By Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
The Director General, National Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS), Jos, Prof.Ayo Omotayo, has charged government at all levels in Nigeria to legalize their policies to avoid the pitfall of policy summersault.
Prof. Omotayo gave the charge
on Tuesday when he delivered the 5th Distinguished lecture of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State, at the Felele campus of the institution.
The lecture titled,”Policy Summersault:”The Bane of Development in Nigeria’s Public Service,” also advocated an utilitarian policy that would benefit the majority of Nigerians.
He described policy as a complex activity that must involve thoughtful process and concrete strategies to ensure the realisation of the desired success and benefit to the people.
The DG pointed out that as different governments takes over the leadership of power, with different political parties’ manifestos, they usually formulate policies on their party manifestos without carrying the people who are the beneficiary along.
” I’ll like to remind our policy makers that Nigeria is a multi-dimensional nation with different languages, cultures and traditions, adding that for any policy to benefit the large of the citizens, government must come up with legalised policy that would be difficult to be changed by succeeding government.”
“Many policies in the country today summersault because their formulators failed to take into cognizance, differences in geographical location, religion of the people, funding as well as the need to shun corruption in carrying out such sensitive assignment.”
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Lokoja, Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi expressed his gratitude to Professor Omotayo for gracing the management with his presence and sharing his invaluable insights on a topic of utmost relevance to our nation’s development.
Prof Akinwumi also commended the quest lecture for sharing his experience with the university in area of policy strategies with the university and proferr solution on how to ensure sound policy strategies to fostal social and economic development of Nigeria.
“The importance of robust and consistent policies cannot be overstated, especially in the context of Nigeria’s public service, which plays a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of our nation.”
” We acknowledge that the stability and coherence of public policies are essential for sustainable development. In Nigeria, like in many nations, the public service acts as the engine driving the implementation of policies and programs”.
The Vice Chancellor said Any inconsistency or abrupt shift in policy direction can have profound effects on our developmental efforts.
“Professor Omotayo, with his extensive knowledge and experience, is well-equipped to shed light on the challenges posed by policy summersaults and, more importantly, propose constructive solutions. His role as the Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies reflects his commitment to advancing sound policy practices for the benefit of our nation.” VC said.
