Ethical Considerations in the Nigerian Public Service and Governance

The utility of ethics in governance and public service provides the framework for a common understanding between leaderships and citizens. While ethics dwells within the realm of morality, beneficence and good will, the empirical applications of its tenets tends to fostering accountability, integrity, and transparency in leaderships. The ethical conundrums encountered in developing nations like Nigeria are not only confounded by the individual-centric nature of morality and ethical practices, but also on the ethno-centric divisions existing within the polity. Many ill vices such as corruption and total disregard to the rule of law have been engendered within the Nigerian state due to the ethno-centric nature of the country, the chaos of leadership, and the sidelining of standard ethical practices. The failure of the Nigerian state at uniting her people has not been without a cost, however, in order to making progress and advancing among the committee of nations, citizens of Nigeria need to jettison their ethno-centric sentiments and imbibe a more nationalistic attitude. The educational system should be more transformative and reformative in its curriculum and approaches, the creation of anti-graft agencies should be more inclusive and consensus driven; and the regulatory and compliance mechanisms at following strictly the tasks and duties of the anti-graft agencies should be fully developed and imbibed. In addition, the punishment for corrupt practices should be more stringent and less accommodating. This review takes a critical look at the prime role ethics plays in the governance of a nation, and the chaos that sets in when leaderships jettison ethics and morality in their affairs. With regards to the Nigerian state, important recommendations are also given to help foster a more ethically and morally guided leadership and practices, in a bid to fostering a better society