A Weak Civil Service Means A Weak Naira

By Damilola Bakare

There is a bittersweet irony in looking back at Nigeria’s economic history. Older generations often speak of a time when the Naira stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the British Pound. While economists analyse variables like inflation and commodity prices, I believe that there is a quieter and more human truth we often overlook, and that’s that the strength of the currency once matched the prestige of the Civil Service.

At that time, working in the public service was the most prestigious use of a first-class education. The “Golden Era” of the Nigerian Civil Service was powered by a “Mandarin class”. These were technocrats whose intellectual rigour provided a stable floor for the national economy.

Today, that script has flipped. Ask a top-tier Nigerian graduate where they want to work, and the answer is rarely “the Ministry.” The smartest minds are fleeing to international organisations, global tech hubs, or the private sector.

So, is it a coincidence that as this intellectual capacity has been hollowed out, our policy outcomes have withered and the Naira has tumbled?

From Meritocracy to “Generalism”

To understand why the “Impact Gap” exists, we have to look at the math behind our institutions. In the 1970s, the Nigerian Civil Service was modelled after the British “Mandarin” system, a structure where entry was strictly meritocratic. To get into the administrative cadre, you didn’t just need a degree; you had to pass gruelling competitive examinations that filtered for the top 1% of graduates. These were the minds that designed the Third National Development Plan (1975–1980), which remains one of the most ambitious blueprints in our history.

Compare that to the institutional profile of today.

When the “engine room” of a nation lacks the specific technical capacity to process complex data, the result is “Policy Drift” where grand ideas are announced but never reach the pavement because there aren’t enough skilled hands to drive the gears.

When the “smartest people” run away from public service, you lose the analytical rigour required to manage a modern economy. We are then left with a Capacity Gap; left with “copy-paste” policies and plans that look great in a boardroom but crumble when they hit the reality of a Nigerian market.

This gap is where well-meaning but misaligned interventions struggle to gain traction. Implementation is where policy credibility is either established or lost, and you cannot have first-world execution with a “brain-drained” administrative engine. As Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Hon. (Dr.) Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo recently argued during the AIG Public Leaders Programme of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, mentioning that leadership must be judged by measurable impact, not just policy announcements. His success in clearing a 204,000 passport backlog in record time wasn’t magic; it was the result of injecting technical competence back into a stagnant system.

Bridging the Gap: Why Nigeria’s Future Depends on the “Smartest in the Room”

This need for high-level capacity doesn’t stop at the Ministry door; it extends to the very foundations of public offices. We see a powerful “synergy” when our traditional stools are occupied by leaders who pair ancient wisdom with modern professional pedigree. We know this capacity can be reclaimed because we are seeing glimpses of it in action.

A quintessential example was the late HRM, Oba (Dr.) Samuel Adegboyega Osunbade Adeyelu II, the 21st Olugbon of Orile-Igbon. Fondly known as the “Royal Accountant,” he was a Fellow of ICAN (FCA) and the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators (FCIS). His background was world-class. As a student in England, he served as the General Secretary of the All-African Students Union and President of the Nigerian Union of Students in England and Ireland. In 1967, he led a student delegation to the Federal Military Government to intervene in the national crisis at the outbreak of the civil war. He is credited with the resettlement and modernisation of Orile-Igbon, proving that a leader with an “accountant’s mind” and a global perspective can transform a community more effectively than any ceremonial figurehead.

He was a highly educated administrator whose counsel was sought and respected by multiple state governors. Serving as the Vice Chairman of a State Council of Obas and Chiefs, his reign saw tangible socio-economic boosts because he understood the language of modern governance.

We see this same evolution today with the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III. These are monarchs who bring corporate-level brilliance and analytical depth to their communities. When governors sought the counsel of the late Olugbon, they weren’t just honouring tradition; they were tapping into a deep well of professional expertise.

Capacity is Not a Buzzword, It’s an Enabler

When public leaders are well-equipped, socio-economic metrics start to move. Capacity building is often dismissed as a corporate buzzword, but in reality, it is the critical enabler of public leadership.

We must make the public sector “prestigious” again to attract the talent that can stabilise our economy. An educated monarch or a brilliant civil servant provides the “reality check” that keeps policies from failing. To fix the Naira, we must fix the desk where the decisions are made.

The Bottom Line

The bridge between a “good idea” and a “better life” for the citizen is a competent person. Whether it’s a First-Class graduate in the Civil Service or a modern, educated Monarch like the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, the requirement is the same: Intellectual Rigour. If we want to reclaim the glory of the past, we must reinvest in the minds of the present. Bridging the capacity gap isn’t just a management goal; it’s the only way to ensure that Nigeria’s policies finally serve its people.

– Bakare, a development communications expert wrote from Abuja