The Role of Bureaucracy in Good Governance in Nigeria
Keywords:
Bureaucracy, governance, government, administration, civil service, public serviceAbstract
Good governance depends on bureaucracy, because it is the main part of the implementation of the decision of government. On the one hand the ministers make the decision and on the other hand, the bureaucrats implement it. This study therefore examines the role of bureaucracy in good governance in Nigeria It theorizes bureaucracy from two major perspectives: Weberian and Marxian. The study discovers that the public bureaucracy in Nigeria has been hounded by unstable political environment, economic crisis, social menace, constitutional lapses, unfavorable public policies such as the federal character, bureaucratic bottle neck (red-tapism, rigidity, centralization, and excessive bureaucratic layers), and poor conditions of services among others. All of these factors have impeded the effective performance of the Nigerian bureaucracy in several ways. In effect, this work concludes that, these have slowed down the processes of socio-economic and political development of Nigeria which can only be resolved when bureaucrats become more pragmatic in the understanding of what constitute good governance.
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