By Olu Benjamin
Prof. Charles Nwekeaku, Professor of New Public Management (NPM) at the Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK) has advocated the implementation of NPM in accelerating growth and development in Nigeria.
He stated this while delivering the 47th Inaugural Lecture of the university on Wednesday in Keffi local government area of Nasarawa state.
Our reporter gathers that that the title of the lecture is “New Public Management, National Development and Transformation in Globalized World”.
According to him, NPM is a new administrative system that promises to address the perceived inadequacies with the Traditional Public Administration (TPA) system which tend to neutralize it’s efficacy.
He said NPM has the potentialities of succeeding where the TPA has failed because of its creativity, efficiency, flexibility, adaptability to new administrative challenges, market oriented posture, good governance as well as many inbuilt mechanisms that make NPM withstand the shocks of developmental challenges.
Nwekeaku said these advantages led him to advocate to all levels of government on the implementation of NPM giving it’s potential to help accelerate Nigeria’s growth and development.
“The NPM advocates new innovations, ideas, strategies and creativity in meeting the needs of the members of the society who should be seen as loyal and important customers who yearn for efficient and effective service delivery from the government.
“It emphasizes the application of the concept of the private sector which sees and treats people or citizens as customers who should get value for their money and who yearn for efficient and effective service delivery from the government,” he said.
He explained further that it is in the contextual setting of the NPM that national development can occur as the human and material resources of the state will be actively harnessed for efficient and effective use of the society.
“Nothing practically is working in Nigeria today and the situation will remain so except the yoke of traditional public administration is yanked off and replaced with the New Public Management,” he said.
The university Don pointed out that in practical terms,the adoption of NPM for national development and transformation will entail the application of principles and practices of corporate governance, alternative service delivery, e governance and commerce.
“Other are artificial intelligence, financial inclusion, as well as other tools and attitude that engender efficiency, good governance and profitablity in all public institutions and enterprises at all levels of governance,” he said.
In an interview, Prof. Sa’adatu Liman, Vice Chancellor of NSUK applauded the lecturer for a well delivered inaugural lecture and described the topic of the lecture as apt and instrumental in helping to transform Nigeria giving the economic challenges facing it.
“The lecturer spoke eloquently of the failures of the traditional public administration and the need to apply the new public management system for quality .and growth.
“It it is applied, it will surely bring development to the country because as it is the country has been stagnated due to the continuous use of the traditional public administration procedure,” she said. END