant, a local office, or a company, we knbw that actions hang on'

conditions. Little in nature has the buoyancy of the human spirit; it is

as sensitive to you and its environment as the grains which crown the

long, thin wheat stalk. Your job and your challenge is to create an

atmosphere in which your employees, level of gifts not withstanding,

gain positively through their association with you. Those less gifted

individuals will grow taller by the rule and relationship with'those more

gifted. Inch by inch, they reach new heights of development, thus

raising the overall average of human achievement."

Again, Harbison (1973) contends that the factor of manpower is the ultimate

basis for the wealth of nations. He, thus, confirms our earlier observation

that human beings are the active agents in production. They accumulate,

exploit natural resources, build social, economic and political organizations

and carry forward national development. Ralph J. Cordiner, the President of

General Electric in America, once said, "Any sensitive observer must agree

that the human potential in business has never been fully unleashedn. How

true this is1 How much of it is wasting away in Nigeria? Only God knows.

Prof. F. C. Okoli (2003) says that "the distinguishing characteristics of f

bureaucracy are among others, a rigid distinction between the office and its

incum bent, a well defined hierarchical distribution of authority, the horizontal

dlvlalon of labour according to differentiated functions and technical skills,

recruitment based on merit and strict obedience to an impersonal body of

rules". This means that the person occupying a position in a bureaucratic

setting must not run it as a personal affair. Even though he needs to bring

his personality to bear on the job, he must know where his personality ends

end the job starts. He,must, therefore, be able to distinguish between his I

personal desires and the desires of his job. This will make for a clear cut

channel of authority in the organization. This is the problem confronting

establishments, especially public establishments.

In January, 1997, Enugu State Government, under the administration of Cot.

Ahman, the then Military Governor, disengaged non - indigenes working in

tts Civil Service without any regard to the experience. and usefulness of the

staff so disengaged.

New staff was not immediately employed to make up for the obvious

manpower problems created by the disengagement. A few months later, the

much touted take over of Enugu State Psychiatric Hospital, New Haven,

Enugu by the Federal Government was given effect. The Chief Executive of I

\

the now Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Enugu, obviously a non indigene of

Enugu State, decided to retaliate by disengaging some of the Enugu State

Indigenes working with the Psychiatric Hospital when it was under the

management of Enugu State Government and engaging non indigenes of

Enugu State all in the name of rationalization of staff. The Chief Executive

claimed that for an institution to be truly federal, it has to be reflected in the

staff working there. Much as one may want to hail such courage, one needs

to look at the manpower implications of such actions. Obviously, the

dtsengegement in the Civil Service and the so - called rationalization of staff

at the hospital do not augur well for the institutions. This is because the

recruitment at the hospital is not based on any existing vacancies. Also the

staff laid off by the Civil Service or even the hospital management has not

been traced to any serious disciplinary problems. The crime committed by

the disengaged Civil Servants was simply because they were non indigenes

of Enugu State even if they were the best materials the Civil Service had at

the time. The offense committed by the hospital staff that were laid off was

their being indigenes of Enugu State, not slothfulness. This contravenes the

requirements of bureaucracy as enunciated by Prof. F. C. Okoli above.

C. C. Ukaegbu (1988) states that "the Malthusian gloom will continue to

exist in Nigeria until policy makers tackle the central issue of effective

utilization of human resources in general, and education manpower in

particularn. He maintains, and rightly too, that implicit in this observation is f

that the current emphasis on family planning by mass media and other

agencies may not be successful until production and distribution

mechanisms improve through the active use of human resources. Since

Nlgeria recorded a steady budgetary deficit from #3.6 billion in I981 to #6.1

billion in 1985 (Aderibigbe, 1985) and importation and mono cultural

production and unemployment increased steadily (Central Bank of Nigeria,

1973 - 83) he asks, "does it mean that education in Nigeria cannot fulfill the

expectations of the human capital theory?"

P

I

.)

How can production improve through the active use of human resources?

one may dare ask. Production can only improve if human resources are

uUlized efficiently. In other words, production can only improve if round pegs

are put into round holes i.e. when human resources are put in their right

places.

Onah; Fab. 0 (2003) states that "A primary focus of human resource

management is on the jobs performed by individuals in the

organization.. . the changing nature of work reveals that a good number of

factors affect jobs in organizations today. Managers of human resource are

expected to arm themselves with the technique of job analysis".

Hanf et al(1975) opines that the overall enrolment of manpower is a sine

qua non of economic growth. For Hanf and his associates, Europe's social

history shows that the industrial revolution occurred amidst a largely illiterate

population.

Also Bendix (1974) holds that the industrializing elite in the west lacked

formal education and had limited knowledge and ideas except in their

immediate occupation. Therefore, investment in education without a

complementary capital investment will not yieid profit (Hanf et al; 1975,;

Salome, 1984).

This may be the reason why Lewin (1985) observes that through the 19709s,

faith in education as an engine of growth began to wane as developing

countries began to experience educated unemployment. This observation

seems consistent with recent polemic rhetorics in Nigeria which now justifies

ebte investment in education on the grounds of moral principles of equauty

of educational opportunity rather than its potential contribution to economic

growth. To regain the initial societal expectation of education as a promoter

of wealth and an instrument for upgrading human dignity, focus should be

directed to the uses made of educated manpower. However, effective

utilization of human resources in general, and educated manpower in

particular greatly depends on the structure of production.

MANPOWER UTILIZATION AND THE STRUCTURE OF PRODUCTION

It is common knowledge that Nigeria of the 1980's has witnessed a high I

level of unemployment. Many people do not have any job at all; others are

under employed; many are underpaid; and many produce less than is

expected. According to Acharya (1 983) these constitute the willingness,

time, income and productivity criteria of unemployment. It is a fact that from

the 1980's Nigeria began to witness a high level of unemployment. With

respect to the productivity criterion of unemployment, the Nigerian Civil

Service and some other parastatals provide good examples. Very often Civil

Service employees are seen holding long conversations and reading

newspapers in their offices while some may be seen sleeping. Many times \

members of the public cannot obtain desired services because the

respective officials are not available for reasons unconnected with their

official functions. This habit can be termed a "culture of unexplained

absence*.

The work attitude observed in government establishments could derive

horn factors such as; low work content in which workers have limited tasks

for each day, supervisory inadequacy where the administrative/managerial

cadre does not handle its job with commitment, vigour and efficiency; over-

recruitment of personnel which has political and nepotistic roots leading to

over staffing of the various units; bureaucratic inflexibility and limited

administrative initiative where top rank administrators are incapable of

expanding and enriching job tasks; unsatisfactory remunerations and

mobility prospects which impede worker commitment and involvement. All

these signify under-utilization of the work force.

'I'liis obscrvalion is co~lsistc~it witti llic data derived from the study of266 Nigerian

sciclitisls and cngiliccrs working i n scvcn sectors i n fivc states of the country (see

Uknegbu (I 9 82) Lbr dcl~ilcd niethodology). Nigerian scientists and engineers in 9

both industrial and non-industrial organizations perccive the~nselves as under-

utili7,etl. With spccilic reference to governrlielit non-industrial orga~lizations, use of

skiH and training, job challcngc, opportunity to be creative arid frcedom to use

inilirllivc arc low il l ~llinislrics, 11011-illdrrslrial paraslatals and even in lmiversities

and rcscarch itlslirurio~ls.

A work milicu that induces a sense of futility, lack of'acllievcllierll, lack of work

and mnnagcrial inse~isitivity is bound to breed under-utilization of personnel. If the

observation of licgative work ethic in the Civil Service and other governmental

bodies is acccptwble, could such be blamcd on population growth'? This is a vital I

question. If tlw latter is held responsible for the former, the rcsultillg atlalysis and

prescriplion may bc counlcr - protluctivc.

111 lhc iliduslrial sector, under utilizatioli o r h u m a ~ ~ i.csourccs, particularly the

xicnlific and Icct~nological category is evident ('l'urncr, 1978; Scllweitzcr and

Betgh 1979; Ukaegbu 1978). Studcnts oCdevclop~nent see this as a consequence of

dcpcndcnt industrializatiiil~. I

Onc of Ihc principal atlrihles of depcndcnt iadustrializatio~i is the predominance of

importcd industrial equipment, machinery and raw materials (Moseley, 1985).

Othcr fcatr~rcs of dcpcndcnt ildustrialization sum~nariscd by Moscley include weak

linkagcs bctwccii different brancllcs of production, bias against the tnachinc tools

sector, ut~d d c p c ~ ~ t l c ~ ~ c c of i~dustrial growth OII wail;~bility of rorcig~l cxclla~igc Tor

thc importation of industtial inputs.

Tllcse nffccl lhc efficiency of human resources in that therc is no room for initiative

Tor tllc llutna~i rcsourcc. I t takcs the already fabricated itcnis as given. All it does is

only lo just cffecl tlie already preparcd condinlent a~~directed. A case in point is the

Nigcrimi bottling Company and the various drinks they produce - Coca cola, Fanta,

Soda Watcr, c.1.c. 'l'hc formula is prepared abroad and sctit to Nigeria. No employer

in Nigerin kwws the right way to prepare any of tlic shades of the drink. The same

is l n ~ c of lllc vcliiclc ssscnibly plants in tllc counlry. 'Ihe Cor~ipletcly Knocked -

Down component of tlie vchicles (to wit Peugeot, Vox Wagcn) are imported. This

may be the rcasoil why tlie Vox Wagen plant has folded. Nigeria assen~bles vehicles

bul finds i t difficult to actually manufacture any vehicle after more than twe~ity

years of asscnlbling vchicles in the cour~try .

, On the spccilic issue of liumali rcsourcc utilization, dependent inclustrialization is

pritnarily assc~llbly in nature alid therefore creates limitcd e~nployment

opportunities (Kaplinsky, 198 1 ). It is also unable to extract the creative energies of

hlfily skilled tcclinicnl workers. Ilerc, work is routine, fragt~icatccl, repetitive and

monolotlous bccllrlsc production is so highly - packaged Illclt it tilakes vcry little

in~cllcclual dctnand on cmployccs. This is in line with carlier observation.

Tala, cl a1 (1 999) sces human resource utilization as involving the extent to which

Ihc full potctitiul of c~nployccs has bcc~l utilized, ctnploycc involvctnctlt and team

work nrc cncot~rngcd and quality education and trainiug progranlnles are in place

for all cmployccs, This is in line with earlier opinions.

Onc, thcrclbrc, cuntlot ilgrcc more with IJkacgbrl, C. C. ( I 988) that "utlrlcr

utilimtion of l ~ u t ~ m ~ rcsourccs; lopsided productiou a d distribution r~icchanisms;

cconomic dcprcssion, en rrrldcr - developed science and technology systenl; erratic

climatic and agrotiornic conditions; illegal exportation of food; corruption and

misnianagcmcnt of revenue, all corislitule forces that si~nultaneously limit the

nalional capacity to produce more resources for the growing population.

Hcfonw of ministries and parastatals made by sucgessive govern~nents will not be

thc answer to the under - utilization/undcr ernployed workforce in non - industrial

public orgnnizations, and cspccially the Civil Scrvicc. Effort should bc dircctcd at

cnlargirig tl~cir activities and consequently the work content of employees. If part of

Ihc problctn is "ovcr staffing", tlicre is notlling wrong if new govern~nent ventures

sclccl sornc of tllcir staff from tliosc already working in the ministries, while the rest

of lhc vacntlcics arc fillkd by new entrants.

MANPO W 1X KLQIJ 11WMEN'T

Yodcr, Dale, 1'h.D; IIcneman, 11. G; 1'h.D; 'l'umbull, John G; Ph.D and Stone, C. H;

Ph.D (I Y 58) Ilold the view that modern operation dnits (and the tenn is used it1 the

broedcst sclisc to include production distribution and services - public and private)

arc built about thc riotiori of division of labour and specialization. 'I'hey nchieve

fhcir cllicicncy tlirougli the effective team work of many people and the

combination of nutncrous jobs. Ilacli job tilay and many jobs do require a special

and distinctivc type of.manpowcr. The problctii of manning or staffing is that of

securing and holdiiig tlic riglit kind of manpower for cach of the jobs included in the

work tcil~ir. l'lic jobs to be done now and in tlie predictable future thus define the

problcrn of staffing. A cursorary glance at tlie ensuing observation will clarify

isucs.

'I'lic rnalipowcr cliallcnge for Nigeria is not

i l l finding thc pcople, it is rather finding flie

people with tlie riglit types of skill at the

riglit time and in the riglit places (Uchcndu, 1982; 57).

From the above we tno'st often find specialized talents in wrong kinds of activity

and highly capable people in fields which offer little incentive or cliallenge. This

situation crcatcs constraints which sap labour morale, erode productivity a ~ i d does

not lcad to rapid turnover. 'l'hus tlie issue <if manpower a d its utilization becomes

crucial to any effort to iniprove efficiency in service delivery or performance.

h m a n rcsorlrces, both mental and physical, are utilized or invested in an

otganizatioti in pursuant of set goals.

Again, Nasir Almad cl Rufai (2003) suni~narized the work of I'aul, 1988, Bradburd,

1992; Moorc, 1 YW), as follows: -

1 .) State ownership is abstract and leaves no visible residual claimant

to profits and losses. 4 -*

, .

2.) Milllagers oSl'ublic lirlterpriscs arc largcly sl~iclded from the effect

of tllc stock market limicc do not worry ilho\lt corporate control or

stockholder accountability.

3.) Mallagers of Public lnterprises imwt oflen try to satisfy nlultiple

objcctives determined by politicians.

4.) Goycrnnicnt sul~sidies protect inter11a1 inefficielicies and

perpetuate an internal "soft budgeting" approach; and

5 . ) Risk - reward structure for Public IZnterprises employees is oflen

pcrforrnancc ~ieutral. (Whethcr the I'ublic Eriterprises are bold,

risk taking, arid growth oriented or indiflerent, risk - averse or

loss making, the risk and rewards to employees are not

perceptibly d i Sfcrent).

The foregoing indicates that, in the first instance, State ownership of the cnterprise

is in name as virtualIy no profit accrues to it. Instead the State is often called upon

to bail thc organizatidn out of financial tiirlicuhies. 'Also the managers are most

oncri madc to act RS if they arc not alTccted by tnnrkct forces and so they behave as

if they have no one to account to. The demands on the managers by the politicians

who inarc or less put tlierii there are enorrnous. 'This may range from employment,

even when tllc cntcrprise has no rleed to engage more hands, tllrougli cornering of I

! products witlwnt piiynlent to aski~ig for substantial atnounb of money for campaign

purposes witliout any rcgard to the Company's profitability. I t is obvious from the ?

: abovc why I'ublic Enterprises pay little or tio attentioli to maupower requirements

1 ! when cmploying workcrs.

fthcrc is alwnys llic tfifficully of placi~ig tlic wrong pcrson on particular job. A 1

cax in point is Nigeria where in spite of the calibre of manpower in the country,

virtually notliing works. Our refineries cannot produce enough petrol to power the

cngincs oftlie ciirs that ply the country's roads, nor can the National Electric Power

Authority (N. IT. 1'. A) ge~ieratc erwugli eliergy to give light to its ever growing

cuslorncrs, our tiiariufactu~~itig sector spetitl a lot of scarce fu~ids in finding

aftcmativc sourccs of ericrgy than in invcsting in more productive ventures. 'That

explains tlic strintcd growth in all sectors.

(&) JOI3 RATING OR EVALUA'TION - Dale

Yoder, 1'h.D el a1 define this as a ieclinique

used in wagc and salary administration to

compare the conlribution or worth of jobs.

Job evaluation uses job analysis and job descriptions in identifying the factors or

clcn~c~ils for wliicli co~iipc~isation is paid. "Job mtiitg" is so~iietimcs used as

synonymous with job cvaluatiot~. At other times, it refers to only onc ofscveral

typcs of job evaluation. It is mxessnry to evaluate jobs lo enable employers know

what a job reqriircs in order lo achieve efficiency in production. When job is not

cvaluatcd, it is possible to over pay solne workers while some others are under paid

avcn in one firm. 'l'he obvious result of this is workers not being satisfied. Once this

tcarricd far cnougli, the particular firm will begin to lose workers to rival firms

who are tllus unablc lo compete with them. The lost staff will reveal secrets to rival

h i s that liavc employed tlie~ii alid when his knowledge is added to such firm's

Dwn pcculiaritics, a lot of good slrides will be ~nadc. Again, such f i r n ~ that has not

properly cvalualcd ils job may losc eficicr~cy i n production. A look at tcacliing

gcncrally in Nigcrir~ will bullrcss Illis point. l ' l~e poor salaries of lcnchcrs at

whntever level lins nia& graduates to shun teaching. Tlie envimnment of the

institutiotis is not anythfng to write liome about. All this make for dissatisfaction in

thc teaching profession.

11.) JOB C1,ASSIFICATION - Dale Y oder,

et al define this as a process of allocating

jobs to services and grades for purposes of

compensation. The term is also sometimes

applied to one systcm of job evaluation

which are classified for pay purposes,

without formal rating on a specified list of

elenlents or factors. It thus creates a salary

or wage "strr~ct~~re," with vvnriorrs

"levels" of compensation defined as

salary and wage grades or classes.

Whca jobs are graded, one would be able to know which jobs can receive the

a m c rem~~neratio~l or which call attract higher or lower wages. This is sequel

to (g.) above.

OBJECTIVES IN .JOB ANALYSIS

Dale Yoder, Ph.D et 91 (1958) insists that, "Job analysis has sometimes been

dwcribed as a "keynote" in all employee relations programmes because job

radysis is used for so many purposes. It has olivious implications for staffing

and selection; manpower can't be readir-I fitted to ueeds r~nless the latter are

k~~own . R I I ~ it is also of direct a d immediate importauce for promotion,

trmsfer, compensation, and several other supervisory and managenrent-

clevelopmcrrt major diyisions of employee relations programmes. The major

uses to which infor~nation secured in job analysis is put may be outlined as

follows :-

I. Devclopnre~rt of manning tables o r staffing schedules. I

2. Organization planning.

3. Recruitment, placement, alrd guidance.

4. 'I'rainiag, cleter~r~ining content and needs.

5 . Job grading and classification.

6. Setting wages rates.

7. Establislling responsibility, duties, authority.

8. 'I'ransfers and promotions.

9. llanclling grievances.

10. Locating sources of faulty yrorluctiou.

1 1 . Preliminary step in time and motion study.

12. Avoiding health hazards, safety.

13. Basis for service rating of employees.

In cr~rrent practice in many organizations, job analysis is

repeated several times in connection with these various activities of

programmes. In each case it may be varied slightly, both in method and in

point of view. Tiffin nbtes four such variations in job analysis, including:

a-1 JOB ANALYSIS FOR PERSONNEL SPECIFICATION - A

determinatiom of the main characteristics (physical, mental,

edacational, and so forth) that a man must have to fill a

particular job satisfactorily. I

J013 ANALYSIS FOR TRAINING PURPOSES - A listimg in order,

of specific steps to be taken in teaching a job to a new employee.

J O B ANALYSIS FOR SETTING O F RATES -This type of job

analysis is usually referred to as job evalsation. Its purpose is to

set rates or rate char~ges for various jobs, so that each is "in line"

with others in terms of their respective requirements and demands.

J O B ANA1,YSIS FOR ME'IXIODS 1MPROVEMENT - This type is

the result of the use of several techniques, primarily motion and

time studies, by an industrial engine& to simplify the work lay,out,

eliminate unnecessary motions, and make the job a simpler and

nrore co~rve~rient task to perform."

IDENTIFIED GAP IN THE LITERATURE REVIEWED

In the literature reviewed, the discussion centred on the importance of

human resources to an organization, the necessity for ensuring that the right

staff is given the right job, creation of an atmosphere conducive for efficient

operation in an organization and that industrial revolution in the West

occurred amidst a largely illiterate population. !We did not look into the

reason why unemployment is growing among the educated class in

undeveloped countries even though there are identified cases of

retrenchment or is it called disengagement of civil servants in Enugu State

and Federal Psychiatric Hospital Civil Service. This I study did not consider

human resource planning. This is another way of ensuring efficient ,

utilization of human resources for an organization in the manpower it

employs, there is the tendency for it to know when there is a short fall in the

manpower it requires and in what department. The researcher did not go

into this due to financial constaints.

2.2 HYPOTHESIS .

H,, The vacancies in the Federal Ministry of Education are not filled

from the qualification of prospective candidates.

Ho2 There are no incentives to higher productivity in the Federal .

Ministry of Education.

H,, The authority in the Federal Ministry of Education does not flow

from top to bottom.

2.3 OI'ERArI'IONALIZATION OF; KEY CONCEPTS IN T11E

i.Iyro'rmsIs In this rcscarcll, vacancy is rcgarded as all ulioccilpied positioll in an office. In other

words, it is a positiori i n an establishment which requires being filled. That is a

concerled cffort on the part of the ministry to ensure that every available position in

the establisllrnent is adequately occupied by employees who are likely to deliver the

goods. 'l'llerc is no rcasoll why the govcriuiient sliorlld pretend it is not aware that

tilc standard of cducatioii in the country is falling and that there is an urgent need

for something drastic by way of improving the morale of teachers to be done.

Qualification is tllc rclevaat credc~ltial wliicli can enable an c~nployce to occupy a

particular position in an establisllmetlt. People wllo possess tllc requisite

qualifications arc allowcd th occupy pafticular positions , i n the establishment over

i~nd above the others wlio do not. Wlie~l people wlio possess the riglit qualifications

occupy the right positions, work will progress while anything to the contrary will

only bc courting chi~os.

I'rospectivc means rclating to or expected to be. These are people who arc expected

to bc c~li ployccs in the cstablisll~ncn t. I'rospective canditlatcs, therefore, are t hose

candidates who arc vying For placctnclits in tllc various positions that arc vacant in

the establishtiicnt. 'I'his then means calldidales who claim to be in possession of

ccrtain requircmcnts expected by an organization for occupants of the various

positions in that organizution. I>cfinitcly what is required of a foreman will be much

Inore enhanced than that of an artisan in a production line. The organization will

cleter~iii~ic this a11d stick to it religionsly .

l~lcentivcs rncan that which incite or rousc a person to action. This may be by way

o f ho~los pay, promotion, cxtra holiday, cliauffer driven vcliiclc, car purchase

advancc, furnished house, etc. These things wllcn fr~lly i~nplemcntcd arc likely to

gingcr workcrs to higlicr productivity.

Productivity is bcing able to produce things that are helpful or ofccono~nic value. It

is the desire of evcry cstablish~ncnt to see people desire their products. This in turn

can only be possible if the products of such establishlnknts add some value to the'

life of the pcoplc. Wlicn people discover that the products of any particular

urganization docs not add value to their life, they will run away from such products.

Authority is a person or group of persons who have the right to govern, control,

c~lnct I ~ I W S or cclids fin tlic smoolh running of iln organization. l'his is thc position

occupicd by the gover~lnicnt in this researcli. The gover~~mest owns the Federal

Ministry of Education and tllcrefore gives directives on wliom to be employed, what

position the cmployec is to occupy and where the employce is to be deployed.

2 -4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The human resource utilization is sine que non for efficient production

in an organization - Nwankwo (2003). Yet Nigeria with her very bad roads,

low productive capacity, high cost of haulage of bulk goods, poor

communication and energy situation, etc can think of no other way' of

improving production except through rationalization of staff. The Nigerian

Railway Corporation laid off more than 60,000 of its staff across the 'country

at the end of February, 2006 (Radio Nigeria, Network news of 25" February,

2006). The government of Enugu State disengaged the non indigenes I

working in its Civil Service on January 27'" 1997, the same is true of some

of Enugu State indigenes working in the Federal Psychiatric Hospital, Enugu

when it was taken over by the Federal Government in 1997. They lost their

job. Should it be so in a country that is weighed down by acute educated

unemployment and at a time the crude oil is attracting such an all time high

price of 54 US dollars per barrel even when the budget was worked on 24

US dollars per barrel? Such a phenomenon needs investigation.

2.4.1 APPLICATION OF THE THEORETICAL

FRAMEWORK TO THE STUDY,

Man is the dynamic factor of production, his energies, skills,

knowledge and ingenuity are applied to the exploitation of raw materiakand

the production of final goods and services says Ordor Odike in Manpower

Development in Nigerian ~umaucracy in "Strands in Nigerian Development

and Administration," Ofuebe Chikelue, Phd (2003 p. 130) ed. Factors of

production are to be combined in such proportion as to ensure maximum

production of goods and services at least cost. This makes prices to be low.

This has not been true of developing countries where it has been very

difficult to improve productive capacity due to problems in combining factors

to ensure efficient production of resources. Nigeria is a very good example

of such problems. Many of the roads are death traps. This makes journeys

that would not have taken up to twenty minutes taking almost one and half

hours. As a result, agricultural products from the rural.areas take a long time

to get to the urban centres where they may be needed. The cost of repairs

of the vehicle because of wear and tear thus pushes the prices to such a

height that firms may be forced to readjust prices to such an extent as not to

cover some of their costs or else they will lose patronage. When such a

thing continues, many firms will begin to leave the industry thus creating

more problems. Many wants will not be satisfied since there are very few

producers in the industry and their level of production such that

maintenance of their plants are many years in arrears again making for

lower production. This is also made acute in developing countries because

their economy like that of Nigeria is monocultural. The economy will grow

when it is diversified since in a monocultural economy anything that

negatively affects the growth of the product o n which the economy d e p e n d s

will adversely affect the economy. Nigeria h a s therefore b e e n tinkering with

its human resources in order to improve its productive capacity. Many firms

including government establishments h a v e d isengaged their staff in order

improve their productive capacity. T h e question is, should that b e t he case?

2.5 METk-IODOLOGY

The research was conducted in the Federal Ministry of Education, E~lugu. This is

situated at the Fcdcral Secretariat Ilnugu. 9

'l'lic population of the personnel for the research consists of all the workers in the

Ministry. 'l'here are about 24 employees tliere. This is made up of

Administrative Department 3

Secretarial Departriie~ll 3

Transport Department 4

Registry 2

Inspectorate 12

l'otal

2.4.1 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 1

't'he rescarcller, on looking at the population of the employees decided that the

number 24 is quite manageable. So lie then gave the questionnaire to the entire

workcrs.

2.4.2 INSTRUMENTS USED FOR DATA COLLECTI'ON

Structured questionnaire was used. It was drawn from (he literature reiatitlg to

Marlpower Utilization. Also oral interview was used to facilitate an in depth

understanding of the factors militating against effective utilizatio~~ of available

matlpuwer. 'I'llc questior~r~aire was first test for validity iri a pilot study carried out

among t l~c stoff of llwani Sccondary School, Lnugu where the researcher is

teaching.

'Sables were used to analyse the data generated from the questionnaire and oral

interview. 'l'he corlclusion is based on the result got from the tables.

2.4.3 METI-IODS OF DATA ANALYSIS

'rhe methods used in the analysis of data are tables and the comparison of findings

with available cotnpletecl work that is related to the research. Quitc a good amount

of work has been done on Iluman Resources and some of them gave some useful

hints on utilimtion of the resource that fonn a sort of' guide to the research.

3.0 Cl-IAPTEIi TI-IREE: MANPOWER DGVELOPMEN'I AND

U'l'ILlZA'TION IN PUBLIC SECrl'OR OI<GANIZArI'lONS

IN NIGERIA

3.1 CONCEPrTUAL EXI'LICArI'ION OF MANPOWER

DEVELOPMENT

lh-itannica Ready Keferemx Dictionary defines Manpower as the total

supply of persons available and fitted for service. The Oxford Advanced

Dictionary of Currerlt 13nglisll defines devclopliicnt to be growth, this growth I

may be i n terms of size as getting bigger as a boy developing into manhood,

illcrease in illMcct or knowledge as a primary School pupil is cxpected to be

less clcvclopcd than 11 scco~ldary School sludcnl. It, thcrcforc, is proper that

marlpowcr in an organization will grow, not just in size, but also in its

r~nderstanding of the job it is expcctcd to perform. 'l'his was l~igllligl~tcd i n

Adam Smiths clivision'of labow where thc advantages of the tlicory is sceri

as:-

a.) increase in produclion - sirice rnally people are involved in the

production of a single commodity and each person performing .

a uniquc aspect of the job that is much sniallcr, the pcrson will

complete his task much faster.

b.) saving time - bccausc the quantu~n of work each i~ltlividual does

is relatively small, hc/shc will finish it in a quickcr time.

co~iscrvation of cnergy - the work the worker is performing is

small and does not involve tnovement from one place to the

other. Tliis conserves energy Tor the worker.

specialization -- when someone is doing a particular thing over

atid over again, Iie/slic will be a rnastcr of it and so becorrles

proficient.

Odike, Odor (2003 p. 133) in his articlc 'Manpowcr Devcloptnerit and Utilization in

Nigcrim Ilr~rcaucracy' in "Strands in Nigcrim 1)evelopnient and Administtatiorl''

dcfincs Manpowcr I>evclopnlcnt as ( 1 .) lncthods whereby workers' skills are

improvcc! (2.) tlic total number of pcople available for work or service (3.) those

persontiel who arc gainlitlly employed and are used in carryhg out the objectives of

an establislirnent. Odike (2003) and that the process o[ training and

developlncnt is a contitluous one. Money spent on training and developtncnt of

ctriployecs is nloncy wcll spcnt. Employees who have not received adequate

training More bci~lg assigncd with respollsibilities lack the necessary confidence

with wliich to carry out !he job (Ilbeku, 1975:270). An employee shoul.tl be helped

to grow into rnorc responsibility by systematic training and dcvclopnient. I t is only

tlien that he will fecl confident to carry out tllc responsibilities of the job;, such a

person is imbued with tlie potential to think and originate ideas as to how best to

carry out the job. l'llis is the problem expcrienccd in most government

cstahlislirncnts in Nigeria. There is litlle or 110 provisioh for an on the job Iraining'

thus making a worker to rusticate in one particular post.

3.2 FORMS OF MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT

3.2.1 IUXRUI'TMEN'I'

13ritannica Ready Refercncc llictionary defines recruitment as

tllc process of adding new individuals to a population or

subpopulation (as o f brceding individuals) by growth,

reproduction, or stockirrg. This rhakes for injection of new

blood into an establislltnent to facilitate production. It will

reduce tllc pressure on tlre existing staff.

Onah, 1:ab. 0 (2003) st~ggests that before recruitment decision can be made, the

orgatlization needs to reflect any vacancy that occurs and link the decisions to the

ol~jcctivcs set by thc Iruman resource plan of the organization. Onah, Fab. 0. (2003)

sites I4owe (1 995) who notes that tlrere may be tlrc need for an organizttion to staff

overall, so the vacancy cot~ld provide the opportunity to transfer atlother employee

from t11e over-stal'fed area. 'The promotion and succession plans may have prepared

other crnployces to tilkc on tliis job, so tllat there is a movernerrt at various levels

within the organization. 'l'his is very uearly opposite what we have in the country at

the ~nonlent. Almost on montldy basis one company or the other in tlre country lays-

off some of its staff tnany a time for reasolis quite unconnected with the

prodr~ctivity rate of the workers being laid-off. A very good cxarnple is the laying-

off of not1 ilrdigene civil servants oC1illugu State of January, 27"' 1997 and the

rationalization of the staff of Federal I'syclriatric Ilospital in the same year. Non of

tllesc was as ;I result of lion perfor~nance on tlre worker who was retrenched. Onah,

Vab. 0. (2003) therefore opines that an important aspect of recruitment is to gain a I

lliorougli piclure of rcquircrncnts of botli the job a d the individual SO lliat selectio~l

critcria can be drawn up. 'This criteria can then be used to determiw if there is a

snitilblc internal cenclidatc :ind to itlcntify any training needs they may'llavc. I n

addition tllcse criteria c;ln also be used for extenla1 recruitment and advertising

campaigns. Onall, Vab. 0. (2003) sites Fatiregun (I 992) who sees recruiiment as

that process of assessing a job, announcing the vacancy, arousing interest and

stimulating people to apply. Mathis and Jackson (1997) sees recruitment as the I

process o r gencrating a pool of'qualified applicants for organizational jobs.

Onall, Fab. 0. (2003) observcs that many employers today .arc facing

shortages of workers with the appropriate k~lowletlge, skills and abilities. 'Illis is

particularly true of Nigeria owing to the less than satisfactory educational policy,

poor government attention to tertiary education and the mass - production

syndrotne in tllc educatiotl system, he continues. I le then says that products of these

institrltions are more often that1 not i l l equipped for mcarlirlgful employment.

According to Cole (2002), the pri~lcipal purpose of recruitment is to attract

srl rficicnt and sr~ita ble potential em ployecs to apply for vacancies in the I

organization.

He observcs that as Allen (1 995) has noted, i t is important that recruiting as a key

11r11nan resource activity be viewed strategically. Also recruiting efforts should

reflect organizatiorlal culture. Regardless of orgarlizatiorlal size, the following

decisioris about recn~iting must be made (Mathis and Jackson,1997): I low many people does the organization need? What labour market will be tapped? Sllould the organization have its own staff or use other sources such as flexible staffing?

'I'o what extent should recruiting be focused interrially vs. externally? What special skills n t h cxpcricnce are really necessary? What legal considerations affect recruiting'? 1 . 1 0 ~ can diversity and affirnlative action concerns be addressed when recruiting? Ilow will the organization spread its message of openings? I low effective are the recruiting efforts

It is licccssibry to tnake cxplicit the attributes required i n a candidate who is to take

up a given job. This Onali, Fab. 0. (2003) calls personnel specification or candidate

profilc. It summilrizes the most important knowledge, skills slid personal

cliaracteristics required by the sr~cccssful candidate in order to be able to carry out

tlie job in nn acceptable standard of pcrformance. '

7lierc is therefore the need for a proper planning and s pains taking effort in filling

a vacancy i n an organization. This is solile what lacking i ~ i Nigeria as observed by

el-Kufai, Nasir Ahmcd in his article, "1s Liberal ilctnocracy Eticouraging

Corruption illid Corr upt I'ractices: 'l'lie I'rivalimlion Process in Nigerih?" in "l'lie

Nigerian Social Scientist.' Civil Scrvrmts were disengaged in llnugu State I'uhlic

Scrvice on 27"' January, I997 without any tl~ouglit of the cffcct that action will have

on productivity in tlic Civil Service and also the rationalization of the staff of Enugu

Stalc owned Psychiatric I-Iospital at the time i t was taken over by tlie Federal I

Gover~irne~il later in 1997 in 'rekdiation' in tlie samc year.

3.2.2 PLACEMENT

13rita1lnica Ready Reference 1)ictionary defines placement as

the assignnwnt of a person to a suitable place (as s job or

class iri school). A placemc~lt test will enhance this venture.

A placerncnt test can take the forrii of oral ilitervicw or

written aptitudc tcst or both, depending on

(2.),tIic nurnbcr of app licatlts 1 wlieri the number o f people

wlio are qualified to be placcd in a givcn organization are so

many, tlicre may be the need to organizc a written test in

order to rcducc thc nuniber to a rrianagcable sizc. 'l'he may be

of vcry great llclp in the country because the incessant cascs

oTexmiination tnalpracticcs. 'I'llis may bc what inforrncd the

University of Nigcria, Nsukka pionccririg tlic trend of a

wriiten aptitudc test for those to bc admitted for various

courses ill tlic institution at the begilining of tliis session.

(3.) tlic vacancies to be filled --'agairl, when the vacancies to

be fiilcd for a particular job are very few when compared

will1 the number of applicants there may be the need for a

qualifyitig tcst to be given to tlie applicants. This as already

sliowll in (I .) iibovc l~elps to reclum tlic number hf applicants

to a certain lcvel the organization feels it will har~dlc.

(4.) the type ofjob - tliere are some jobs that are highly competitive c.g. clerical work (they do not require specialized

training or knowledge - in otlier words people with just a

1

tiii~iirllu~n education of a cer ta i~~ basic level car1 always

apply). Such jobs may require both oral and written tests. arid

(5.) tlie gcrieral policy of the orgariization - tlie organization

may feel tlii~t it tieeds to be sure of the type of people it

cngagcs to work Sor it and so may clccitlc to subject

applicants to a scries of tests in order to bring out tlic best

from a given lot.

Many a timc sornc o f these are not followed in Nigeria. Governmerit has been seen

to put sorne ~iot too good people to some sensitive posts for political, ethnic or sorne

other reasons that arc not merit to the detriment of such organizatio~is as observed

by el-Kufai, Nasir Alitnccl in "Is Rural I>c~iiocracy Encouraging Corruption and

Corrupt I'racticcs'? : 'l'hc I'rivatisatiori I'roccss in Nigeria" in vol. 4 number 2 issue

0l"tlie Nigerian Social Scientist' of September, 2003. 'The Chief Executive of

A.jaokuta Stcel Kolling Mill was sacked three times between 1 978 arid 1 983. The

Obasa~?jo adniinistration clianged the Iloard of National Electric Power Authority

(NIjI'A) two times within its first four years in office. In one of these changes, the

formcr Ministcr of Eriergy and Steel was made the Chief Executive of the

Organization wliilc tlic serving Chief I~xccutive was ~nadc the Chairnian of the '

I3oard of Directors of tlic same organization. One can only imagine the effect of this

on the institution for sonietliing must have led to such appointments. 'l'he ],ate Chief

I3ola Ige, a lawyer arid a Sc~iior Advocate of Nigcria, was made the Minister of

Energy and Steel, a post lie occupied till death came knocking at his ddor, and

under his supervision of the ministry, Nigeria liad the worst power outage ever

expcricnccd in thc country. l'hnt cannot be surprising. Newswatch ~ a g a z i n e of271h

1)cceln ber, 1 999 quotes tlic observation of the liouse of Representative Committee

on Power arid Stccl as voiced by its Cliairrnan "'The lack of maintenance of I

~nacliincs Im ~iiacic clcclricily generation epileptic in the country. Tlie power

stations ~iccd rcpairs and ovcrliaul. Sonic are ovcrduc by fifteen years arid if

resorlrccs arc available, dcfiriitcly NEl'A has the rnanpowcr to make the power

available." $

3.2.3 'I'KAINING

Onah, Fab. 0; (2003) opines in "Training is a process that develops

a~id i~iiprovcs skills related to performance. Effcctivc training

programmes, according to Illutn and Naylor (1 97(,), can result in

i~icrcased productivity, reduced labour turnover, and greater employee

satisraction. 'l'hcy sliould include all eniployees from factory workers

to cxccutivcs and apply not only to incxpcrienced workers but also to

cxpcricnccd workers ncw to.thc cntcrprisc. Ulum and Naylor also note I

that a training prograniriie should also inclr~de those who are promoted

to higher-level jobs and the periodic retraining of of present employees

by nicans of 'rclicsller' courscs."

Regarding lnanagclnclit clcvclopmcnt, lJ bcku (1 975) o bservcs that the plan bf

n~a~iagerncrit dcvclopriicnt sliould aim at : systeinatically transferring general management knowledge policies and procedures for managing the company to all managers. approaching and maintailling all inventory of all candidates moved as qualified for replacements for managerial positions. improving the present performance of all managers ,

o the job dcvelop~ncnt methods directed at individual needs. broadening managers for higher responsibilities lllrough outside and on-the-job programmes, activities and courses.

, ..,... c L I I ~ tqlgro (1977) fccl fed tliat the ob-jectivc o f an executive

development programme is to improve the kxecutive and understanding of such

areas as planning, coordination, co~nmunication, decision making, delegation,

lieadquarkrs field relations, legislative relations, and public relations.

3.2.4 UTILIZATION AND RETENTION

Onah, Fab. 0. (2003) quoting I;atircgun, E. 0.(1 992) opines "lfwe ca

have a reliable proccss, training and person~iel developme~it efforts

would appear superfluous." The discussioti on utilization and retentior

will cenirc on mcthods of employee recruitment, selection and

piaceme~~t that most likely to ensure tlie employment of reliable and

efficient employees that arc concerned with and committed to the

achievement of organizational goals.

We would have achieved a significant part of our aim, Onah, Fab. 0.

(2003), if tlie prospective employer will, afler going through, be in a

bcttcr position to make wise and professionally guided decisions on what jobs he requires to be done the job spccificatiotw for any duty he has identified tlie description of h e person or persons who can most effectively do the job, how to look for prospective applicants how to construct an effective advertisement, how best to iliterview prospective enlployees ' ,

how best to select, how best to motivate, sustain and inspirit the successful candidates in order to harvest their resources to the best advantage of the organization. Kecruitment, selectio~l and placement exercises are at the heart of any organization and they have to be well done to pave the way for the ef'fective~~ess of the organization.

Let us now look at how employees cat1 be engaged and put into specific positions in

an organization

3.2.5 MANPOWER MANAGEMENT AND

PRODUCTIVITY 1N THE FEDERAL

M IN ISTRY OF EDUCAIION w ITI-I

EMPHASIS ON ENUGU

Newswatch of February 12"' 1990, vol. I 1, No 7, in the article "Tlie

Ilooby Trap" co!nnlents thus, "Nigeria's quest for tecl~noiogy is a

pathetic story of Sumbling in the dark. available^ records show that

since independence it1 1960, Nigeria has spent a staggering #23 billion

in trying to 'transfer technology' from itldustrialised countries, but

with nothing to show for it. Not a surprise. There is no such thing as

lr~insfcr ol' Iccl~nology." 'l'llis is (lie problcrn of Nigeria. l'lle ~ n a n y

years of trrtclagc rmdcr the llritish Governance has not been of much

help. The administrative cotnpctence of the Uritish people was not '

acquired by Nigerians who were clatnortring for technology transfer.

l'llat is tlic reason why Nigeria is not able to pay salaries of workers in

its employ as at when due. Nor is the country abtk to pay pensioners. It

is reported on page 19 of Newswatch vol. I8 No 26 of 27Ih December,

1993 that retired miners led by Nwacliukwu Oside, Chairman, J.

Ohagwu, Secretary, in a petition against the Managing Director, Prof.

Grcg. Iwu said, "Wc have watched Prof. Iwu's activities in the

Nigeria11 Coirl Corporation atid we now have it1 our posscssiorr

documctils of a niost tlevaslati~ig itidictmcnt oT Prof. Iwu's

squandermania. 'One of the documents sliow that last April when their

pension payments had Tallen itlto 12 ~nonths arrears, Iwu awarded a

conttact Tor replacement of window and door blinds at No 19, Park

Avc~iuc, lkugu, liis official residence, to Urahatns Limited 0 f N o 6,

College Road, I!tiugu, at wllat the pcnsioncrs called 'a scatidalous cost

or 8698,425.06 by letter dated June 26, 1993, ref. No 16 1 .' Thcy also

clairn that on May 12, 1993, Iwu paid in advance #272,385.75

representing 40 percelit of the coritract price less two and half percent

to the contractor, 'while Coal Corporation petisioncrs continue to

starve'." 'This is the way some Nigerians in positiolis of authority

regard administration. l'liis is not too differdnt from the goings o t ~ at '

tlic Federal Ministry of Education, Enugu.

4.0 CI-IAP'I'ER FOUI< : DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

4.1 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF

FINDINGS

'I'llis chapter deals with the presentation and analysis of data. 'l'lie age characteristics

of the respondents is givcn.

TABLE 4.1 AGE OF RESPONDENTS

S/NO A I NUMBER PERCENTAGE

1 31 -40 3 12.5

2 41 -50 7 27.9

3 -- 5 1 & above 5 20.7 I

'1'0 TA L 15 60.1

'I'able 3.1A shows that 12.5 pcrccnt of the respondents Sall witliin the age range of

3 1 - 40 ycars, 27.9 pcrccnt fall witliin the age range of41 - 50 years. 'I'he age range

of 5 I ycars and abovc has 20.7 percent while three people did not state their ages.

This sliows that the majority of the staff of the ministry fall between the ages of 4 1

and 50 years sig~iifyirig that all things being equal, a good number of the staff will

servc up to at least ten years before the retire at 60 years. This augurs well for the

niinistry for it means that there are chances of continuity of policies and ways of

doing work especially very good ways of working. It shows that if the ministry has ,

!lie riglit calibre of workers in its employ, productivity will be very high.

1~001~ QU AIJ FICATION s l lol The vacancies in thc Federal Ministry of Education are not filled b i n

the qualificatioll of prospective candidates.

111 answer to questions 7 & 8 the respondents, except for those who perhaps did not

know how to arlswer, gave the inforrnalion that there are qualifications attached lo

the various posts and that no officer can be advanced to any higher post just because 1

Ilelslle has been on the lower post for a long time. This agrees with Mathis and

Jackson (I 997) that sees rccruitnlctll as the process of generatiug a pool of

qualified applicants for organizational jobs. Dut when one looks at I'rofessor Alee

Rodger's seven point plan of lilling vacancies as indicated in Onah, Fab. 0. (2003)

which says:

l'hysical make-up - what is required i n terms of

health, strength, energy and personal appearance?

Attainments - what education, training and

experience is required? 1

General I~~telligcnce - what does the job

require in terms of thinking and mental effort.

Special Aptitudes - what kind of skills

need to be exercised in the job'?

Interests - what personal interests could be

relevallt to the perfor~nkice of the job?

Disposition - what kind of persotlalily are

looking for?

7. Circumstances - arc there any special

circunlstarlces that the job requires of

candidates?

Figure 4.2 shows how it might bc applied in the employment o f the cabin crew

members Sor a national airlinc.

FEATURE SOUCII'I' ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE

Physical riiokc-up Wcighl in proportio~i lo Iicight, cycsiglit, hearing

c~c. pcrrcct, ncal, clcarl appcnrancc, agc 2 1 - 28

Allninmcnls WASC, ~ N D , IINI), Cirnduntc, Mndcrs, 1)oclorplc

I~ilclligcncc

Apliludcs

lnlcrcsls

I)isposilion

Alcrl, quick-thing

Social skills atlequalc lo tlcal firmly bul polilcly with

pnsscngcrs

Nvnc

Fricticlly pcrsonalily; ability to rctnnin cool and calm

in an ctncrgcncy; ability to work short pcriods rindcr

i~ilcnsc prcssurc

Circumslanccs Must bc ablc to work irregular hours: must bc will ing

to stand k r long pcriods: tnust bc willing to livc near

Nonc

Expcricncc in nursing1 ,

Calering.

None

Flucncy in relcvanl

languages

Travel, flying, first-aid

Scnsc orl;umuur

Ihc airport. Figure 4.1 Personnel speciflcntion - cnbln crew

Source G. A. Colc (2002) Personal and IIuman Resource Management through

Onah, Fab. 0. (2003).

From Professor IWgcr ' s specifications as shown by Cole (2002) table 4.1 above,

one can safely say that experience is an important element in placing a candidate

into a spccilic job posi(ion. Altainlncn(s require that a candidate sliould possess a

ccrtain lcvcl o f education, it is dcsirablc that such a candidate should have some

experience that matches the job he is to perform. I guess that is the reason why the

~nedical profession insists that newly qualified doctors should spend a year as

liousc Officers bcforc going to youth service and eventually go into the labour

market, the Council of Engineers has its own one year requirement for a pupil

engineer in spite ofthe industrial attachment that the graduating candidates must

have undcrgonc while in the university. This then shows that it is not necessary that

qualification, cvcn though it is important in placing workers in particular positions, I

expcricncc on the job is lnqrc important a d therefore it is not necessary that

qualifications b.c attachcd to the various positions in an organization. 'rhe

hypothesis is thus rejected. So, qualification should not carry much weight in

placing workers into variou's positions in an organization, instead, experience

should.

POOR INCENTIVES TO I-IIGI-IER PRODUCTIVITY

I Ioz There are no incentives to higher productivity in the Federal Ministry of

IJducation.

'I'hc oral intcrvicw tllc rcscarclier had with some of the workers can be seen to be

very fruitful here. 'l'hough the ministry can be said to have in place things like

regular payment of salaries, rent subsidy, transport allowance, monetization, etc but

I may wish to ask, how far these are implemented. From December 2003 to May

2004 the workers were not paid any salary whatsoevei and even when it was paid,

only the basic salary was paid. The allowances came later. Another problem was the

workers being compclled to undertake some contributory amount, unlike the

practice in other ministries, for monetization. This .was to be like the contribution

with the National Provident Fund. When the authorities at Abuja learnt of this they

ordered an immediate full repayment. l'liis has not been done.

WI-IA'l IMPACT DOES 'TIr-11s I-IAVE ON I'RODUCTIVITY? 1

Onah, Fab. 0. (2003) conf i r~ns tliat even staff training and development does not

have a positive impact on higher productivity o f workers in the University o f

Nigeria, Nsukka. I l e observes that, "The programme as can easily be discerned

from rccortls and interviews has had a less tlian remarkable impact 011 the staff

especially the non-teaching staff. Reactions from staff who have benefited from

show signs o f satisfaction while songs o f regrets are heard from have not had any

training.. . . Figure 4.3 shows that staff training o f the staff concerned is mostly on

the initiative of the trainee who applies for study leave without pay since it is a rare

occurrence to have the privilege o f benefiting from study leqve with pay or in-

service training - outside o r within the university.

Even study leave without pay was stalled sometime in 1985 when the

University Governing Council decide 'that from now on juniour staff proceeding on

training lasting morc than three months and with or without pay must resign \heir

appointments with the University'. This singular decision, although modified in

1989, had great impact on staff training and development since no leave with or

willlout pay was granted to any member o f staff from that date, no matter how

relevant the course o f study was to his position and schedule of duty.

'Table 4.3 Number of Returnee Staff after Study Leave froth 1983 to 1987

Year Senior Non-l'eaching StafS Juniour Staff.

1983 I 14

1984 3 7

Out of this 12 1, 88 are graduates, holding degrees in different fields. But 1

unfortunately, sonic of them are clerks, typists and laboratory assistants. Indeed one

of them is a messenger/cleaner." 'This does not speak well of the placement

procedure in the University systcm. When applied to the subject matter, the fact that

people spend many years on one grade level creates bad blood especially when

rclativcly much younger people are placed ahead of such people and the new

entrants need the coacliing of such frustrated people. This will frustrate them the

more. By and large the workers whose salaries come late, who are 1101 given their

allowances, whose working environments are very poor. his accepts the

hypothesis that there no ince.ntives to higher productivity. Therefore the second

hypothesis is upheld.

4.1.3 AU'I'I-IORITY IN THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF

EDUCATION, ENUGU DOES NOT FLOW FROM

TOP 'ro BOTTOM

IIo3 'I'he authority in the Federal Ministry of Education does not flow from

top to bottom.

'I'hc Latc Chief Bola Ige (SAN) presided over the Ministry of Energy

and Steel during President Olusegun Obasanjo's first term in ofSice as.

the President of Nigeria. In one of the changes that was done at the

tlwl National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), the former Minister

of Energy and Steel - the one rcplaccd by the Late Chief 1301.a lge -

was made the Chief Executive of the organization wliile the incumbent

Chief Executive was made tlie Chairman of the organization's 13oard

of Directors. These two people were at daggers drawn when the

incumbent Chairman after the changes was the Minister and the other

the Chief Executive of the organization. At the time the Late Chief

Dola lgc was the M inister of Energy and Steel was the time the greatest

amount of money was sunk into the institutio~i - NEPA - yet it was the

time of Iic worst power outage experienced in the country. "The lack of

maintcria~icc of tilacliines has - observed the I-louse of Representatives

Comrnittec on I'ower and Steel - electricity generation in tlie country

epilcptic". 'I'iie Chairman of the Committee said, "The power stations

necd repair and overhaul. Some overdue by fifteen years and if

resources are available, definitely NEPA lias the manpower to make

power available" (Newswatch Magazine, ~edember 27, 1999). Aiain,

the report or1 page 19 of vol. 18 number 26 of 27"' December, 1993 of

Newswatch Magazine on Nigeria Coal Corporation, says that, "Retired

miners led by Nwachukwu Oside, Chairman, 3. Oliagwu,

Secretary, in a pctition against the Managing Director, l'rof. Greg. lwu

said, "We have watched I'rof. Iwu's activities in tlie Nigerian Coal

Corporati011 and wc now have in our possession documents of a most

devastating indictnie~lt of l'rof. Jwu's squandermania. 'One of the

documents show that last April when their pension payments had fallen f

into 12 ~iionths arrears, lwu awarded a contract for replacerncnt of

window and door blinds at No 19, Park Avenue, Enugu, his official

residence, to Uraliams Limited Of No 6, College Road, Enugu, at what

the pcnsioncrs called 'a scandalous cost of #698,425.OO by letter dated

June 26, 1993, ref. No 161.' 'l'hey also claim that on May 12, 1993,

Iwu paid i n advance #272,385.75 representing 40 percent of the

contract pricc less two and half percent to the contractor, 'while Coal

Corporation pensioners continue to starve'." Also el-Rufai, Nasir

Allniad obscrves that, "In our country today, Government virtually ,

controls the entire pelroleum, minerals, development banking,

telecornmuliications, electric power, and steel sectors. These alone

contribute at least 40% of the GDY. The control of these enterprises

means final say over employment opportunities, multi-billion Naira

contracts, valuable licenses and perm its, and petty pa trotlage power

like which bank to transact business with.

Public enterprises have served as platforms for patronage

and the promotion of political objectives, and consequently their

managers, even when willing and able to wbrk honestly, suffer from

opcrational interference by civil servants and political appointees. Most

of the leadership of our public enterprises is perceived as incompetent

and corrupt, and they feel accountable only to the officials that got

them their positions, instead of their customers and ordinaryrNigerian

citizens." This explains the poor performance of most public

enterprises and gives the reason for lack of effective control by

superiors who may havc gotten their posts because oS political, ethnic,

Federal Cliaracter and other reasons. El-Rufai sites the problems of the

public enterprises as identified by various Presidential Commissions

and Study Groups - Adebo (1 969), Udoji (1 973), Onosode (1 98 1) and

Al-Hakim (1 984) - as: Abuse of monopoly powers; Defective capital structures resulting in heavy dependence 011 the treasury for funding; Dureaucratic bottlenecks;

e. Mismanagement and gross inefficiency; Corruption; and Ethnicism and Nepotism.

A look at the problems identified by the various Presidential Commissions and

Study Groups shows that fourth and sixth agree,entirely with the findings

that by and large people who may not necessarily have an inkling of the goings on

in a particular government institution are appointed to positions of authority and so

make a mess of it. Therefore, the hypothesis is accepted i s . the authority in the

Fedcral Ministry of Education, Enugu - by and large - does not flow from, top to

bottom. Workers at the lower eclieloli who came in because of 'powerful

connections' find it diflicult td submit to control by superior officers while people

who arc occupying their posts because political patronage, ethnic or Federal

Character reasons owe allegiance to the people that put them there. The ministry in

either case suffers for that.

4.2 IMPLICATIONS OF RESULTS AND FINDINGS FOR

ADMINISTRArTIVE EFFICIENCY

The implications of results and findings for administrative efficiency is the

objective o f this sub-section. 111 othcr words o f what help are the results and

firitlings o f this research to thc adtninistrative efficiency o f the Federal Millistry o f

Education and indeed other government offices and parastatals in Nigeria?

We will start with a discussion and interpre~ation o f the findings and then

move on to the implication for administrative efficiency.

DISCUSSION : The discussion ol'tlle filiditlgs is based on sub-section 4.1 .

which is prescntatiori and analysis of data.

The age range o f majority or the respondents is between 41 and 50 years a s

rcprescntcd by 27.9% in 4.1A. This shows that most o f the respondents are within

the age in which the minist~y will be experiencing much devotion to duty and so on.

I t is an age range in which workers should be able to give their best because they

believe the ilistitution has better prospects in the future for them. It is an age range

in which people who have been working in such organization must have learnt a Ibt

on the job. S i ~ c h people would llavc then decided to settle down 011 sucli

employ~nent ill order to accumulate much retirement benefits. S o to whatever exterit

one would want to look at it, the ~ninislry will gain tremendously from the services

o f this group o f workers. So, a s they firm the majority o f the workers in the

ministry, i t should be an advantage to the ministry. But one niay venture to ask

whether i t is so in this case? Definitely it is not. This is the reason Tor the anomalies

being experie~lced in the ministry.

Many o f our respondents agree that there is cordial relationship in the

ministry yet tliey claim that tllc working e~ivironment is charged. Ordinarily one

would expect a charged atmosphere i,n a cordial environment. If not anything else, it

looks ii ~ilis~lolilcr. 'I'l~is can citl~cr l;c thal tlic rcsponclonls arc out to williilly

tnislcad tlic researclicr or thcy arc stating a fact even if i t niay sound paradoxical. A

closer look at otllcr responses will throw more light on this. Alniost all the

respotidelits agree that tlicrc are square pegs in round holes in the ministry. This

migl~t bc the answer to (lie jigsaw. It may be that the cordial atniosphere which

exists is aniong subordinates in the tiiinistry because tliey feel they are birds of the -.

2 .

, same featlicr who must flock together while the charged atniosphere is that between

them are their bosses whotn tliey feel are square pegs in,roulid holes. 'I'liis is

obvious from (lie oral interview tlie rcscarclicr had with some of the workers - this

includes the secotid in command in the office in Enugu. There is no thought about

(lie welfare of the staff. Salaries are in many cases paid late. Sometimes the salaries

arc pait1 without the allowalices while at other times the allowances are divided into

two or three parts and are paid in that proportion. Promotion are in most cases not

given to cleserving workers as and when due either because of lion existence of

vacancies or lack of funds for the payment of the new salaries. This is even when

(lie workers have satisfied the necessary conditions for the promotion. Many '

workers have becn known to stagnate in one particular g'rade level for donkey years

even when they arc oti tlie last salary point in that grade level aiid have satisfied a11

the conditions necessary for promotion to a higher grade level. This, to say the least,

can be Srustrating.

A~iothcr pertitictit qucstioii is how tlie minislry supervises tlic tcacliing going

oli i t 1 scliools to ctisurc tIii1t tlic policics ol'cducatiun is carricd out as dirccled by Ilic b

;~rrlliorilics. 'I'hc rcscarclicr Soutd out, Sruiil oral it~tcrvicw with sonic of tlic workctx.

Iliac drrc to lack of scrviccablc vcliiclcs, thcrc is a lot oI'dcficiclicy it1 tliat area. 'I'liis

I

liris ~iiiitlc our scliool Iicads to bc doing tliings as they like. A11 cxatnple will make

~ h c poinl clcarcr. It is llle policy o f governriicnt that 110 fces will bc paid by cliildre~i

i n scl~ools i l l Nigcria up to .IS 3 i.c. Iunior Secondary 3. U u l what do wc see'? I've11

tllc Unity Schools i.c. 1:cdcral Govcr~i~iicnt Colleges charge as niuch as lt2,100.00

(two thousand onc Iiu~idrcd Naira) scliool Sces and lt500.00 (five hundred Naira)

P'I'A (I'arctits/T~aclicrs Association fces per tcrni for day studctits atid a little higlier

for boiirdcrs. This does not includc otlicr payments like Ilor~se ducs that the scliool

may clccni iicccssary bcfore the student call be given the necessary clearance that

the scliool Sccs have becn paid. One need not riccessarily challenge the efficacy of

tlic fccs but the qucstion is how docs it affect the implementation or say the success

of the Universal I3asic Education Policy of the Federal Government? One would

have thought that, going by hind sight, sotrlc of the reasons for the failure of

IJnivcrsal I'rimary I;,dr~cation would liavc bccn avoided. Olic of the vcry promin~nt

failurc of thc policy makers to countenance poverty/literacy level in the coutilry.

'I'llcrc is thc nccd to raisc the litcracy levcl in the country. One was tliitrking that the

cliarigc from 8 - 5 - 4 (eight ycars primary, five years secondary and four years

anivcrsity) of cducglion in the cou~ltry lo G - 3 - 3 - 4 (six years primary, three

ycars junior secondary scllool, thrcc years se~iior secondary school arid four years

university) education would help raisc the literacy level. But when fees debar

pcoplc from seriding tlicir cliildrcn/wards to school, the literacy lcvel will contitrue

to go down instcad of goilig up. I1 is vcry diflic~rlt, almost an i~npossibility, to agree

with thc government that tlic resources in the country will not be enough lo give the

citizcns o f this country quality education at no cost to tlic i~~dividtral.

'I'lic implicatiolis of tlie findings for ad~ninistrativc efliciency is numerous.

l'llcrc is tlic nccd for 1;ccteral Mitiistry of Education or any other organization for

that tiiattcr to llavc a11 cfficicnt crop of officers who arc ktwwlcdgcable, dedicated,

happy and cot~vcrsiint with wliat tlic job requires of tllctn. 'l'hcy should be disposed

to givc tlicir bcst to tlic organization. Tlic Federal Ministry of Education, gnugu, as

i t is nlri does riot scetn to be disposcd for that kind of service. What with a

disgruntled staSf tl i ;~t docs not know wlicli tllcir 11cx1 salary will corne'? A crop of 7

stafS Illat docs not have any iclca when it can be promotcd even aner successfully

undergoing all tlic necessary liurdlcs for promoti011 and not being promoted only to

find a niuch junior officer that has thc nccessary collnections occupying tlie post

wliicll previously bccn declared not vacant.

'I'lic more problclnatic thing in the ministry is the implementation of the

policies of the govcr~ilnc~~t. ljor tiiany years the goycrntnent has been tinkering with

the ~ducational Sector in thc country. Tlie lJrimarylSecondary Scliool Calendar has

becli changed from January to Decc~ilbcr to Scptenihcr to July in one year and again

January to Dccctnber in anotlier year and again back to September to July in still

anollicr year. 'l'liis is with a view to making undergraduates to be utilized in the

Secondary School system during the long vacatio~i period of the Universities.. How

nialiy undcrgraduatcs arc being utilizcd at tlle nioriicr~t as planiied? Almost

ncgligiblc. Evcn tlic lnucli talked about Agricultural Scctor which was sup,poscd to

absorb holiday makcrs in the f'arms has riot yielded any dividend. Yct the niinistry

has said rlotliing about tliat. 1 rcnicmbcr our motivation lo read in our secondary

scllool days was our conteliiporaries wllo were brotlglit back to teach in our scllool

during thcir lotig vacatioli holidays in the Uliivcrsity. I

Again, thc 6 - 3 - 3 - 4 system of education in the country has an aitn.lIow

far has tlic aim becli acliicved? No one knows. Is the aim such that every Junior

Secondary graduatc must procecd to the Senior Sccondary School and then to tlic

IJnivcrsity? I do riot l l~it ik 111i1t 11iiit is tlic objcctive. If Illat wcrc so, why do we have

to l owr tlic age of cnlry into tllc scliool l'rotii ciglit ycars to six ycars and tlictl

incrcasc lhc pcriod of stay it1 the sccondary school from fivc years to six? It is

obvious Srom tlic forcgoilig that it is not the aim. l'lie aim of the 6 - 3 - 3 - 4

system of cducatio~i is lo sift a11 lhc non university candidatcs in the sccondary

schools itito tbc polytccllnics after the first tlirec years wlliic the others will prodeed '

to thc Scnior Secondary Schools and thcn to the University. 'l'lie polyteclinic

studcnts candidatcs arc cxpectcd to form the supporti~ig staff for he u~iiversity

graduatcs. I3ul this tias not beeti so. 'l'his tilay aclually be the reason for examination

riialpr~cticcs which sccriis to hc irisuniiountahle in tlic country. No parcnt will want

Iiisll~cr ohiltl, nb ti1;ittcr tlic clcgrcc ol'h;ickw;ird~icss, to play sccorid ficldlc in any

clriployliiclit. 'I'liosc who l'asliioli our policies tcrid to ncglecl tliai. Nigeria is tclidirig

to abolish tniddlc lcvcl nlilllpowcr il l rllc country. All rllc courscs in rllc u~~ivcvsiry

arc offcrcd in tlic polytccliriic. 'I.'lie Iliglier Natiorial Diplotila of the polytech~iic is I

equivalclit to a university degree, why? That is the problem of Nigeria!

SUMMARY, IIBCOMMENDKTIONS AND CONCLUSION

I'hc sumlnary, rcco~li~i~c~ltli~tio~ls illid conclusio~i are prcsc~ited i n this chapter i n

lllc followi~ig order : -

l<cco~n~iic~idatio~is

Co~iclnsion

Suggestions fo; furtllcr rcscarcli

SUMMAICY O F FINDINGS

I;ro~ii the rcscarcli the i i ~ ~ d i ~ ~ g s arrived at are that

many a tinic promotion of officcrs to tlie next higher level does not take

into consideration thc officers' cxpericlw ant1 exposure on the job.

there is delay of paymcnt of salaries arid allowa~ices of staff.

workers wcrc subjcctpd to some compulsory contribiltions for the.

nionetizatio~i policy ofthe Federal Government unlike the situatio~i i n

ohcr ~iiinistrics.

cvcn when the order was given for the refund of the contribution, no

refund was ~iladc to the workers as at tlie tiwe of the research.

[here wcrc delays in thc payment of salaries and allowances in spite of

llic corlipulsory contribution i~iiposed on tlie workers.

tlic.workcrs agrcc that thcrc are square pegs in round holes in the

~ninisl~y.

7.) tlic workcrs arc divided illlo two groups - the tiiorc favoured otics atid

tlic u~idcrdogs. 1

8.1 there is lack ofdisciplinc in the minislry.

9.1 (liere is a war of liervcs in thc ministry

10.) workcrs arc disillr~sioned.

5.2 I<ECOMMENDATlONS Ilasctl on tlic rcscarcli filldings the Sollowi~ig reco~nti~e~idalio~is are

I .) To c~ilia~icc administrative efficiency, the 17ederal Ministry of Education,

I h g u slior~ld endeavour to put square pegs in square holes. Fortunately it

has a vcry good lnacliiwy for doing that. 'There is the provision for .

asscsstncnt of officers on the job through the Annual I'erformance

13valuation Rcport. 'I'his, for workability purposcs, can be combined with

sonic oral illid or writtell excrciscs to niake for objectivity.

2.) 1;:ITorts sllould bc ~nadc to Irai~i and rctrairi olTiccrs or1 the job so that there

will bc lcss problc~ii in assessing ofliccrs for promotio~i.

3.) l'hc autliorifics slio~ld ensure that salaries and allowa~ices are paid as and

wlicri duc. 'fliis will guarantee high nioralc for the workers.

4.) 'I'here is the need to maintain a high level of discipline in the ~ninistry.

such a thing can only be possible when promot'ion to a higher position is

givcn on tncrit alone and mt on any other criteria like geographical spread

of posts, ethnic balancing, federal character, etc.

'I'lic rcsearclicr, froiii the foregoing, suggests lliat the Federal Ministry of

Etlucnlion should bc nblc to match policy forrnulatiorl with its irnpleme~llation.

'I'his will cnsure a virilc cducalional scctor ill llie country.

5.4 SUGGBSI'IONS FOR IWRTI-IER RBSEARCI-I

'I'lic rcscarclicr suggcsts that lurlficr rcscarch bc carried out in this area as

follows : -

1.) 'I'hc frcqucncy of i~ispcctio~l of schools by h e Federal Ministry of

IJducation withirl a given academic session. I

2.) 'flic objcctivcs of the inspection.

3.) Tlic qualification or llie inspectors.

Okoli, F. C. (2000) Developing Appropriate Manpower Plans in the Local Government System in 'Strategic Manpower Planning and Development', Onah, Fab. 0. (editor)

Onah, Fab. 0. the Paradox of Grievance Management in a Bureaucratic Setting Nigerian Journal of Public Administration and Local Government Vol. 1 1 no 1,

2002, Prof. Okoli, F. C. ed.

Onah, Rosaline, (2000) Assessing the Manpower Planning in Nigeria in 'Strategic Manpower Planning and Development', Onah, Fab. 0. (editor).

Ukaegbu, C. C. The Human Factor in National Development; Some Reflections on Population and Development in Nigeria, The Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies, vol. 30 no 1 ; 1988.

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS Acharya, S. (1 983) On the productivity criterion of unemployment in poor agrarian economies: Development and Change.

Bennel, P. (1 986) Engineering Skills and Development: The Manufacturing Sector in Kenya: Development and Change.

Braun, A. (1986) Role of the Public Sector in the Promotion of Science and Technology: Economic Performance of Public Enterprises: Major Issues and Strategies, New York: United Nations.

Central Bank of Nigeria: Annual Report from 1973 - 1983

Commoner, B. (1982) Poverty breeds overpopulation: Dialectics of Third World Development I. Vogeler and A. de Souza, eds. Totowa, N. J: Allenheld, Osmun.

Hammer, J. S. (1 986) Population Growth and Savings in Less Developed Countries: A survey article World Development, 14 (5); 579 - 591.

Hanf et al, (1 975) Education an obstacle to development? Some remarks about the political functions of education in Asia and Africa, Comparative Education Review, 9 (1): 68 - 87.

Kaplinsky, R. (1981) Foreign capital employment and accumulation in Kenya, Development and Change, 12: 441 - 458.

Lewin, K. (1 985) Quality in question: A new agenda in curriculum reform in developing countries Comparative Education, 12 (2): 176 - 178.

BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS

Bendix, R. (1 974) Work and Authority in industry , Berkeley: University of California Press.

Chruden, Herbert J. & Sherman, Arthur W. Jr. (1 959) Personnel Management, South-Western Publishing Company, New York.

Clough, D. J., Lewis, C. G., Oliver, A. L. (editors) Manpower Planning Models, The English University Press Ltd; London.

Dale, Yoder, Ph. D, Heneman, H. G. Jr. Ph. D; Turnbull John G. Ph. D; Stone, C. Harold Ph. D (1 958) Handbook of Personnel Management and Labour Relations.

Famularo, J. J. (1 96 1) Supervisors In Action, Mcgraw-Hill Book Company, Incorporated, New York.

Harbison, F. H. and Myers, C. A. (1 964) Education Manpower andEconomic Growth New York, Mcgraw Hall.

Moore, C. M. (1 980) Images of Development, Cambridge Mass: M. I. T. Press.

Okoli, F. C. Prof. (2003) Politics ofDevelopment and Underdevelopment; Theories of Development. - Okoli, F. C. Prof.(2003) Administrative Theories and National Development; A Discourse on Relevance and Comments on Nigerian Society.

Onah, Fab. 0 Human Resource Management, Fulladu Publishing Company, Enugu.

The Bible

JOURNALS Elekwa, Nnanta N. Employment Planning for Future Human Resource Requirement: An Analytical Approach, Nigerian Journal of Public Administration and Local Government, vol. 1 1 no 1, January, 2002.

Nwankwo, B. C. (2000) Basic Concepts and Principles of Manpower Planning in Strategic Manpower Planning and Development, Onah, Fab. 0. (editor).

Odike, Ordor (2003) Manpower Development and Utilization in Nigerian Bureaucracy in 'Strands in Nigerian Development and Administration' Ofuebe, Chikelue, Ph D (editor)

Malthus, T. in Lord Ritchie-Calder, (1 982) UNICEF's Response to Population Growth; Family Planning: Dialectics of Third World Development I. Vogeler and A. de Souza, eds. Totowa, N. J: Allenheld, Osmun.

.MAGAZINES Newswatch Magazine, vol. 24 no 3 July 15, 1996

Newswatch Magazine vol. 2 no 7 February 12, 1990

Newswatch Magazine vol. 2 no 9 February 26,1990

Newswatch Magazine vol. 2 no 16 April 16,1990.

Newswatch Magazine, vol. 3 1 no 27 December 27, 1999.

UNPUBLISHED WORKS

Debeauvais, M. (1973) Unemployment among graduates; One aspect of the problems of developing human resources: Human Resources and Development Planning in Africa, Paris OECD.

Moseley, K. P. (1 985) Nigerian industrialization, Dependency Crisis and Change, paper presented at the national conference on Mass Mobilization and Self Reliance, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Port Harcourt.

Pradervand, P. (1970) Family Planning Programmes in Africa, Paris OECD.

Salome, B. (1984) Education and Development: The Case of Haiti, Paris OECD.

Schweitzer, G. E. and Bergh, H. T. (1 979) Contributions to Economic Development of Science and Technology Institutions in Nigeria and Opportunities for Bilateral Co-operation, Ithaca: Cornell University Programme on Science, Technelogy qnfl Society, Kyerens et a1 1987.