Mr Emeka Ejide: The Permanent Secretary Anambra Never Had Posits That Lack of Knowledge, Interest Destroys Civil Service

 

Ejide addressing the media

                                              Ejide and some of his media friends

                                                          Ejide in action at a media parley

For the first time in his civil service career, Emeka Ejide , now retired as Director Child Development of Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development was free to speak not like a civil servant but as a senior citizen which he is now, and odogwuemekaodogwu.blogspot.com captured it. Before the interview session Anambra children under the auspices of Anambra Children Parliament hosted him to a surprise event at Suncity Hotels to celebrate his retirement amidst crying and weeping but prayed God to sustain him and grant him longevity.

Odogwuemekaodogwu.blogspot.com captured the interview session  and brings to you Excerpts assuring that the Children Parliament show would be served soonest:  

Can you tell us how you feel now that you are pulling out from civil service?

Well, I feel very happy. There are two days in a civil servants life, the day he resumes his duties as a civil servant and a day he retires as a civil servant. I thank God Almighty for giving me that knowledge and ability to stare the sheep, beginning in 1979 to its logical end in 2014. I thank God Almighty. I started work in this Ministry of Local Government in the year 1979 as clerical assistant after my school certificate. 

Then, I was elevated to a clerical officer in 1979, October and thereafter in 1981, I went to pursue further knowledge and went too university of Ile-Ife, where I graduated, came out and got reinstated in 1986 and from there, the journey started.

   Today, I have put in 35 years of service by civil service rule but 31 years of effective service, because 4 years study leave without pay was in our own whims and caprice but we thank God that the jobs were left for us and when we came back, we were elevated.

   Many of my colleagues retired as Chief and Deputy Directors but I thank God I served as a Director, having spent 5 years as a Director. 

So, I am most grateful to God and I am very very happy that I don’t really know how to thank God. So, I am happy, polling out, becoming healthy, looking smart, still with my senses and not very old because we believe that this is just the beginning of our services to humanity. 

The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, happens to be the mother of all ministries and I am happy, I became part of the ministry, I made my impact, I am imported my knowledge that paved the way for the successful development of the ministry.

 I was instrumental,, vividly to the decentralization of a unit department in the Ministry of Women Affairs department called, “Social Welfare” and today, our effort in the National Council meeting which we originated gave rise to 3 other technical departments known as Women Affairs, Child Development and Rehabilitation. 

I was among the 5 think tank that put up something together before it was approved by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and today, the entire nation is enjoying it and that is why we don’t have stagnation in the Ministry of Women Affairs. It is a ministry with 4 technical departments being manned by Social Welfare Officers. 

So, we are happy about that and I am happy with that kind of contribution. Equally, I have done a lot in the area of child protection. I was instrumental as a UNICEF child protection manager to ensure the establishment of child protection unit in Anambra state and that child protection unit is a surveillance mechanism that expose all forms of violence and perpetrators of crime against children.

   We have had our challenges and setbacks because we have stepped on toes of the perpetrators of violence against children but we remain undaunted. We said that nothing will make us stop being focused in spite of the efforts of many perpetrators to cast aspersions on many personalities but, I thank God we succeeded and right now, we have family court in Anambra state. 

I am an assessor and the assessor of assessors because I coordinate the activities of assessors and we have made sure that the family court is functioning very effectively in Anambra state.

   I thank the Head of service, Mr. Chidi Ezeoke, immensely for giving me the opportunity to serve in the state as a civil servant under his able leadership. I equally thank the Honourable Commissioner for being part of the ministry as a pull out successfully. I have worked with not less than  Honourable commissioners from the ministry when we were in Enugu to Awka.

   I equally thank the permanent secretary, who incidentally was once a Director here and now a permanent secretary as I pull out of service.

   My special thanks goes to the wife of the Governor Chief (Mrs) Ebelechukwu Obiano, who happens to be the last “First Lady” as I am polling out of service. We have been working in liaison with first ladies and it has been so magnificent in what they do and then, the greatest of all the thanks is to His Excellency, Chief (Dr.) Willie Maduabuchukwu Obiano.

 I captioned His Excellency as His Excellency of all “Excellencies” because for the first time, the slogan of His Excellency is simple and clear and it is “Willie is Working.” In health sector, Willie is working, clearance of destitute, Willie is working, road maintenance Willie is working.

 So, it is a beautiful slogan and that keeps him on his toes to always look for what to do. Anambra state is blessed and with total submission to the will of God, I thank the press because they have been there for the ministry. They are part of the storms that blew. They are part of the success story. They are part of our adventures in capturing and exposing the perpetrators of violence against children and trafficking in human beings.

   Most of you have witnessed that but at the end of the day, Anambra state happens to be an area where such crime will be committed. It was on the cost of our effort that the NAPTIP gave us a commendation and the Secretary to the Federal Government of the federation (SFG) senator Anyim Pius Anyim personally wrote a letter, commending Anambra state for our effort in harmonizing and centralizing adoption processes in the state.

   So, we have done all we could and we pray that in coming persons will definitely surpass what we have done and by so doing, our dear state, Anambra would not only become a child friendly state, but a state known for child protection.

   Having served for 31 years, what next?

   As a matter of fact, I have already floated an NGO which is called, My Child, My Care” initiative. The NGO centres on the total wellbeing of the child. You see, once you have started service to humanity, you definitely will continue to do such service. It is my duty and everybody’s duty to make sure we contribute our individual quota in any manner in terms of exposing perpetrators. 

Don’t abet, don’t aid and then, the child will be free. It was this issue that made us change our orphanages, to community children’s home which is with the effort of the Anambra state school parliamentaries and today we have an association of Anambra state registered community children’s home.

   The essence of that is to have a good platform and to have what we call, minimum standard of operation, so that this mushroom or illegal depots they take advantage of, will definitely fizzle out. I am happy too that the police are equally on the fore front as vanguard to ensure a successful child friendly state.

   So, they have been working, they have been coming to the rescue and have been making the state very uncomfortable for such perpetrators. So, as I move out, I will continue the crusade as a volunteer and I will equally continue consultancy services so, that all those who need to be developed will be developed and definitely am going to work closely with the ministry to ensure that the officers left behind are properly guided and they do not fall to the drums and guns of the perpetrators because such perpetrators are called machinery. 

They don’t ever surrender. They retreat and re-enforce but with what we are doing, and keeping abreast, watching them bomber too bomber they will definitely not reappear. They will retreat and go from there.

   Do you see the idea of not being a permanent secretary before retiring as regret?  

   I really have all I t takes to be a permanent secretary. Even at the time in the last dispensation, I thought I would have made a perm sec but incidentally and based on criteria on ground, federal character, quota, it appears we have a lot of permanent secretaries in the area I come from and so, there is no way we can all be made Permanent Secretary. But I thank God that I got to where I am today but it was my wish that I would have made a permanent secretary but where it didn’t come so, to God be the glory.

   Secondly, there is another area I regret so much, and that is the lack of knowledge and death of interest in the profession. Our officers, I pray, should pick up and live up to expectation. They should seek knowledge and that is why we are saying, if they had done that, there will be no regret for so ever because, definitely the job will continue and get beyond the limit. 

I would have been traveling out but definitely, I am going to stay around to guide them, because is like they suddenly realized that somebody is moving. So, leaving them abruptly will be disastrous but guiding them will be the best, so that they will excel beyond what we have done.

   And again, I would have had a greatest regret if the recent recruitment were actually not made. It is most unfortunate that after the senior management staff cadre, or grade level 13 and above, the next officer is grade level 08. It’s a source of worry and my greatest regret. 

But, I believe that with the number we have, if they are well guided and trained within the next 5 years, the service will come back to what it is used to be. I also pray the Almighty God to give them the wisdom to steer the sheep in the next 5 years before the crop of these new entries. If the recruitment will be a continue exercise, that we don’t have to leave such vacuum and gaps among rank and file.

   Considering the experiences you had over the years, what is your advice to the younger ones?

   The advice I will give to our subordinates as they take over the mantle of leadership is for them to be ready to face challenges. If you are a social worker, you must put up your helmet. You must put up your booth. Perpetrators will come in various guises. You must always watch and pray so that they do not find any means of roping any of them.

   Thank God the people I am leaving behind have been very very obedient, they have learnt the much they could and I will always say they need to be open eyes as they see what happens in this office. 

People come in various forms and guises and before you know it, you are branded a syndicate and once you are branded a syndicate, you cannot wriggle out. So, you must know what it takes to be here and be able to sift the chaff from the substance. You must not jump to issues because all these shinning things that appears like gold may not be gold after all.