Reforms Built On Individuals Won't Last, Dr. Yemi-Esan Warns @ 2026 ICSC

The immediate past Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, on Thursday insisted that reforms built on individuals are not sustainable.

According to her, reforms that will stand the test of time must be built on institutions.

She spoke in Abuja as a member of panelists that spoke on the topic "Sustaining Reform Through Political and Administrative Transitions." at the Day 2 of the International Civil Service Conference.

While the lead panelist was Dr. Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, Head of the Civil Service of Ghana, other panelists are Causemore Maringa, Permanent Secretary of Public Sector Reforms and Performance, office of the President and Cabinet of Zimbabwe, and Mr. Alieu Njie, Secretary to Cabinet and Head of Civil Service, The Gambia.

Dr. Yemi-Esan said "For reforms to be sustainable, it must be institutional based, not based on any individual. If it is based on an individual, as the individual moves out, the reform moves out with that individual.

"So it must be rooted in institutions. It also must have some form of legal framework.

"There must be some stamping to that reform process so that whoever comes in sees the reform as something they must follow." she stated

For the reform to be successful, she also stated that it must be widely acceptable to the people targeted for the reform.

"Another thing is that the reform must be widely accepted by people or the group you want to reform so that even when an individual goes, there is already an existing system. So the reform on its own will progress." Dr. Yemi-Esan said

The lead panelist, Dr. Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, stressed that people generally will oppose any reform, as they don't know what the future holds for them.

He said "I want to suggest to us that reforms are usually any artificial inducement against resistance.

"So, anytime you want to undertake reforms, you need to know that people will resist. People will resist fundamentally because they are comfortable with the status quo.

"They do not want the status quo to change. So anytime you want to reform, we need to know that they are coming against the reforms." he added

He also stressed that the topic is of essence to the survival of a people as public sector reforms are central to effective governance.

He said "The real essence of governance is the good of the people.
Institutional accountability and national development are very important in today's world.

"Indeed most of our constitutions on the continent talks about associational autonomy, and therefore we belong to different groupings. No two people are the same, that's a fundamental part of life."

Transitions, he said, will bring renewals, some innovations, and some institutional strengthenings in the process.

On whether reforms are resilient enough to withstand periods of transitions, he added "Reforms often lose momentum due to weak institutional framework, limited ownership, policy discontinuity or inadequately management capacity."

On his part, Mr. Alieu Njie, noted that reforms must be affordable to be sustainable.