Salisu O J O N E M I PAUL | University of Nigeria, Nsukka (original) (raw)

Papers by Salisu O J O N E M I PAUL

Since the emergence of civil aviation in Kano-city Nigeria, legislative debates and policy effort... more Since the emergence of civil aviation in Kano-city Nigeria, legislative debates and policy efforts have surfaced in order to develop the sector. However, significant attention has not been paid to pragmatic policy framework, exception of the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2013 which is the subject of discourse. It highlighted the benefits of civil aviation in Nigeria to include employment and wealth creation, international relations and diplomacy facilitation, socio-political and economic development, etc. The paper discovered through literature that aviation is related to socioeconomic and national development. The study recommended declaration of state of emergency in the implementation of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2013 without its suspension, serious-minded reengineering of the six aviation parastatals, avoidance of political and administrative interference in the activities of aviation regulatory bodies, and provision of enabling environment to protect local airlines from unfavourable Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA).

Leadership, democratization and good governance as concepts have assumed prominence in the world'... more Leadership, democratization and good governance as concepts have assumed prominence in the world's history of both underdevelopment and development discourse. In Nigeria, people have continued to experience a severe economic poverty and wretchedness over the years due to leadership that is absence of a moral principle. This frightening situation appears nonstop consequent upon the democratic and military rulers who have been advocating for good governance, economic prosperity and establishment of critical infrastructures since independence in 1960 who are not effective " change agents ". Therefore, the main thrust of this paper is to explore the paradox of political leadership and the challenge of good governance in Nigeria in the midst of abundant human and material resources. The paper is divided into six segments: introduction; theoretical framework; methodology, conceptual debate; the lamentation and ended with recommendations. It adopted transformational leadership theory which canvasses the transformation of people and organizations in a literal sense. The paper recommended the strengthening and creation of more anti-corruption institutions, avoidance of the emergence of accidental leadership and considering of good governance as a right to be demanded and enjoyed by the citizens.

Employment generation has been over the years considered as one of the major paths to socioeconom... more Employment generation has been over the years considered as one of the major paths to socioeconomic progress. Honestly, this has been in recent time part of the cardinal micro and macroeconomic objectives of most successive governments in Nigeria spanning through the pre and post independence. Conventional models of poverty eradication in Nigeria from the 1950s–80s and most of the 1990s were prominently models of National Development Plans, Rolling Plans and economic growth. However, poverty borders fundamentally on human deprivation and no meaningful development can take place where the people are poor. The paper discussed the disadvantage of KEKE NAPEP (Hire purchase) Programme as an alternative to poverty eradication, and advocates agricultural development as panacea to poverty alleviation and economic consolidation of Nigerian citizens. Through secondary data and descriptive research analysis, the study revealed that the initiation of KEKE NAPEP has made no difference in making the lives of the youths better as the policy was not only unsustainable and corruption-ridden but lacked the potential of lifting most of the youths from poverty. Conversely, resuscitating the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) is seen as a sincere answer to poverty alleviation and economic diversification challenges in Nigeria. The paper majorly recommended the provision of enabling environment for the participants of all and sundry in agricultural business in Nigeria.

In the new States of Africa, contemporary public administration entails the imposition or super-i... more In the new States of Africa, contemporary public administration entails the imposition or super-imposition of the elements of western bureaucratic model on the existing traditional ties. Therefore, this paper is situated on the basis of the problem in the unsettled matters constituting the international question involving bureaucratization and traditional administration in Africa. With dependence on qualitative data supported by textual examination, the implications of the composite synthesis between public administration and traditional administrative system amongst African states were highlighted. The recommendations submitted which ranges from decentralization and restructuring of public administrative system, to enhancement of harmonization and efficiency of public administration in Africa with the traditional administrative structural ecology are capable of addressing the challenge of disagreement which has hampered qualitative public service delivery in Africa.

Protagonists of neoliberalism do contend that privatisation is the antidote to ailing state-owned... more Protagonists of neoliberalism do contend that privatisation is the antidote to ailing state-owned enterprise. However, the privatisation of Nigeria's electricity sector is not without its' challenges. This study therefore critically assesses the challenges facing the power sector reform programme in Nigeria. Data for the study were mainly elicited from relevant secondary sources. The paper adopted 'Elite Theory' and discovered elite conspiracy as sabotage in power problem. The study reveals that the privatisation of the electricity industry in Nigeria is tainted with the challenges of lopsided bidding process which has produced private power firms that are linked to the nation's ruling elite but which lack the capital and cognate experience to effectively run the power sector; exorbitant electricity tariffs in the face of epileptic power supply; and a regulatory agency that is hesitant to apply appropriate sanctions to defaulters in the electricity industry. The study therefore concludes that these challenges largely explain why the power sector reform programme in Nigeria has not translated to significant improvement in the nation's electricity supply. It is proffered among many others that there should be amendment of the enabling Power Sector Reform Act, 2005 to prevent manipulation in subsequent bidding process, proper scrutiny for cognate experience, technical know-how and financial capacity of prospective power firms in subsequent bidding process, and ensuring that electricity tariff framework is absolutely automated with the provision of prepaid meters to all electricity consumers.

Nigeria as the Africa " s largest country with about 160 million people and 350 ethnic groups and... more Nigeria as the Africa " s largest country with about 160 million people and 350 ethnic groups and many languages is made up of huge natural resources, socio-political and cultural history. Following this development, her electoral process has been subjected to numerous influences that brought about the high degree of corruption in Nigerian democratization and management of public affairs. It has further made the electorates believed that it is almost impossible to conduct credible elections. Through qualitative data, the paper identified various levels of corruption in the electoral process in Nigeria which include party primaries and nomination, governmental, and the electorates. With content analysis, many pertinent issues were discussed and conclusively, it is recommended that political office holders " salaries and allowances should be equalized with that of the civil servants, political godfatherism must be discouraged, INEC and SIECs should ensure that political party primaries mandatorily holds at Electoral Ward level, and all the party card carrying members are delegates, and many more.

Agitations in Nigeria continue to take different dimensions from the cries of power sharing, econ... more Agitations in Nigeria continue to take different dimensions from the cries of power sharing, economic and infrastructural development distribution, states and local governments " creation, resource control, religious manipulation to restructuring of the current federal construction. This qualitative paper adopted the Split-Class Marxian Theory to analyse this ugly development in a political independent nation like Nigeria. The paper highlighted that the socio-political and economic implications of this ugly phenomenon is better imagined than being real. They include civil unrest; and war, social, political, and economic crises; emergence of a failed state and persistence of corruption. It argues however that, none of these things can equal to the call to rise up and save this nation from the trajectory that make a break-up a viable option though none of us in this generation was present in the theatre of amalgamations. It is recommended that there should be a reconsideration of " Amended Regionalism and Native Authority Systems " , removal of " State of Origin " from the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, inter-tribal marriage, and federal constitutionalism and law enforcement.

The paper argued that though strike comes with so many diseconomies, there are factors that usual... more The paper argued that though strike comes with so many diseconomies, there are factors that usually compelled the NLC to embark on strikes in Nigeria which ranges from refusal to recognize a union or workers' group as a collective bargaining party; rejection of unions demand and so on. The paper equally contended that prolonged strikes negatively affect the perception of the NLC in industrial conflict management in Nigeria. It also discovered that strikes embarked upon by the NLC have not secured industrial harmony in Nigeria. Rather, strikes bred inferiority complex, cold war and psychological stress in the workplace. The paper observed the achievability of peaceful and harmonious industrial coexistence amongst labour and management through collaboration, accommodation and compromise. Data for the paper was sourced from interview and documented researches. Qualitative and descriptive methods of analysis were employed in analyzing the data generated.

Through content analysis method, this paper highlighted that despite the efforts of successive go... more Through content analysis method, this paper highlighted that despite the efforts of successive governments in Kogi state
in strengthening the civil service through the initiation of reform measures, it has not been able to convert the
opportunities into good account in qualitative service delivery. Following this development, this paper identified the fact
that the civil service has also not been able to justify its existence as an organ of the executive arm of the government in
the state due to internal and externally-inflicted limitations. These restrictions according to the paper are not far-fetched
from inability to pay the salaries of civil servants at subsistence levels, incidence of arbitrary retirement/retrenchment,
absence of ethics, political partisanship to overstaffing of the system. The paper canvassed for among others the
movement from simply piloting traditional-political approaches in public service delivery to transformed services on a
developed scale, prioritizing salaries/allowances payment by the state government, and genuine overhauling of the
headship of most of the agencies so as to bring in young, vibrant technocrats that represented the best in their various
professions.
Keywords: Trends, Civil Service, Reform, Reorganization.

The Igala nation is located generally in the middle-belt region of Nigeria. It can be observed th... more The Igala nation is located generally in the middle-belt region of Nigeria. It can be observed that this ethnic nationality
unarguably constitutes the largest group of people in Kogi State today. The paper is subdivided into: Abstract;
Introduction; History and the organisation of Igala people in Nigeria; Leadership challenge as the bane of her
underdevelopment, and the opportunities of development for Igala kingdom in Nigeria. Consequent upon her
potentialities, it has been found that Igala nationality requires a responsible leadership which should lead to the
acceptance of its lost glory and the need to be repositioned for greatness. It concludes that because Igala people have
not been able to develop any process of leadership emergence through a crucible to determine their preparedness and
worth, the land is suffering from bad state of critical infrastructure, massive unemployment, widespread poverty owing
to “half/percentage-Salary syndrome” and political thuggery in the administrative/local politics. The paper majorly
recommended an investment in human capital development, and the preservation/modification of Igala traditional and
cultural heritage as strategies to effectively compete in the economic and socio-political development of the Nigerian
economy.
Keywords: Igala Nationality, Leadership, Development, Self-centredness, Politics.

The paper is a critical examination of rural development programmes and the challenge of rural un... more The paper is a critical examination of rural development programmes and the challenge of rural underdevelopment in Nigeria. It emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift in the development of rural areas in Nigeria. The “development space” between urban and rural areas in Nigeria is very broad (in terms of the provision of economic development, quality of life, access to opportunities, amenities, social services and standard of living). This leads to what is suitably characterized as the rural- urban dichotomy. The rural areas are usually abhorrently mistreated as far as development projects and infrastructures are concerned. The initiatives that have been put in place in order to develop rural communities in Nigeria are diverse and multifarious. This paper therefore considered these policies and discovered that rural development programmes exists on paper and their impacts are not being felt by the supposed beneficiaries. The study used mainly observation, interview and existing literature to discuss the subject matter. Adopting the ‘elite theory,’ rural development policy makers and implementers pursue elite interests at the expense of broader community interests. It identified that Agricultural Development and Rural Development are not the same. The paper recommended the creation of the Federal/States Ministry of Rural Development, Rural Development Plan Implementation Review Centres (RDPIRCs) and Rural Infrastructure Maintenance Agency (RIMA) as units/departments in rural communities where implementation takes place.

The product of environmental pollution on the society is increasingly alarming. It is so disturbi... more The product of environmental pollution on the society is increasingly alarming. It is so disturbing that nobody can claim to be undisturbed. This general concern has now placed an obligation on auditors and public managers who are seen to be working for some of these companies and are also seen to standing for public interest. The notion that the auditors are working for the public becomes controversial and very challenging as there seems to be no statutory environmental guidance and protection for them. Auditors are left to their fate. This paper is consequently aimed at x-raying the prevailing environmental challenges as they relate to auditors and how these can be managed. As an unempirical research, existing literatures were reviewed. It was found that there are currently no well-defined extant regulations or guidance backed with the full letter and spirit of the laws in most jurisdictions that would give direction and place statutory obligation on the auditors to effectively carry out their work. The paper recommended that, legal framework should be designed by law makers of various jurisdictions and accountancy profession should urgently standardize environmental auditing for the sake of global wellbeing.

Nigeria evidently has a history of national economic planning of policies and programmes which sp... more Nigeria evidently has a history of national economic planning of policies and programmes which spans both the colonial and post-colonial periods as enunciated in this paper. There is however, no gain saying the fact that no country can attain any form of development without putting in place sound policies and programmes. It is on this premise that the paper established the nexus between government policies/programmes and national development. Thus, Nigeria must thrive to put in place sound policies and programmes if the country must attain the much needed national development towards becoming an economic giant by the year 2020. In the context of the foregoing, the paper recommends among others that; Policies and programmes must be a direct reflection of available human and material resources, cultural realities and political persuasions and also policies and programmes must be rooted in deep democratic norms of accountability, transparency and fiscal discipline because of the choking impact of corruption on policies and programmes in Nigeria over the years.

One of the most important functions of organized labour in Nigeria is collective bargaining, a me... more One of the most important functions of organized labour in Nigeria is collective bargaining, a mechanism by which representatives of labour unions negotiate with management of concerned organisations (public or private) over the terms and conditions of service affecting their members. Job performance cannot be enhanced in a work environment characterised by absence of harmonious co-existence among the employers and the employees. It is therefore recognized that one of the official methods of communication is collective bargaining based on voluntarism, participative management and mutual respect. The aim of this paper is to critically examine collective bargaining and the functions of labour unions in the actualization of a successful collective bargaining in the Nigerian Public Sector. The paper discussed labour management negotiations in the Nigeria public sector and recommends that labour and trade unions should strengthen collective bargaining mechanism above salaries and wages negotiation as a means of enhancing the capacity of public workers for effective and efficient service delivery.

Since the political amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, labour unions have played increasingly power... more Since the political amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, labour unions have played increasingly powerful role in the formulation, shaping and implementation of public programmes. Trade union movements though primarily worker-centric have assumed a centre stage at fine-tuning the major policies of the government to the benefit of the poor masses. This they have been doing through the instrumentalities of industrial relations like peaceful demonstrations and strike actions. The Imodu led general strike of 1945, Kokori led NUPENG anti-June 12 election annulment strike of 1994, incessant ASUU strikes in Nigeria, Omar and Esele led anti-fuel subsidy removal general strike of 2012 are examples of protests against government policies by labour union movements in Nigeria. Following the history of labour crises and agitations in Nigeria, it is imperative to draw the attention of labour unions to the need to make efforts in curbing the persistent poverty of public service delivery which has culminated into the failure of various administrations in Nigeria. Labour unions have been doing their best which is not enough. This paper therefore utilizes secondary data to discuss factors that have hindered the involvement of labour unions in the transformation of the Nigerian public administrative system. It also examines the decadence that engulfs the civil service and why its reform has proved very difficult. The paper recommended among others that trade unions in Nigeria cannot perform this herculean task unless it transforms itself, making discipline as a watchword and design Nigerian peculiar theories to reform.

The Federal government of Nigeria for over three decades after the political independence has bee... more The Federal government of Nigeria for over three decades after the political independence has been fundamentally involved in the establishment and management of profit and non-profit making organizations in the economy. The target is to create and fast tract the independence and development of the economy. This historical research work is attempted at describing one of Nigeria’s public organizations that has been seen to be viable, vibrant and dynamic in the country’s transportation economic sector for over six decades. The paper relied on qualitative data and Structural-Functionalism Model to picture the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) from its creation to the present position in the Transportation Agenda of the Jonathan’s administration. It majorly found out among others, that contrary to the believe of the public, FAAN employees are referred to as public servants and not civil servants due to the fact that its personnel are recruited/selected and remunerated under its determined condition of service through its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). The paper finally canvassed that comprehensive implementation should be given to the Aviation Roadmap in the Transformation Agenda with complementary macro-economic policies to achieve desired goals of its reality in its vision and mission.

Rural development is a multi-dimensional approach by which the productivity, income and quality o... more Rural development is a multi-dimensional approach by which the productivity, income and quality of life in terms of health, nutrition, education, and other characteristics of satisfactory life of rural people can be improved or transformed. Examples abound in Nigeria since political independence of rural-financial and development projects ranging from health to roads which are executed in rural settlements. Rural development efforts or rural transformation involves the changing of the social and economic structures, institutions, and processes of the rural settings. The exercise should be seen as a balanced development with emphasizes on equitable distribution and creation of gains. The paper introduced the concept of rural development with selected examples of rural development policies in Nigeria. This paper also discussed the factors that have hindered the success of rural development programmes from achieving its aims and objectives of bettering the life of the poor with the consideration of the Marxian political economy theory as it affect the realization of MDGs in Nigeria by 2015 and concluded with the recommendations that the politics of stakeholders in the management of rural development policies to be put off.

Education is the most significant part of human resource development practice that enables organi... more Education is the most significant part of human resource development practice that enables organizations (both public and private) to deal with their competitive challenges. The target of Human Resource Development is to develop the workforce so that organizations and employees can accomplish work goals. However, this paper is concerned with what it identified as now scarcity of skilled manpower, dearth of scholarship and inability to quickly react to dynamics of the world advancing organizational system among young school leavers in Nigeria due to rampant examination fraud in Nigerian educational system. This is prevalent amongst young school- leavers who have attempted at working in the public and private organizations. The paper examined this issue and suggested among others that certificates should not be the sole determinant of recruitment and selection processes into Nigerian workplace.

There is no gainsaying the fact that local government system is primarily created in Nigeria to b... more There is no gainsaying the fact that local government system is primarily created in Nigeria to bring government nearer to the people. However, this cannot be achieved in the absence of competent human resources who are the principal actors in any given organization. This paper lucidly discussed the extent to which Idah Local Government Council in Kogi State complied with the employment guidelines. It adopted secondary data as the major source of data and the Weberian Bureaucratic Model was used for analysis. One hundred and forty three (143) employees employed from 2007- 2011 by both Idah Local Government and the Kogi State Local Government Service Commission were sampled. Based on this, empirical data were collected and presented using Semi Text Method of data presentation, and content analysis which its validity was ascertained by consulting experts. The paper majorly identified that neither the Commission nor Idah Local Government advertised vacancies before employment was done within the period under review and strongly recommended among others that, appropriate laws should be enacted to check the excesses of political influence over matters that are purely bureaucratic in nature, especially employment/appointment, training, posting and discipline of employees.

Religion is a fundamental agent, perhaps one of the most important factors that tend to create in... more Religion is a fundamental agent, perhaps one of the most important factors that tend to create influence in the life of most Nigerians and Africans at large; yet the reconciliation between its essential principles and practice are too often unclear considering the behavioural output on the administration of public affairs vis-a–vis the level of corruption and immoral practices in its scene. Religion fanaticism has crept into all facets of life of the Nigerians and it cannot be relegated to the background. Even though the level of religiosity is high in Nigeria, poverty of leadership, corruption and immorality are more than other things, the greatest hydra–headed cogs in the wheel of personal, communal and national development. With qualitative data, this paper identified difference that exist between the principle and practice of religion which is the non-practice of the principles of religion as the reason for massive corruption, perpetual violence and the non-performance of national development agencies/programmes. Adopting the Marxian Theory of Religion, it recommended among others that, African culture and value which believes in immediate payback for wrong deeds, peaceful coexistence and communalism should be used as instrumentality for the good of the society and national development.