Get Rich Quick Syndrome, Greed Threatening Civil Service – Abdullahi

A retiring director, Human Resources Management at the Federal Ministry of Works Mr Aliyu Abdullahi, has lamented that the standard in civil service is deteriorating due to greed and get rich quick syndrome by present crop of civil servants.

He said such acts fueled corruption and threatened professionalism in the system.

Abdullahi stated this in his valedictory speech at the retirement party organised by the Ministry.

He urged civil servants to shun unscrupulous acts, uphold discipline and integrity within the system.

“My advice to civil servants is that  they should be diligent in their work, they should be disciplined, this issue of greed, of trying to be rich, suddenly, a sudden type of richness is what is causing problems in the service.

“So if people can avoid that kind of greed and live within their means, everything is there, they will enjoy their service here.

“This syndrome of getting rich quick is what is forcing some people into all types of corruption. If they can avoid that, definitely the service will be better off,” he said.

Abdullahi also  said that discipline and respect  was almost becoming a thing of the past in civil service which ought not to be so.

He lamented the decline in discipline and respect within the civil service, recalling a time when junior staff would step aside to let directors pass in office corridors.

“And to those of you who are still remaining in service, I want to wish you well. Because the service is every day deteriorating. “When we  were coming up in service, we looked up to our Directors and    becoming a director.

“But the way the service has turned into today, you will be walking along the corridor and somebody will be bumping into you.

“That aspect of respect that used to be the hallmark of civil service is no longer there.”

He urged those still in service to help revive the values that once defined public office. “Try and bring back a semblance of the discipline and respect that is in the service  and you can do it, and it can be done” he said.

Abdullahi who joined the service in 1990 as a personnel officer, reflected on his journey with gratitude.

“Alhamdulillah, I thank Almighty Allah for making me see this through. A journey that I started some  years ago has culminated into this moment.”

He  recalled the early challenges of working on the outskirts of Abuja and expressed gratitude for opportunities that came his way.

The Director praised the staff he worked with, particularly those in the ministry where he served from 2022, when Works and Housing were still merged.