PanNigerianNews 
A former Commissioner for Public Works and Transportation in Oyo State under Governor Seyi Makinde, Prof. Raphael Afonja, has attributed the reason for low level of development in Nigeria to the perceived excessive corruption perpetrated by some unscrupulous civil servants in the country.
He explained that inadequate productivity and corruption on the part of civil servants is responsible for the failing state of Nigeria.
The former Dean of Industrial Technology at SOWELA College, Louisiana, United States who was educated at the City University of New York, University of North Dakota, Eastern New Mexico University, among others stated this in an interview with pannigeriannews.com Tuesday.
Afonja said there was a need for the nation to change the ideology and start holding the civil servants accountable.
He, however, called on government at all levels to work on the remuneration of the civil servants with a view to enhancing their productivity and curbing the alleged corruption.
“Lack of productivity and corruption of civil servants who turned politicians is why Nigeria has become a failing state. There is a need to change the ideology of this most important group of people and start holding them accountable in order for this country to succeed.
“Sad enough, civil servants teach the political heads and elected officials how to steal, hide, and effectively get away Nigeria resources and this is why Nigeria continues to fail.
“Their productivity within the system is close to zero because the senior cadre civil servants focus more on becoming rich with ‘it is my turn’ syndrome.
“Institutions such as judiciary and law enforcement agencies run by civil servants are more corrupt in that they cannot hold other departments and agencies accountable. The nonchalant attitude of this group of people who are responsible for continuity of governance and accountability have put love of money over the lives of the tax payers that are responsible for their salaries.
“The elected officials who have been milked by the electorate before getting into office are also on the mission to recoup the monies that they have spent during the election,” Afonja explained.
He quizzed on how some civil servants are becoming big politicians overnight, saying “Why will a civil servant become a governor of a state overnight? Where did he or she get the money to run for such office as a civil servant?
“He or she must have done the bidding of his master and is being rewarded for that dirty act. Have you ever wondered how salary earners, who are civil servants have millions of naira in their accounts, have homes worth millions of naira, or investments worth billions?
“The civil servants continue to help the public servants mortgage the future of our children away by helping them make the case to borrow away and steal finds from the loans that had been acquired. How do we stop these unforgivable acts? Now is the time to stand up and start holding everyone accountable. It must start from the top to the bottom.”
