When Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki initiated a standing policy of automatic employment of First Class Graduates of Edo State origin into the Edo State Civil Service, the policy was gladly applauded by every positive mind.
Enunciated in the first quarter of 2023 and announced by the Edo State Head of Service, Barr. Anthony Okungbowa, the policy so far, has served as an enviable instrument to encourage intellectual competitions among Edo youths.
The initiative has also motivated every Edo scholar within the bracket to strive to achieve the feat of First Class and contribute to the well being of their common root. With this, there is the need to commend Governor Godwin Obaseki and call for the sustenance of the very humane policy.
In the short span of this noble initiative, over 50 or more First Class Graduates have been seamlessly recruited into the Edo State Civil Service, courtesy the standing policy. While the newly enlisted First Class Graduates are obviously exuding the confidence bestowed on them by the achievement and consequent recruitment, they have individually testify of the newly civil service culture and orientation under the leadership of the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
They have equally expressed great belief and the workability of the design, as well as the objective and thought vision this strategy is bound to insert to the digitally evolving, well structured and vivacious Edo State Civil Service.
In addition to the primary focus of enriching the MEGA Agenda of the Edo State Government, the First Class Graduate policy has been tailored to embrace and attract the best intellectuals, enhance and engender the vision of making Edo the best place to live and work by 2050.
The manifest testament over the short period, has given further verve and additional credit that this initiative can raise the bar not only for the newly enlisted, but also for the dogged and experienced public servants in the Edo State.
So far, the automatic employment of First Class graduates has enlisted more than 50 Edo indigenes into the Edo State Civil Service since inception in the past few months. Many of these Generation X graduates would have been roaming the streets by now, looking for nonexistent jobs with some shylock employers demanding unattainable experience from young graduates.
For the records, Governor Obaseki has called on Vice Chancellors across the country to “forward the names and particulars of First Class students, who are Edo indigenes, to the Edo State Government for the purpose of employment.”
With the 178 new first class honours in the University of Benin as recently announced by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Lilian Salami at the 48th Convocation, it is believed a sizeable number of the Generation X would be Edo indigenes. These and many others are expected to enlarge the import of First Class Graduates into the Edo State Civil Service.
As the first class graduates are considered to be great academics and ICT savvy individuals who have been privileged to seamlessly enlist into the Civil Service, they are equally expected to reinforce the evolving strategy of a digital Edo civil and public service in the immediate future.
In its essence, the policy among other things is enviable, well directed and very strategic towards innovative, productive, pragmatic and smart civil and public service in the State.
However, just as we are quick to foresee its boundless advantage, it is also swift enough to emphasise that the challenges to sustain such policy to its logical fruition is equally enormous.
To begin, it is important to state that with the inherent huge experienced, sound and diversified civil and public servants that have been adequately digitised, in addition to the automatic employment of First Class graduates, the Edo State will be underpinning another legacy of forward looking and visionary principle.
This will give the entire Edo civil servants an enduring future and hope; as well as leading the pack of regenerating the system with new intellectuals, very focus and upwardly mobile individuals.
Conversely therefore, it will be difficult to hold down or retain a seasoned civil servant as well as the First Class Graduates for that matter, when they see the seniors retiring from service and unable to put a roof over their heads or train their children in a standard university because of take-home. In most cases these burden are taken to retirement by many civil servants through no fault of theirs.
This is particularly so, when a salary for 35 years, irrespective of the Level, including gratuity put together for example, is not providentially enough to build a befitting home for the family. This will be detrimental to the overall objective and will certainly impact this novel initiative, irrespective of the goal.
The resulting inevitability and impact of inflationary trends in the country, as well as the out-of-control and free-fall of the Nigeria currency, although no fault of the subsidiary entities like Edo, will at best; creates intermittent palpitations in the hearts of every civil servant concerning his destined retirement.
Looking from this perspective, the implementation of enriching the public service with high capacity and intellectual individuals would continue to serve as stop gap, if the future is not made an intrinsic part, thereby leaving the government in unwarranted circle.
In this regard, the initiative can never be attractive to the Mass or be disposed to congenial interaction and mutually beneficial relationship without the future playing a major part of the bargain.
To strengthen this legacy therefore, the incentives and retiring benefits have to be competitive and attractive to minimise high mobility of workforce and discourage prevailing Jappa syndrome.
On the other hand, the desired end of every civil servant, which is comfy retirement, must be comfortable enough to encourage the seniors in the service to be willing to model and bequeath the system their invaluable experience, skills and other inter-personal effectiveness that the Civil service desperately need to succeed and be progressive.
Edo State is currently the highest paid civil service in the Country with N40,000.00 minimum wage. Its working environment has been transformed to a modern and attractive digital system and ICT-driven work culture.
The service is replete with modern equipment driven by egovernance and 24 hour power supply from Ossiomo to power the system. These and many other indications reflect the fact that Governor Godwn Obaseki is a listening governor and has the interest of the Edo people at heart hence his MEGA Agenda!
Regardless of the above however, it is important to identify and commend the good nature of the Governor Godwin Obaseki led administration in this drive. Edo State government has committed so much resource in the civil service in particular and governance in general. Such resource must not be allowed to waste now or in the future.
