By Josephine Oguntoyinbo

|

A renowned Human Resource expert, Ozo Anthony Ani has charged public servants to give their best at their workplace to avoid being classified into the redundant group.

Ani, who is a retired Director of the National Youth Service Corps,(NYSC) made the charge during the two-day Career Development Training for middle level officers in the scheme held in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

He opined that if all public servants strive continuously to justify their employment status and earned salary through diligence and hard work, the country would have the best performed public service not only in Africa but the world at large.

“With all sincerity of purpose, I want to tell you that Nigeria is the most blessed country under the sun because of her natural endowments and human capital resources but things are not working well because we are not following the empirical rules, regulations and order.”

He admonished the public servants to see their engagement into the Public Service as a privilege and  contribute meaningfully and positively to government operations and not as parasites who are liability and cog in the wheel of progress of national development.

Ani asserted that many public servants are interested in what they stand to gain in their respective offices rather than what they are expected to achieve in line with their job schedules.

He observed  the lack of interest or absence of zeal by public servants in committing themselves to reading.

“It is most unfortunate that many public servants seek wealth and other material things at the expense of knowledge, I am not disparaging people who are classy but what you have upstairs is far better than what you put on, as physical appearance may be deceptive.

“I have a deep respect for one of our past labour leaders in this country because he would always arm himself with requisite knowledge and detailed data and statistics whenever he is going for negotiation but it is rather unfortunate that many public servants could not marshall points to convince higher authority where a particular project or intervention must be carried out.”

“I am not saying every public servants do not know their onions but what I am reiterating is that we should not stop learning as this will place us in better position and earn us respect if the chips are down” he said.

He said that living among several ethnics in the country has made the objectives of NYSC as profound legacy of the retired General Yakubu Gowon  and the best for this country.

To him, public servants should not confine themselves to particular locations but should spread out beyond their enclaves so as to know the differences and similarities between people of different regions.

“I have vast knowledge about this country because I have served in the South South, South West, North West, North Central and Federal Capital Territory. I can competently say that my movement has enriched my knowledge about people and places within all these regions, and with this privilege, I can boldly say I am a true and detribalised Nigerian”.

The two days training which covers areas which included An Overview of the Public Service; Entry into the Public Service; Registry; The NYSC Act: A vital Tool for NYSC Operations and Transparency and Accountability in the Public Service opened the eyes of the participants to better and effective ways of handling government business.

The participants which are drawn from the NYSC formations in the Southwest geopolitical zone including the Southwest Area Office appreciated the management of the Scheme for engaging a  versatile administrator to sharpen the skills of middle level officers for the optimal performance that will invariably change the perception and enhance the image of the NYSC to the outside world.