Restoring Good Governance in Nigeria Volume 2

In this two-volume compendium, Goke Adegoroye draws from his wealth of experience in governance and public service to deliver invaluable insights on the civil service and its crucial role in governance in Nigeria. A seasoned academic and civil servant, Adegoroye chronicles the history of civil service, from its origins in Imperial China to its establishment in Nigeria in the colonial era.

In this two-volume compendium, Goke Adegoroye draws from his wealth of experience in governance and public service to deliver invaluable insights on the civil service and its crucial role in governance in Nigeria. A seasoned academic and civil servant, Adegoroye chronicles the history of civil service, from its origins in Imperial China to its establishment in Nigeria in the colonial era. This book is a keen examination of the current state of the Nigerian civil service in sharp contrast to its glory days, and the factors responsible. Stressing the importance of the civil service as fundamental to good governance, Adegoroye discusses civil service ethics and core values, the failings of human resources management in the civil service, the structure and size of Nigeria’s federal government compared with other nations, political will to implement and sustain public reforms, amongst other topics. Adegoroye also provides discerning recommendations on how sustainable transformation in Nigerian public service and governance can be achieved. Restoring Good Governance in Nigeria is a timely addition to the body of knowledge on public service in general and the Nigerian civil service in particular. It is an important book for every Nigerian public servant and citizen.

Dr. Goke Adegoroye, scientist and academic turned civil servant, is an advocate of integrity in public service with a unique public service career that, over three and a half decades, took him through three different bureaucratic paths: academics, government agency and mainstream civil service. He began his public service career in 1975 as a Graduate Assistant at his alma mater the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He left academia, in 1990, as Senior Lecturer to join the now defunct Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) where he rose through the ranks to serve as the Director General from 1996 to 1998. Following his transfer to mainstream civil service in December 1998, he served as Director, Special Duties and Head Think Tank to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation from June 1999 until his appointment as the pioneer Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in February 2004. His appointment as Federal Permanent Secretary in 2007 further enabled him to serve in: the Manpower Development Office within the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; Federal Ministries of Education, Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Interior; and lastly, the Federal Capital Territory Administration from where he retired in 2010. Since retiring from public service, Dr. Adegoroye has devoted his energy and resources to examining and finding solutions to public sector issues, using the platform of GSDI Limited, a management consulting and advocacy think tank promoting good governance and sustainable development initiatives, of which he is the chief executive officer. He is respected across the Nigerian public service sector as a strategic thinker who regularly deploys his scientific background and diverse experience in both academia and the bureaucracy to come up with innovative and practical approaches to addressing public service issues. He has served as leader of Nigerian delegations to several United Nations conferences and inter-governmental meetings on the environment, public sector reforms and change management. Dr. Goke Adegoroye is a product of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, where he obtained his B.Sc. (Agric) in 1974; and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver B.C. Canada, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Eco-Physiology in 1980. He is well-published, with over 150 articles, books and presentations on such diverse disciplines as Eco-Physiology, Environmental Management and Sustainable Development, Human Resources Management and Public Service Reforms, on which he has won many national and international leadership recognitions. He has the National Honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).