Appraisal of the Civil Service and National Integration in Africa: A Comparative Study of Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of South Africa

Abstract

The civil services of both the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of South Africa were partly created to serve as a unifying factor and play a pivotal role in national integration, in view of the multiplicity of the ethnicity that made up the two societies. This paper undertakes a critical appraisal of the role of the civil service in national integration in the two nations. It employed documentary analysis to review existing data on the subject matter. The paper concluded that the civil service has the potential of serving as a vehicle for integration in both countries but the approaches adopted by both nations- Federal character in Nigeria and affirmative in South Africa were major snags in the realization of this objective. Some of the findings include: the civil service is well positioned as a veritable tool for national integration, the adoption of Federal Character and Affirmative Principle in Nigeria and South Africa respectively has not achieved the objectives of national integration. Some of the recommendations include: both Nigeria and South Africa should adopt the postulations of Max Weber Bureaucratic theory as regards recruitment, use of quota system and Affirmative Principle in promotion of Senior staff in Nigeria and South Africa should be jettisoned.