BUREAUCRACY AND EFFICIENCY IN NIGERIAN PUBLIC ENTERPRISE: (A CASE STUDY OF NEPA ONITSHA BRANCH.)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY

1.1     PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Right from the unset of this world, man has co-operatively

Organized as a group to work towards a directed goal in a directive manner indeed the prevalence of complex bureaucracies is believed to be the structural frame work in our recent organizations.

Against this bed the emergencies of these bureaucracy

 Organization is so unprecedented and epitomizing of the contemporary era that it is often believed that we are living in the organizational society where people are manned by organization (PROCTITIS 1962)

          No less important to mention is the fact these complex organizations are established not only to find solution to given human problems but to do efficiently it is not surprising therefore that in the new turn era, the central concern of several classical social analysis was the issue of how man is going to organize human society in general and more specifically his productive. Activities in the most efficient way to achieve maximum benefits.  Adam Smith (1723-1790) advocated that Economic on industrial matters should be left in the hands of economics or industrial elites and agents i.e. (those wast in economic affairs)  He was concerned with the problem of organizational productivity.  Above all, for max weber (1864-1920) the essence of bureaucratic organization is efficiency.  In other words, the peculiar characteristics of bureaucracy enables men to effectively and efficiency deal with and transform  the socio-physical environment.  It is at this basic that bureaucratic organizations are guided and pirated in man’s bid to perfect and actualize himself through socio-economic development that any impediment to their efficient operations should be vicised seriously.  Indeed, the fact that Nigerians fought a civil war six years after independence, followed immediately by another six years of unprecedented oil boom in which extreme materialism took over control of Nigeria's min’ and total soul, led to the enthronement of    indiscipline, corruption and a lot contempt for order honours and excellence within the whole society including the bureaucrat public.

1.2     STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS

Bureaucratic efficiency have now posed serious concern for

 all.  It distorts the smooth operation of system of NEPA Business unit Onitsha and adversely affects the efficient delivery of public goods and services.

          The main problem of this research therefore revolves the following question?

What is Bureaucracy?

Is the country’s socio-political climate conducive for revise, sound and efficiency public bureaucracy?

Has the government of Nigeria made any serious efforts towards fracing and eradication of Bureaucratic inefficiency in her public administration?

To what extent does the reform exercise yielded positive result?

Could it be possible for Nigerian’s public administration or public enterprise to service without bureaucratic inefficiency?

1.3     PURPOSE OF STUDY

This research is aimed at finding out the extent to which bureaucratic efficiency have undermined the smooth effective wand efficient – operation of Nigeria Public Administration, to identifying, examine and analyzing these valuables visa-via their remote causes in the country’s public services administration.  It is equally the purpose of this research work to make a well articulated recommendation that will go a lory way in helping to ensure sanity in our public service with a view to achieving efficiency and increase productivity at this research is timely at this time to readiness the Eric bureaucratic in efficiency have inflicted in out public enterprise basis and the quest to establish a solid, dependable, sound and efficient public administration/bureaucracy that several alternative system of public administration were imported ranging from British model to American models, but it has been discovered that both cannot even relatively and effectively solve the Nigeria problems of bureaucratic inefficiency, collapse in her public corporations etc.

Besides, various regimes of government in Nigeria have at one time or the  other evoked and evolved radical measures to carping and transforming NEPA administrative bureaucracy.  First was in early sixty’s military bureaucracy however plunged the country into about 30 months of civil war and aggravated much more problems rather than proffering any solution.  The after effect of the civil war, after six years of independence was preceded by civil boom, which brought a lot of misname to the public corporation (NEPA) and the public policy. The Udoji public service review commission which awarded salary to public servants was counter productive.  No wonder the result of this exercise militated the 1995 General Murtala Mohamed’s great purge in the public service of Nigeria.  This president General Babangida described at the memorial lecture held in honour of the late Murtala as a man with the vision of an ordered society.  But these noble reforms led to the ethnic bias and squandameneir 0of Obasanjo and Shangri regime.

Albair, Buhari cumldiagbon Regina attempted drastic reforms exercise, but their result were aborted and stiffed civil servants hence this assertion by Buhari that this generation of Nigeria and in need future generations have no other place but Nigeria and there for must put  all hand on desk to salvage it president Babangida is government with a credit of eight years in power battled with various reforms evident among this ranged from the enlargement of public bureaucracies by the creation of eleven additional state from already exist nineteen totaling thirty states an about six hundred and eight nine local government. In addition, the regime implement reforms granite antonym to the local govern to the local government and decentralized the public bureaucracies.

However, this laudable and palatable achievement was clashed by the introduction of the structural adjustment programme (SAP) which drafted the economy of the country to it kneed and to the noel. The effect of this programme brought about piles of socio-cultural and political problem to the society including the public bureaucracy. The after math o f this programme accounted for more bureaucratic problems then the country bureaucratic problems than the country had ever recorded. Consequent upon this, they were high rate of corruption, both in public and civil private lines, indiscipline, trained inefficiency who do you know inefficiency who do you know syndrome (IM) mismanagement just to mention but a few.

The present Abubakar regime had not introduced any new measure rather it has been drying to put things in its proper position which the last regime count do (Abacha regimes) rather the last regime  had been consolidating on the fairs as loans of the previous programmes. Professor Ademolelcun sumed it up when he remarked that from the tine party government were established in 1954 to their disappearance in January 1966, corrupt practices assumed  proportions that were formately unknown supportive this assertion he quoted that,  the absence of political parties under military rule did not bring about a permanent reduction in the level of corruption the disappearance of  corruption practices directly connected to political patronage and party finance were  replaced by dramatic increase in the incidence of individual corruption. This quotation is from professor ladipo Ademoleicun politics and Administration (ibadan spectrum book Ltd 1986) p.p. 162.

1.6     DEFINITION OF TERMS

For clarity sake most of the key concepts used in this research, need the definition.

BUREAUCRACY: consists of a form functions of the government the bureaucratic organization are concerned with administrative functions the execution of policies, and recording of goods and services. Those who work in this organization are referred to as civil servants, expect in military bureaucratic organization where they are referred as to “ Soldiers, or military personnel.  ( source from element of government by Dr. Mrs. Chinelo G.O Nzellbe

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: The intern encyclopedia defined public administration as “ continuously active business part of government concerned with carrying out laws as made by legislative bodies ( or other authoritative agents and interpreted by counts through the process of organization and management ” Wooddow Wilson defined if as means of detailing and executing public laws systematically. 

ADMINISTRATION: For Bahogun (1983 –84) the term “ administration” covers almost every spare of acting as can be taken to mean anything ranging from the direction of affairs of an enterprise to the simple act of paying monthly pension or salaries.

INEFFICIENCY: It could be obstacles, anything that impedes or obstructs the proper functioning of bureaucracy. It also a narrow stretch of road which causes traffic to slow down or stop anything that slow down production in a manufacturing process (definition from oxford learning dictionary).

RED TAPISM: Excessive use of formalities in public business; to much attention to rules and regulations.

CORRUPTION: Demotes immoral, depriated dishonest ( of persons or their action) especially through taking of pre payments ( bribes). It means impure or something debased by errors or alterations.

EFFICIENT: Capable, able to perform duties well, producing a desired or productive or satisfactory result.

EFFECTIVE: Having an effect: able to bring about the result intended, making a stinking impression.

PREVIEW OF THE STUDY: This research work is specially written as one of the repletion of my first diploma programme in the management studies unit of institute of management and technology Enugu (IMT) But it could also serve as a useful research material for other students of public administration in Nigeria or any part of the world.

This research work is divided into five chapters. However chapter one deals with the problem and its setting including an introduction. Then an over view of the historical background. Chapter two of this project deals with the review of related literature. In the chapter three, the research deals with presentation analysis and interpretation of data. Chapter four is embodied with the summary of the findings which investigated into Raynaud causes of effects and identifications of variables that ministry against smooth and efficient operation of public administration in Nigeria. Chapter five also contains the recommendation made by the research and conclusion drawn. The promient postulation of the researcher on the study is that bureaucratic decay is a hallmark of a developing economy Buoyant economy is a pre – condition for a venile and an enduring bureaucracy and vice versa.