REPRESENTATIVE BUREAUCRACY IN NIGERIA PUBLIC SERVICE AND THE PROBLEM OF SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: ISSUES AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Abstract

The term representative bureaucracy is not exclusively related to the Nigeria administrative system, it has gained popularity and become acceptable public policy in most heterogeneous societies globally, especially in the area of recruitment as well as promotion of personnel in public institutions. The principle arise in Nigeria out of the need to ameliorate the prevalent ethnic conflicts, arising out of the competition over the control of political power, government appointments and employment as well as admission into federal universities in Nigeria. This study attempt to examine the impact of this policy in Nigeria public service on sustainable national development with data mostly generated from the secondary source, to analyze the relationship between the two variables. Using the Marxist political economy theory as its framework of analysis, this study argues that the brand of representative bureaucracy practiced in Nigeria public service is hostile to sustainable national development. It however, recommends that there is need to revert to merit system instead of ethnic representation in employment into Nigeria public service as well as the federal universities since it is evident that the present arrangement has failed in all ramifications and has arrested any form of sustainable national development