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12 J. Afr. Admin. 144 (1960)
Nigerianization of the Public Services in Western Nigeria

handle is hein.journals/jrnlafa12 and id is 148 raw text is: 





           Nigerianization of the Public Services in

                           Western Nigeria

                       by L. G.  COKE  WALLIS, C.I.E.
              Chairman, Public Service Commission, Western Nigeria

Comparison with India
IN the Journal's issue of July 1959,1 Lord Hailey referred to his revised African
Survey of 1956 in which he had called attention to the great disparity between
the recruitment of the indigenous element  in the higher grades of the civil
services in India, and the provision made in some of those African dependencies
which were  then nearing a status of self rule.
  It may   be of interest to review the progress of Nigerianizing the higher
grades of the services in Western Nigeria since 1956, figures being available
from the Regional Treasury's monthly  return of staff which began to be pub-
lished in that year. These figures show that the percentage of Nigerian officers
holding higher grade posts borne on the Government  estimates (and excluding
the staffs of corporations and other statutory bodies) has increased as follows:
     End of 1956        ...    ...   ...    ...    ...   ...    ...   56
     End Of 1957        ...    ...   ...    ...    ...   ...    ...   64.2
     End of 1958        ...    ...   ...    ...    ...   ...    ...   74-9
     End Of 1959        ...    ...   ...    ...    ...    ...   ...    79. 12
   Lord Hailey further observed that when the transfer of power took place in
India in 1947 there were then in the Indian Civil Service 623 members of Asian
origin against 504 of European. In the smaller administrative class of Western
Nigeria there were at the end of 1959, 125 Nigerian officers against 46 European,
though  whereas just over half of these Nigerian officers are young men still on
probation, the Asian  officers of the Indian Civil Service formed a seasoned
part of the cadre and were distributed in seniority, Indianization of the Service
having  been well under way before they were recruited, and in the case of the
more  junior officers, before they were born.

Training
   For some time the Government of Western Nigeria has recognized the urgency
of 'in-service' training for its predominantly young services. Although Nigerian-
ization of the administrative class, and also of the professional and technical
classes, has proceeded at possibly record pace, and although  senior officers
have  been under  much  pressure in carrying out rapidly supervening policy
changes, time has been found to develop training facilities for the young officer.
In  no direction has the readiness of the Government   to take  advice from
experts been more marked,  and in particular, they were able through the good
offices of the Ford Foundation  to obtain the advice of an administrator of

  I J.A.A., Vol. XI; No. 3; p. I15.
  2 This percentage is for Nigerians and does not include non-Nigerian West Africans. If
  the latter are included the percentage is 8o. i.
                                     I44

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