Dare Babalola
A Kogi State lawmaker, Hon Seyi Bello, has expressed deep concern over the alarming rate of waste and inefficiency in Nigeria’s university system and civil service.
Citing a recent television program, the lawmaker, in a post he made on his verified Facebook page, highlighted the stark reality of underutilisation of resources in some universities, where student populations are dwindling while staff numbers remain excessively high.
According to the program, some universities in Nigeria have student populations of less than 2,000, with some institutions having fewer than 1,000 students.
However, despite the low student numbers, these universities still employ between 3,000 to 4,000 staff members.
Bello noted that the anomaly has resulted in a gross imbalance in the staff-to-student ratio, leading to significant waste of resources.
The lawmaker corroborated this claim with a story of Ajiwun, a graduate of the department of Environmental Management and Sciences, Ekiti State University, who completed her degree program as the only student in her department from 100 level to final year.
“Just imagine how many lecturers will teach her from 100Level to the final year,” Bello wondered.
This extraordinary situation underscores the magnitude of waste in the system, where resources are being stretched thinly to cater to a handful of students.
Beyond the university system, the lawmaker also lamented the inefficiencies prevalent in the civil service, where many employees are not diligent in their duties yet still receive salaries.
According to the lawmaker, many civil servants do not adhere to standard working hours, with some arriving late and leaving early without justification.
The lawmaker called for a comprehensive review of the system to identify areas of waste and implement reforms that would optimise resource utilisation.
Specifically, the lawmaker suggested that the government should consider reducing the number of ministries and agencies, as well as streamlining the operations of anti-corruption agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“One of the areas we need to look into very well if we must grow as a nation is how to cut down wastes most especially our civil service,” Bello argued.
The lawmaker questioned the rationale behind the existence of multiple agencies with overlapping mandates, suggesting that they are redundant and a drain on resources.
He added, “I don’t know why EFCC and ICPC are two separate organizations, in fact, I don’t know why they exist in the first place because we have an anti-fraud unit in the Police force.
“We really need to cut down waste by all means.”
