The work ethics of many of our people is nothing to write home about and there are numerous examples that one can cite. In both the public and private sectors.
It would seem as if the attitude and mindset is cultural. A common saying is ‘A kii nsise Oba laa gun’ which roughly translates to mean you do not have to sweat while doing government (public) work. The irony is that people who indulge in this would equally be docile and lazy while doing their personal (private) work.
You want to enrol on the National Identity Management System and they make it look like it’s rocket science. It is as if they are doing you a special favour. You begin to wonder why is it so difficult to assign a mere number in this day and age when it should be fairly easy and straightforward leveraging on technology.
You want to replace a lost SIM card and the service provider keeps tossing you up and down; forgetting that his/her employer is losing revenue for every day you are off their network. And these are private entities.
A meeting is called for 10 am yet participants will not start strolling in so casually without any feeling of guilt nor urgency until after 30 minutes after the expected commencement time and many do not consider it very rude to arrive after the Chairman was already seated; meanwhile we are told that punctuality is the soul of business. In Africa, we apparently still use the position of the sun to estimate the time of the day (African time).
The need for a change of heart cannot be over emphasized. Every customer or client cherishes being attended to promptly and courteously.
Have a great week ahead.
Idowu Olayinka
Former Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan
