By George Ozalla
The outgoing Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has urged Nigerian journalists to go beyond reporting official statements and events by asking difficult questions, interrogating policies and decisions, and holding public institutions accountable in the interest of citizens.
Walson-Jack gave the charge during a special interactive session with media correspondents and editors at the Obasanjo Hall of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in Abuja, as she reflected on her two-year tenure and prepared to leave office.
The session provided an opportunity for the Head of Service to engage directly with journalists who had covered the activities and reforms of the Federal Civil Service during her tenure. She commended the media for what she described as fair, balanced and objective coverage of the policies, programmes, innovations and reform initiatives of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
She said the media had played an important role in taking the story of civil service reforms beyond government offices and making Nigerians understand the changes taking place within the public service.
According to her, journalists had followed the journey closely, reporting not only achievements and innovations but also the challenges encountered in the course of implementing reforms.
“Of course, the responsibility of the media goes beyond reporting events or repeating official statements. You must ask difficult questions, seek clarification, interrogate issues and hold public institutions accountable,” she said.
Walson-Jack acknowledged that some of the questions asked by journalists during her tenure had been particularly demanding, but said the scrutiny had helped the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation to reflect on its activities and communicate its policies more clearly.
“Some of your questions have occasionally been more difficult than the reforms themselves,” she said, adding that such questions had contributed to improvements in the way the institution approached its work.
She stressed that public institutions could not become stronger through praise alone, arguing that constructive criticism, informed scrutiny and continuous engagement were necessary for sustainable institutional development.
“Strong institutions are not built through praise alone. They are strengthened by constructive criticism, informed scrutiny and continuous engagement,” she said.
The outgoing Head of Service therefore challenged journalists covering the Federal Civil Service to maintain their watchdog role while ensuring that their reports remained factual, balanced and responsible. She said the media should continue to explain government policies and programmes to citizens while also subjecting such policies and decisions to proper scrutiny.
Walson-Jack also recognised the media as an important link between the Federal Civil Service and the citizens it exists to serve. She said journalists had helped Nigerians to understand the reforms, innovations and programmes being implemented across the Service and had provided a platform through which both the achievements and shortcomings of the system could be brought to public attention.
She urged the media to continue to report the achievements of the Service truthfully, interrogate its challenges fairly and contribute to public understanding of the need for a professional, efficient, productive, ethical, incorruptible and citizen-centred public service.
The engagement came against the backdrop of Walson-Jack’s impending retirement after two years as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. Her tenure has included a number of reforms aimed at improving efficiency, digitalising government processes, strengthening professionalism and improving service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.
Earlier in July, she also presided over the 48th meeting of the National Council on Establishments in Port Harcourt, which served as her valedictory meeting as chairman of the council. The meeting brought together Heads of Service from the Federal Government, states and the Federal Capital Territory and considered issues affecting the structure, professionalism and career progression of the public service.
Her message to journalists at the media interaction was, therefore, both a commendation of the media’s role during her tenure and a challenge to the profession to remain sufficiently independent and critical in its engagement with government.
Walson-Jack made it clear that constructive questioning should not be regarded as hostility towards public institutions, but as part of the process of making them better. For her, a responsible media should not merely transmit what government says, but should ask the questions citizens themselves would want answered and demand explanations where policies, decisions or actions require clarification.
