All is now set for the launch, in Lagos, of a book which could be described as an encyclopedia of the Nigerian Civil Service.

Written by retired Federal Permanent Secretary Chief Ebun Omoyele, the book, The Civil Service in Nigeria: Evolution and Challenges, will be presented to the public on Thursday, November 22, at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island. The event is billed to start at 11:30 a.m., with Mr. B.A. Ehizuelen, another retired Federal Permanent Secretary, as chairman and Otunba Subomi Balogun, pioneer of merchant banking in Nigeria, as chief launcher.

The Civil Service in Nigeria: Evolution and Challenges is a comprehensive review of the federal bureaucracy at the service of Nigerian government since British colonialism. The book traces the origin of the Nigeria Civil Service from the era of British colonisation to the present day. It highlights the role the civil service has played over the years in the development of the country, including how it helped to stabilise the country especially in the heady days of the 1960s. It also highlights various challenges the civil service has experienced under different forms of government.

The author, Chief Omoyele, OON, holds a B.Sc. (Econs) degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London. After graduation, he joined the Federal Civil Service in 1959 and diligently served in different administrative capacities in a number of ministries, particularly those often referred to as ‘economics ministries’, such as the Federal Ministry of Finance where he spent about a third of his civil service career.

At various times, he was Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office and at the federal ministries of Health and Social Welfare; Employment, Labour and Productivity; as well as the Presidency.

In addition to his normal ministry duties, Chief Omoyele represented the Federal Government on a part-time basis, in a number of organisations. These included membership of the Boards of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, Nigeria Ports Authority and the Bank of Commerce and Industry; governing councils of the Universities of Lagos and Ibadan and the International Labour Organisation.

Chief Omoyele was also Nigeria’s alternate governor of the African Development Bank and Chairman of the National Provident Fund Management Board. He retired from the Federal Civil Service in 1984 upon 25 years of meritorious service, after which he also served as chairman of the Ondo State Water Corporation. In 2000, Nigeria conferred the distinguished technocrat with the National Honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

•Photo: The book’s author, Chief Omoyele.