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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Public administration practitioners and lecturers in the universities have pulled out from the political science association they were, and formed their own discipline association named Public Administration Theories and Practice Forum.
The public administrators said they are tired of being treated with less dignity and respect by people in political science discipline, hence the decision to gather themselves to form a formidable association that would champion the cause of transforming the discipline and better the lots of practitioners.
Speaking at the maiden national conference of the association in Abuja, on Thursday, the Vice Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof Olufemi Peters, commended the desire of the public administrator practitioners to set up a body that would see to the betterment of the discipline and its practitioners.
Prof Peters who was represented by Prof. Samson Osoba, Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences, NOUN, challenged the public administrators to pull their colleagues and resources from within and outside the universities to strengthen the association so they could mobilize, speak and champion a cause for the good of the people.
Dr. Nwamaka Patricia Ibeme of the faculty of public administration, NOUN, in her welcome address described the association as a prayer answered, as it has been the desire of the public administrators and lecturers to secure their freedom from political science association and chat a new course for their discipline.
She said: “The desire for this association arose when some public administration scholars in Nigeria decided to carve a niche for ourselves outside the traditional political science space.
“The reason was to enable us make our impact felt in the affairs of public sector administration of Nigeria.”
She explained that the mission of the association is to unify public administration academics in the universities and other research institution’s interests in critical thinking and greater understanding of governance and development in the public sector.
She added: “It’s also our hope that the association will facilitate academic cooperation and collaboration between public administration and policy scholars in Nigeria, and cognate discipline and international political, economic development organisation in Africa and beyond.
“It’s also our dream that the association will become pan African and eventually global, as we take our rightly place in the public administration space, and in defining the way the public related issues and challenges are dressed to benefit of our institutions and government.”
Meanwhile, a Professor of public administration and political economy, Akongbowa Amadasun, in his remarks, admitted that public administration discipline was not only struggling for independence from political science but was also seeking to change the governance narrative in Nigeria.
He was optimistic that the association will serve as a place for sustained research and practice interface with stakeholders in the governance of the Nigerian state in all ramifications.
“In addition to that, it will provide valuable opportunity for exchange of knowledge and experience in public management, and will also mark a new beginning in the transformation of public administration as a discipline and practice in Nigeria,” he added.
