ACCOUNTABILITY AS A TOOL FOR PROGRESS
Accountability has today become a very popular concept in our
political and administrative vocabulary. Accountability has been defined
according to Woods, and Alan (1996) as the rendering of returns on
stewardship relating to the management of funds and other assets of
which individuals or institution have been custodian.
In the public sector, accountability entails among other things the
making of returns of revenue accruing to it. When there is proper
accountability of these resources, the government will be in a position
to provide its citizens with basic wants for example, hospital,
education, waster, electricity and so on for the general progress of the
society.
At the 18th Annual Accountant’s Conference in September, 1998 which
took place at NICON Hotel, Abuja on public sector accounting organized
by the institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chief J. K.
Prajitle representing Peat Marwick and Ogunde company chartered
accountant) presented a paper titled “Account ability in the new civil
service structure” he quoted the president of Nigeria General Ibrahim B.
Babangida as saying that “Every Nigeria parents wants a better Nigeria
for his children, that the succeeding generation should reap the reward
of the sacrifice of its predecessor, and that our sons and daughters
cannot and should not be concerned to the compulsory inheritance of
perennial pair and degradation. It is therefore from this grand vision
that the civil service must take its due if the new reforms are to be of
lasting importance as regards to progress.
National interest should be of importance and non-negotiable. From
the above quotation, this desired objectives can only be achieved when
the operation of the reforms are dedicated and patriotic.
It is the lack of effective and efficiency techniques and tools for
accountability in Nigeria, that lead to large chunk of government money
pumped for the creation of mass transit program, water project and so on
which cannot be accounted for, investigations and newspapers reports
show that the projects executed by these agencies and the billions
option on them. This is a serious situation when politician takes over
them, as they might use them to siphon funds for the demands and
satisfaction of parts stewards.
Clearly, those schemes are good ideas but unless it is properly
managed, it will just be a drain pipe on our resources. With brain drain
is also a problem that we have to tackle due to lack of proper
management of resources, this had led to talent and some experienced
civil servant “checking out” to seek fortunes in foreign trade.