In many parts of the world, to serve one’s country in any capacity (from the presidential/prime ministerial level to that of an office clerk or security man) is considered as one of the most honourable and important jobs to do. This is because it is through public service that the security of the nation is maintained, lives and properties of the citizens are protected, life-saving services are provided, critical infrastructure provided, among many other functions that are performed. This explains why countries like Switzerland, Luxembourg, the United States, Singapore, Norway, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Germany, and United Arab Emirates (UAE), in this order, offer the highest salaries to their public servants as of 2026 statistics. These latest statistics came from a combination of sources such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Public Sector Pay Reports; World Bank Government Wage Data; International Monetary Fund (IMF) Public Compensation Statistics; and Glassdoor & Government Pay Portals.
Given the very important role of keeping the nation going, it is right that public servants are adequately remunerated to prevent them from doing great disservice to the nation. This is why the governments of the ten countries mentioned above accord the highest level of respect and prestige to their public servants, and the countries in turn expect (and actually get) good performance from public servants. For example, instances of great disservice are not rampant in these countries because there is equity in salary differentials. The International Labour Organizations (ILO) concept of decent pay is determinedly or intentionally implemented.
Broadly speaking, all public officials, whether in elected, career, or appointed capacity, are referred to as public servants. For example, the president of Nigeria, governors of States, and chairpersons of Local Government Councils and all elected, appointed and career officials, in the three arms of government, are all public servants because they hold office primarily to serve the Nigerian people. This is against the erroneous thinking by some people that only the career civil servants, public officials in parastatals and agencies, as well as in the universities, in other higher educational institutions, and security agencies, etc., are the ones to be called public servants.
By design, all public officials are servants of the people rather than their masters. When public servants become masters of the people by promoting their own interests rather than those of the people, implementation of public policies suffers. Policy formulation also suffers when it is driven dominantly by actions meant to protect and promote personal interests than public interests. Consequently, public service disservice is a situation where public institutions established to serve the people, as well as to protect and promote public interests, ends up doing the opposite. The opposite or disservice are all activities that hurt or damage public interests. This article is an attempt to highlight how some parts of public service can do great disservice and damage to the overall interest of Nigeria.
Let’s illustrate with what is happening between the Mining Marshals of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). There was an accusation which the Commander of the elite Mining Marshals of the NSCDC John Onoja Attah brought to the public domain through a petition to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP). The petition centers on the allegation that the Nigeria Police is sabotaging, extorting and targeting to cripple the anti-illegal Mining Unit of the NSCDC. According to the story (widely reported during the months of May and June, 2026 by Sahara Reporters, the Punch Newspaper, the Vanguard News, PRNigeria News, The Nation Newspaper, among many others), the police released a report after an investigation into the death of a Guard Commander Agada Levi, who was a Mining Marshal operative. The police report said that over N2 billion was traced to an officer of the NSCDC’s bank account following the death of the Mining Marshals’ operative. The police arrested three NSCDC officers over the colleague’s death.
However, in his petition, Mr. John Onoja Attah rejected the police report and rather accused the police of attempts to sabotage their efforts to prosecute illegal miners. He cited a case of an earlier violent confrontation involving the shooting of NSCDC officers by the police. A more serious allegation was that the officers from the Police Force Intelligence Department (FID) have continuously harassed mining Marshals thereby disrupting their lawful enforcement activities in Nasarawa State. However, the most serious allegation for me is the revelation that foreign nationals (particularly Chinese) whose illegal mining activities were shut, are bankrolling some police elements to orchestrate a blackmail towards crippling the anti-illegal Mining Unit of the NSCDC.
The allegation, therefore, that some foreign nationals involved in illegal mining are colluding with some police officials to weaken the Marshals’ enforcement capability, is a very serious one that, if found to be true, is a serious disservice to our nation. The investigation should go beyond the police and the NSCDC. In fact, the case is beyond inter-agency cooperation between the Police and NSCDC. Another investigative agency should take up the case for the sake of unraveling the truth.
The truth should be unraveled in this weighty matter because minerals are critical for Nigeria’s rapid development. Again, illegal mining by foreign nationals is alleged to be one of the causes of insecurity in certain parts of the country. It is no longer secret that illegal mining operations for instance by Chinese nationals in search of the highly valued minerals such as lithium, gold, and ilmenite (locally called ‘black sand’) have raised huge concerns in our country – a rich yet poor country – that has everything and still lacks everything. What an irony?
Happily enough, news reports from many newspapers reveal that through the collaborative efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Mining Marshals of the NSCDC, many Chinese nationals have been arrested and prosecuted across the country. Cases of arrests and prosecution have occurred in States such as Nasarawa in May/June, 2026; Abia in April 2026; Kwara in March 2025; Akwa Ibom in July 2025; Ogun in May 2025; and Niger in May 2025. We know that illegal mining operations are going on in many other states of the federation not mentioned here, especially in States like Zamfara, Osun, Oyo, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe, among other places, and even in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Yet, some public servants in security agencies and in other regulatory bodies meant to stop these illegal mining operations are the ones aiding such. By their failure, they are doing great disservice to the nation.
Public servants have a sacred duty to protect the economic interest of the nation. Many Nigerians are living in poverty while our abundant mineral resources are illegally mined by foreign nationals. The worst or greatest disservice is that some unpatriotic public servants are colluding with foreign nationals to make this happen. This should not continue. The staff of the relevant agencies charged with stopping this should live up to their name as public servants rather than public masters, for after all, in the true sense, it is the citizens themselves that are their public masters.
Prof. Obasi, a public policy expert, is of the Department of Public Administration at the Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja (formerly University of Abuja).
