Nigeria Public Service Problem and Prospect (Case Study of Nigeria Television Authority, Sokoto)
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study;
- To explain the importance of public service in the state
- To ascertain the problems impeding the efficiency and effectiveness of the Nigeria public service
- To examine the impact of the problem on the capacity of the public service to facilitate the running of government in Nigeria.
- To acquire more knowledge on how to utilize government resources for high productivity and efficiency.
- To point out and realize the various techniques that tend to encourage active participation of the people in initiating, planning, executing, and as well use their initiative to get things done properly in the service.
- To make recommendations by revealing what is expected of the public service in a given state.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
NEW MEDIA AND BROADCASTING IN NIGERIA
Public Service Broadcasting in Nigeria has continued to grow immensely in line with global trends despite strong infrastructural challenges. Communicating with a mass audience is not totally strange in Nigeria (Nwanne, 2016). The use of these new media technologies in the broadcast industry in Nigeria today can be largely attributed to the deregulation of the industry by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida in 1992. According to Udeajah (2004:164) the deregulation of the broadcasting sector was a landmark achievement in Nigeria as it gave constitutional backing to the private ownership of broadcasting stations which was formerly an exclusive right of the government. In Nigeria today, there is no doubt that the stiff competition in the broadcast industry is as a result of the private broadcast stations trying to effectively compete with the public or government owned stations with their modern sophisticated digital broadcasting equipment. The government stations on their part have started to take the lead by digitalizing their stations to modern world standards with a view to facing the challenges of modern broadcasting propelled by the new media technologies. This also affirms the stand of the National Broadcasting Commission in stipulating that by the year 2017, all broadcasting stations and equipment still in analogue, must be phased out of the country; as such, Nigeria transited from analogue to digital television viewing on April 30, 2016 in the city of Jos, the Plateau State Capital when it launched the pilot phase of the Federal Government’s digital transmission project that kick started the digitisation process in Nigeria. The reason for this may not be unconnected with the idea of the regulatory body to ensure that the opportunities which the new media technologies herald as well as the challenges they pose on the broadcasting industry are taken and maximized for the optimum use of the citizens of Nigeria.
CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATIONS
Public Administration
Public Administration, like every other academic term, has been conceptualized from diverse perspectives. That is why Kautilya (1999) observes that the concept has been seen as featuring hetero-doxy rather than orthodoxy. Despite the plethora of conceptualizations, the fact remains that public administration is an aspect of the generic term “administration” whose essence is “determined action taken in pursuit of group- earmarked objectives.” It is concerned with co-operative human efforts geared towards pre-determined goals (Apeh, 2014). Public administration may be considered both a field of action and a field of study (Anifowose and Enemuo, 1999). As a field of action, public administration refers to the mechanics and structures through which government policies are implemented. It means the institution of public bureaucracy in a State (i.e. the organizational structure which forms the basis of public decision-making and implementation). At the heart of public administration in modern State is the civil service but it also includes all of the bodies at the national, state and local levels (in a federal system of government) or central and regional levels (in a unitary system). Public administration denotes the arrangements by which public goods or services are delivered. As a field of study, it refers to the academic discipline which studies the mechanics or structures through which government plans and implements its programmes. The main thrust of public administration as an academic discipline is the development of a public sector organization theory different from the intellectual leaning of private sector organization theory and market principle (McLean and McMillan, 2003).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to Nigeria public service problem and prospect.
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
- Primary source and
- Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in gathering information relevant to Nigeria public service problem and prospect. Two hundred (200) staff of NTA, Sokoto state was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF DATA
One hundred and sixty (160) questionnaires were distributed and one hundred and forty (133) were returned. This figure was the sample size. Out of the one hundred and thirty-three, only one hundred and twenty (120) were properly responded to. As a result, the researcher used one hundred and twenty for this study when more than 50% of the respondents agree to the questions, the answer is taken as valid for the purpose of this study. In analyzing the data, the approach that will be adopted is to find out the percentage and positive and negative answers to the question posed.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain Nigeria public service problem and prospect.
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of Nigeria public service problem and prospect.
Summary
This study was on Nigeria public service problem and prospect. Four objectives were raised which included; To explain the importance of public service in the state, to ascertain the problems impeding the efficiency and effectiveness of the Nigeria public service, to examines the impact of the problem on the capacity of the public service to facilitate the running of government in Nigeria, to acquire more knowledge on how to utilize government resources for high productivity and efficiency, to point out and realize the various techniques that tend to encourage active participation of the people in initiating, planning, executing and as well use their own initiative to get things done properly in the service, to make recommendation by reveal what is expected of the public service in a given state. In line with these objectives, four research question were formulated and interpreted. The total population for the study is 200 staff of NTA Sokoto state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made directors, production managers, broadcasters and junior staff was used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
Broadcasting is a worthwhile venture if creatively and tactically managed. This management of modern broadcasting in Nigeria’s public service broadcasting can be successful if channelled through the right new media technologies with a blend of the old media. As a result of the new media, there is the need to determine whether Practitioners in the Nigerian public service broadcasting sector understand the new media technologies as an indispensable tool meant for their effective operations, find out what really constitutes the new media technologies in the broadcast industry, unveiling the advantages the new media technologies hold for the broadcast sector in Nigeria, as well as ascertaining how public service broadcast practitioners in Nigeria perceive the new media; and to know those problems militating against the acceptance or acquisition of the new media in Nigeria. The most public service broadcast stations in Nigeria are still transmitting on analogue broadcast equipment. There is the need to urgently equip the public service broadcasting stations with new media facilities which are capable of placing them in the same pedestal as their counterparts in Africa and other developing countries of the world if properly utilised.
Recommendation
Nigerian public service broadcasters should fully embrace and adapt to the use of new media technologies in other to fully remain relevant in the industry.
That for the dream of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on the phasing out of analogue broadcasting equipment to be realised in 2017, the commission must step up efforts geared at ensuring that broadcasting stations acquire standard facilities capable of putting Nigeria’s broadcasting industry in the same pedestal as its counterparts globally.
To ensure effective and maximum utilisation of new media technologies in the public service broadcasting, efforts should be made by the relevant stakeholders to ensure that broadcasters in the public service are trained properly on how to use digital broadcasting equipment.
Government as a matter of policy must ensure that there is total removal of all barriers militating against the acquisition of new media facilities for broadcasting in public service broadcasting.
Public service broadcasters, directors, producers and other key personnel in public service broadcasting should be trained on the recent technological innovations with regards to the use of Internet, computer and satellites; and have a grounded knowledge of the New Media.
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