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"We Must Continue To Reinvent Ourselves To Stay At The Top", Fashola Tells Public Servants
• As State's 2010 Public Service Week ends

Jun 23, 2010 - As the curtain was finally drawn Wednesday over the 2010 Public Service Week in Lagos State, the State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), said the only way the State Public Service could retain its position as model for the country is to continue to re-invent itself and seek new ways of excellence.

Governor Fashola, who spoke at the Adeyemo Bero Auditorium, Alausa venue of the Grande Finale of the week-long event, said the State Public Service which, according to him, has become a model for the country by dint of hard-work and commitment, must continue to renew itself in order not to become a relic.

"I believe that the Lagos State Public Service is the most vibrant Public Service in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That is how it should be. You have worked hard and, therefore, you have become the model. But like all models, we need to continue to renew ourselves; we have to continue to re-invent ourselves", the Governor said pointing out that just like models of fashion and cars, a model can quickly fade and become an antic if not renewed continually.

According to the Governor, "in order that we do not become antics, we must continue, therefore, to redefine, to improve and to seek new levels of excellence so that we remain the team to beat".

Tracing the origin of the State Public Service to 1967 when the Service worked with little or no technology and served a significantly less number of people, Governor Fashola declared, "We cannot achieve the primary responsibility of service delivery to the people working like that because we are dealing with much more number of people today and therefore must apply new methods of motivation to enable us respond to more people".

The Governor expressed joy that the State Government has already embarked on some relevant projects which are aimed at fulfilling this need pointing out that such projects as computerization in the Service is aimed at making the service delivery more efficient in order to accommodate the growing population of those who need the services.

"It will require a lot of hard work. We are already interrogating our own processes ourselves. We are doing a lot of self-examination. What are those things we used to do manually 15 years ago for which we have now acquired computers, have we changed those methods? Where are those things that used to go through three or four desks that the computer can now deal with, are we still processing through this method?" the Governor said.

He continued, "We have told ourselves that if the banks in Nigeria could move from asking you to come and take a tally number in the morning and come for your cash in the evening to a solution where now you can simply go and put your cards in an ATM machine and collect your cash, then nothing is impossible for us to do in the Public Service if we set our minds to it".

Defining the Private Sector to include all those who do not belong to the Public Service, Governor Fashola said the Public Sector exists for the Private Sector which, according to him, include "the uneducated, the educated, the destitute, every market man and woman, every corporation, big and small, the rich and poor, every member of a family in Lagos, the 18 million people out there".

"Let us understand, we are not in competition with the Private Sector, we exist only so that the Private sector may thrive; so that the unemployed amongst us may get work, so that the prosperous corporations may become even more prosperous and employ more people because the Public Service cannot employ all the people. This is our relationship; we are not in competition with the Private sector", the Governor said.

He noted that while there is a population of 18 million Lagosians to be serviced, there are only 118, 000 Public Servants including the Local Governments which, according to him, are less than one percent.

"We exist for them like a huge corporation and that huge corporation is the Lagos State Public Service; that huge corporation is expected to deliver on all of their dreams and aspirations. If they are looking for jobs, our economic policies must create a robust environment for jobs to thrive. If they want to do business, we must create an efficient system that will enable them to access land, vehicle permits, to pay their taxes, to do all of the things that they expect us to deliver. It is a huge burden; the burden to bear the responsibility of 18 million people by one percent of the population.

"But that is why we are here. That is why the Public Service is a noble service; that is the reason why it is a privilege to be among that unique less than one percent, the less than one percent that the 99 percent would say 'go and do it for us'. And thankfully that 99 percent has not said 'leave'; it has not said 'go'. They have merely asked us that there is still more to do and I think that their continually asking us to do more is a vote of confidence in our ability that they believe strongly that this set can deliver on that dream", the Governor said.

He said this has created what he called "love-hate relationship" between the Public Service and the Private Sector adding, "All over the world Public Servants are loved and despised in equal measures".

According to the Governor, although the Public Service is tagged by many as inefficient, there are places where the Public Service is worthy of emulation because they have transformed their country even though their people still think they are not doing enough; but there are those that are not worthy of emulation.

Giving examples with what is going on in the State where some people hail Government for roads and other projects built in their areas while others complain about dust generated in the course of construction where some are still calling on Government to come and do one project or the other in their areas, the Governor said, "That is the love-hate relationship and it must continue whether we like it or not. But we must never feel exasperated, we must never feel frustrated, this is Public Service, it is a noble service and it is a privilege", adding that the Privilege the Public has Service requires it to take decisions based on the time-tested principle of the greatest good for the greatest number.

Commenting on his invitation by the Federal Government to deliver a lecture at the commemoration of the 2010 Public Service Day in Abuja, Governor Fashola, who described it as an enormous privilege, told the capacity crowd of Public Servants, "I like to say that it was a recognition of the commitment that all of you have shown, a recognition of hard work, a recognition of the diligence with which you have worked in the last three years. I am happy that through your hard work I have had such an enormous privilege and I thank you for it".

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Head of Service of the State, Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe, said the event of the day was in fulfillment of the mandate given to all African countries by the Conference of African Civil Service Ministers to commemorate every 23rd of June as African Day of Public Service.

Congratulating Governor Fashola for "deserving the honour, out of the 36 state governors in the Federation, of being invited to Abuja to deliver a paper", the Head of Service thanked Governor Fashola "for believing in the capabilities of the Public Servants in the State".

Highlight of the celebration was the presentation of awards in the senior and junior categories to Best Public Servants of the Year and raffle draws in which the first winner went away with a KIA Picanto car while the second and third winners are to travel on religious pilgrimage to Mecca or Jerusalem as the case may be.

Also present at the occasion were the Deputy Governor, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, members of the State Executive Council, Body of Permanent Secretaries and other top government functionaries.