A former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Civil Service, Dr Dere Awosika, said public sector reforms must reflect citizens’ needs and realities to achieve their intended objectives.
Awosika said governments must consult affected communities and public servants before implementing reforms, rather than impose policies without understanding the challenges they face.
She spoke on Friday while featuring on the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation podcast, Reform Is Not a Guessing Game.
According to her, consultation would help reformers identify institutional weaknesses, understand the interests of stakeholders and develop implementation strategies suited to local realities.
“Reforms are not supposed to be a pass down of instructions. It’s supposed to be a discussion on the weaknesses, identify them, and see that the goals that you set to meet are not being met,” she said.
Awosika, Chief Executive Officer of Josephine Consulting Ltd, said her experience leading polio eradication efforts in Nigeria showed the importance of engaging communities in public programmes.
She explained that working with traditional and religious leaders helped address concerns and build acceptance of vaccination.
“We need to build trust with the citizenry. They cannot believe us unless we trust them,” she said.
Also speaking, an economist and policy strategist, Dr Akin Olusoji-Akinyele, said governments must obtain feedback from beneficiaries throughout the reform process to determine whether policies were meeting their needs.
“The reform itself is not complete until the beneficiary has given you some form of feedback as to whether this is working,” he said.
