Build Strong Institutions, Not Individuals, Ex-Education Director Tells FG

A former Director of Human Resource Management at the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Yusuf Saeed, says public sector reforms are unlikely to survive leadership changes unless they are institutionalised rather than tied to individual office holders.

Saeed made the assertion during the latest episode of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation Podcast, themed “From Evidence to Action: How Research Actually Moves Through Government.”

Hosted by the Foundation’s Team Lead for Evidence and Impact, Emmanuel Ejewule, the episode examines how research travels through the machinery of government, from problem identification and policy design to budgeting, implementation and review, and what it takes for evidence to influence public sector decision-making.

Saeed said many reforms collapse once the officials who initiated them leave office.

“When you build a reform around a person, when the person leaves, the reforms just fizzle out like that,” he said.

He advised governments and reformers to embed initiatives within institutions instead.

“My advice from my experience is that whenever we need to carry out a policy or a reform, we should try to institutionalise it.

“Don’t build reform around the person. If he leaves, finish. But if you institutionalise it, then it will stand the test of time.”

To illustrate his point, Saeed cited the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP), saying the programme has endured successive administrations because it has become part of the system rather than the legacy of a single leader.

“Something that Oyo-Ita introduced… the current Head of Service inherited it, took it up like it’s her own, and followed it up the same way. That is what institutionalisation of a policy or reform means.”

He stressed that monitoring and evaluation have enabled the programme to evolve through successive phases.

“For anything to succeed, we must learn to institutionalise that reform.”

According to Saeed, embedding reforms in institutions ensures continuity, accountability and sustained implementation regardless of changes in political or administrative leadership.