‘Nigeria Our Big Brother’ – Gambia Moves To Adopt Nigeria’s Civil Service Reform Model

The Gambian government has said it is working towards adopting aspects of Nigeria’s civil service reform model as part of efforts to strengthen capacity building and public sector management in the country.

Naijaonpoint reports that the Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service of The Gambia, Alieu Njie, stated this during a study visit by a high-level Gambian delegation to the Public Service Institute of Nigeria in Abuja.

Njie said the visit was aimed at learning from Nigeria’s experience in public sector reforms, training and institutional development.

According to him, The Gambia is interested in understanding the reforms Nigeria has implemented and how they can be adapted to improve governance in his country.

“We are working towards learning what Nigeria has done and what Nigeria is doing so that we also replicate that in my country. This is why we are here in this country,” he said.

Njie described Nigeria as The Gambia’s “big brother,” noting that the country had continued to support The Gambia in several critical sectors.

“There are so many things you can learn from Nigeria. In terms of defence, health and technical aid, we all get it from Nigeria. So obviously, this is very fundamental to us,” he said.

The Gambian civil service chief said the delegation had already gained useful lessons from the engagements in Abuja.

“Since I started here, I have been really learning and I have taken note of a lot of things. Even if I go home today, what I have learnt cannot fit into my suitcase,” he added.

Earlier, the Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of PSIN, Dr Imeh Okon, said the visit would provide an opportunity for Nigeria and The Gambia to exchange ideas on governance, institutional development and public service delivery.

Okon said the engagement should not be seen as a one-sided presentation, but as a platform for mutual learning and cooperation.

“We do not view this study tour as a one way presentation, but rather as a robust bilateral dialogue. We are eager to learn from your unique experiences in governance and institutional development in The Gambia, just as we share our own,” she said.

She noted that the institute had deepened its technology-driven training and examination processes as part of efforts to improve efficiency in the Nigerian public service.

According to her, PSIN had administered about 3,500 technology-driven promotion examinations across ministries, departments and agencies and expanded its training programmes to address emerging skills gaps in the public service.

Also speaking, a consultant to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Francisca Odeka, said the Federal Government had introduced the “One’s Knowledge” framework to institutionalise learning and link training to performance management in the civil service.

Odeka said the framework was designed to ensure that civil servants take continuous learning seriously and are held accountable for their professional development.

“If reforms are to succeed, there has to be a level of consequence management. If you were supposed to go for training and you didn’t go, these accrued points have to account for whether you are going to be promoted or not,” she said.

She added that such measures would help build a more competent, accountable and performance-driven civil service.