Merit or Benefit Capture? Politics of Recruitment in the Nigerian Public Service

Recruitment into the public service is expected to be based on merit as postulated by the public service rules and regulations. But sadly, this is observed more in the breach as more extraneous means are used to recruit people into the service. Most people come into the service through nepotism, tribalism, clientelism, favouritism, ethnicity, party affiliations, religious connections and sexual overtures. This study observed that these vices are what watered down the standard of service delivery in the public service as the people who come into service on the back of these vices lack the requisite skills, knowledge, qualification and experience that match their capabilities in rendering effective and efficient service to the people. In getting appointment or being recruited into the public service, Nigerians always like to pass through their political or administrative representatives in government whom we called in this work benefit captors. These politicians and politically exposed persons literally have “longer hands” than the rest of the people such that when government benefits fall they are the first to capture them and then distribute or dispense such benefits to members of their constituencies, family members, relations, cronies, loyalists, ethnics, religious and co-travellers, party affiliates and even their concubines. This paper argued that this trend of things culminates in running down merits in the public service but rather enhances the enthronement of mediocrity. As a way out, this paper suggested that the public service should be restructured so that recruitment and appointment be strictly based on merit and also that in employment in the public service, citizens should be strictly linked to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that provide the job vacancies and not through benefit captors. Finally, it was recommended that the practice of replacing dead, retired and resigned employees by few privileged people should be discontinued. All vacancies should be advertised to open room for competition.