‘Plateau grossly underrepresented in federal MDAs’

For Hon Stephen Jings, he has every reason to be grateful for a life dedicated to the service of the nation. Presently as the Federal Commissioner in the Federal Character Commission, he gives reason why Nigerians must have faith in the country. But more importantly, he told KATDAPBA Y GOBUM, Plateau people must learn to leave the state and enjoy challenges of life in other places. Excerpts:

FROM being an Information Officer to a local government chairman, and today, you are Commissioner, Federal Character Commission, how has the journey been so far?

I want to thank God that He has brought me thus far. I wouldn’t say my journey has been rough because I am one of the luckiest persons. For me, it was just normal, I have seen people going through job search and then finally I landed up in the Local Government Service and I had been an information man for close to 26 years, moving from one rank to the other up to being Deputy Director, Information.

Before now, the present government of Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong, in 2015, precisely July, appointed me Management Committee Chairman of Pankshin Local Government. I found it an interesting experience, from being an information man where you used to be an ‘errand boy’ to being the head where you have to be directing people to be running around.

I said it is quite interesting because some of those things that as a local government staff I used to see being down the ladder, I came face to face with in the new assignment. The actual reality dawned on me that, indeed, chief executives of local government are doing well.

At that level, the local man does not have protocol for anything as you are the nearest person to him, you wake up in the morning, and you find people with different kinds of problems around your house ranging from official to mostly private ones.

You can’t find that in the Government House. The security alone would not allow you to go in there. So, it is as tedious as that at the local government. But for me, with my little experience garnered as Information Officer, I did not take it as any serious task, because they were just added responsibility at that level.

And so, as these things were staring at me in the face, and the reality of how the local government administration works, to God be the glory, we were able to wriggle our way through the system spending two years. We did our own best, nonetheless.

After I left that place, I returned to working in my shop. While I was there, again from 2017 until 2020, Governor Lalong submitted my name to be a member of the Federal Character Commission and the President graciously approved it and we were sworn in July 2020.

At the time of my appointment, I did not know what the Federal Character Commission was all about, not that I don’t know the name, but I didn’t know my mind what they were doing. But having gone there and seen what the Commission is doing, it really cleared my mind on the responsibility of the Commission and to God be the glory, we have been learning a lot since then.

We are now one year in office and thank God, we have come to terms with the rudiments of what it stands for and we are trying to do our best. If we are learning, we should have learned by now.

I know that the Federal Character principle is set up in section 153(1) of the 1999 Constitution. How better does the Federal Character Principle stand for and how it works?

As you rightly said, the Federal Character Commission is a body that is set up in section 153 (1) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution as amended. You know, the Commission actually predates that Constitution because before now, by 1996, Decree 34 had established the Federal Character Commission and what it sought out to do is nothing but to monitor the proportional sharing of bureaucratic posts in the civil service under military socio-economic activities which many people did not actually know about it.

Also, the establishment of infrastructure and so many things, that has to do with sharing. It may not be equal sharing but equitable and proportional sharing and we monitor it as regulatory body to ensure that some of these things when it comes to appointments in bureaucracy, in the military, in the country should not be dominated to the disadvantage of others.

Whether they are in the minority, everybody should have a fair share of what belongs to all so that, we will move together. So, this is basically what the commission stands for and like I said, we have tried to move away from this bureaucratic sharing of positions and now focusing on infrastructural and socio-economy activities whereby we want to see a situation where, in the establishment of infrastructure of this country. We regulate and ensure that every part of this country is not put at disadvantage or is denied part of the national cake to the detriment of the minorities.

We are now moving into the budget preparatory stages. While you are making your budget, we subject it to scrutiny to let us know if you are building roads. We will ask how many roads you are building and to know the other infrastructural developments.

Social activities such as N-Power, Federal Empowerment Scheme and all these youth empowerment programs, you know, we regulate it to ensure that no one side takes undue advantage of the others or dominate some of these programmes so that, we move together as a country.

You see, part of the agitation we see today in this country where people cry of marginalization even though as a person, I am very skeptical, because marginalization is relative depending on who is saying what. When you go down within the community of the man, (his local government or his state), you will find him marginalizing another person, you go to his village, you find him marginalizing another person.

It is a relative thing depending on the convenience and where you find yourself, you begin to shout marginalization. When I hear people shouting marginalization, I say let us go to his place and find out what tribe he or she is. Is he not marginalizing other people? So, when I hear person talking about marginalization, I laugh and say ‘don’t mind him, he is just saying it’.

When you go down to his backyard, he is marginalizing other people. So this is the kind of things we want to do so that, in this country, we can again begin to move together. I think this is the fact of the matter.

Well, a lot of people have said that the Federal Character Commission is a euphemism for employing the unqualified. How true can this be said about the Commission?

Yes, I have come face to face with this kind of thinking in the Nigerian society. I totally disagree with that! I don’t think we will throw merit for mediocrity. True, every MDA has a guideline for employment and condition for employment.

So, it is not FCC that will go into that and tell you that, you must take certain persons. No! The agency itself sets out conditions for employment and they have their conditions. Ours is simple, if they come for the interview, it is not our business because the agency knows the people they want to take.

We do not go to scrutinize who you are taking from the federating unit. Let me give you an example, recruitment into the military does not care whether you are degree holder or not; they set a standard that you are in a secondary school whether you have five passes, they don’t care. We don’t have 5 credits in using gun.

They will train you to know how to shoot a gun until you become a sharp shooter that will be your credit. So, in that context, the issue of employment bureaucracy is not there. It is your sharpness in shooting that will give the job.

It is not our responsibility to find out whether you are qualified or not. Ours is to ensure that you are inviting them from the federating units of the country and for the MDA you have set out the kind of condition and people you want so; we believe you will not go below the standard you have set. Our own is, if you set the standard, let it be followed to the latter.

Some people have argued that, in some places some people’s cut off points, are low during admission. For them they should leave everybody to compete favourably, but I once gave an example that, as a young man in 1975 when I was going to Federal Government College, I did not know what qualified me to go there, but I found myself among my peer groups from different parts of this country and related very well.

Those states that are ahead were struggling with us in the class and so, for me, we did not start education at the same time; but it would not put us in the same pedestal. We will get there and I can assure you that, those states that have gone far ahead of us put some of their bright boys with those of us who are behind; you will be shocked these guys are very sharp.

I don’t believe this idea of mediocrity, even at the time they were using quota system during pre-or post colonial time, this quota system was to ensure that, every part of the country was carried along and nobody should dominate the other.

I think the idea of Federal Character Commission grew out of that policy. So, I don’t believe that any MDA would just set out condition for people to come and take the ones below and others that are above. No!

There is this accusation in the last couple of years that federal appointments are given to particular sections of the country. With this kind of situation, how would the FCC get to work on this and satisfy all sections?

That is why the Federal Character Commission is there. I think those who propounded this principle of Federal Character saw indeed some of these crises that some sections of this country are being marginalized. That was why this principle of Federal Character came into existence.

I had proposed that we get statistics of all the federal ministries and agencies in this country and try to look at them rank by rank. Even political appointments, let us see, who is saying that some sections of the country are being favoured and others are not.

I think we need that statistics at this point of our development of the Federal Character, so that we can tell Nigerians at the end of the day that, all of you that are crying foul will see that Nigerians may judge.

Without such statistics, anybody can wake up and say, one side of the country is being favoured. I can assure you, I don’t want to mention names, my stay in the Federal Character, I discovered that some tribes that are crying foul are doing so that, others who have not understood what is happening should not shout that they are being marginalized, but we know it.

These statistics that we’re thinking of bringing out for now, we will get there so that Nigerians will know truly, which part of the country is being favoured. Without such statistics, I don’t think we will be able to say anything more.

An attempt was made by Daily Trust to bring up something like this before. I know a report came out that one side of the country in the South was having 52% of the entire work force and the North have only 48% and that was how the matter died. I still have that newspaper and it was as a result that we too would have to find out.

Given what you have said, that means there is serious work to be done and I think Nigerians will be happy to know what the FCC feels about it.

Yes, like I said, we don’t have the statistics. That is the truth, we don’t. I would like to see a situation where within our regime we will be able to get the statistics so that, we can tell Nigerians that this is actually what is on ground. We need the statistics because we need to advise the president correctly especially when he wants to make appointments.

If he does not have the statistics before him, you know, there is the tendency that he would lump appointments somewhere. But with the statistics before him, I think, he can look through and see actually where he will make the appointments.

He needs the statistics because when he does it on assumption, it will not work. I believe that within the period God will allow us to stay there; we will be able to come out with the right statistics which will be reviewed from time to time.

Let’s get the statistics and know that in this or that state, these are the number of civil servants, number of directors, deputy directors and so on; politically these are the number on a board.

I believe that if the president has these things handy, he will solve some of the problems of people thinking that somebody is taking undue advantage or his own share of the national cake.

From what you have said, I think that we need to come, return home. Has Plateau State gotten its fair share of appointments?

Before now many of them were like me. I did not know what FCC was all about and so, they did not care what the FCC was doing and it also depends on who were representing us there then. If they were not able to educate Plateau people properly on why we need to take our fair share I think, the people would not know.

But to answer your question directly, honestly, I will be very frank with you that, some of the work I have done so far in some MDAs, Plateau State is grossly under represented. This, I will emphasize. I don’t know what the problem is, but part of the problem I discovered of recent, I have shared it on a number of occasions.

I discovered that, Plateau people have one attitude of not wanting to move out. Nobody wants to leave Plateau. You school here, you enter civil service here and want to rise to become Director and Permanent Secretary and you are satisfied.

When the Federal Secretariat was in Lagos, it was worse. Ambassador Bagudu Hirse who was the Federal Commissioner in the Federal Civil Service Commission then tried his best, gave some of them appointments but they will say the place is too far and they will not go. Today, we are still having this attitude.

You hear that a vacancy exists in a federal establishment in far away Ondo State and if you tell Plateau people to apply, they will say no, the place is too far, even at that time that we did not have security challenges. Today, there are several challenges, but before there were no security challenges.

Our people would prefer to be without a job, if you do not give them one in Jos, or Plateau State Government civil service or local government, he would not go because he prefers to be in Jos. If he sees people applying for job opportunity, he will not.

I went to Federal Psychiatric Hospital in Yaba Lagos to do an interview session; I did not find one Plateau man that applied. In the entire agency, no doctor, no nurses and to make matters worse, when I went though the nominal roll I found one Plateau State person on level 6 out of more than 1,000 workers.

And so, you begin to wonder, what is actually wrong with us? We need to wake up from this attitude. Yes, there are security challenges but where is it that the security challenge is not stopping people from Lagos, Port Harcourt to come and work here?

It is better now that the federal capital has moved to Abuja. If you tell them to go to Abuja here, they will agree, but honestly, to go outside Abuja to Sokoto or Zamfara, you know us now, they will say no, that place is too far. I cannot go and how do I survive there?

Why is it that other Nigerians are moving around and we are not? So, we need to change this attitude; this, we must do by way of enlightening our people. How many jobs are here in Plateau State that you want to sit back here for?

Here is the national cake and you don’t want to go there. So, I think, it is our attitudinal problem which we must change. We have lived with it for a long time. We need to change if really we want to have a share of the national cake. If we don’t do that, we are going to live like that.

Nigeria is 61 years as an independent country, what is your parting shot, to Nigerians as they celebrate this special day?

Let me say this before I answer this question directly, you know, if you hear some people talking about Nigeria, you will be tempted to think that they are from a different world.

But ask them what the alternative to our problem is, many of them do not have. Whatever you think of Nigeria today, we have come a long way. This is because some of us who read African history and know what happened to people in South-Africa, Zimbabwe and others I don’t wish to be part of that.

But as it is now, no matter our challenges today, I think we have moved. So many countries have gone through some of the worse challenges than what we have today. So, for me, it is a passing phase and by the special grace of God, with determination and focused leadership as well as the cooperation of citizenry, Nigeria will get it right.

We should be able to talk to ourselves; and contribute our quota. Why would you be part of the problem by being part of IPOB, involved banditry and Boko Haram and after destroy the country you then turn round to blame the leadership?

I am not part of that. I want a situation where Nigerians with whatever agitation, can do it in a civilized way. Not many went to war before they were able to get self-determination.  South Africans did not go for war. They struggled. You don’t need to kill people. Everybody has the right to self determination, but honestly I don’t share in the idea of violence before you get what you want.

We are lucky we had independence. We have our challenges, but let us not lose hope in the system. Let us not lose hope in our country. This is our country and we have no where to go.