By Emmanuel Obisue
Civil servants in Africa have been urged to adopt 21st century working models such as Artificial Intelligence, AI, and other innovative solutions to transform the operations of Public Service.
These, and other key conversations were brought to the fore on Wednesday on Day One of the 2025 International Civil Service Week held in Abuja.
In her Welcome Address at the gathering of over 5,000 participants across Africa’s civil service space, Nigeria’s Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, HCSF, Didi Walson-Jack, said the conference was born from a shared recognition that the civil service is at a crossroads, and has been compelled to respond to 21st-century challenges.
“From Ghana’s citizen-centered e-governance, to Kenya’s institutional accountability frameworks, Singapore’s AI-powered service architecture, and Morocco’s integrated digital identity and public service delivery reforms, we are showcasing models that are redefining public sector performance. Delegates will engage with tested innovations and explore how to adapt them to their unique national context,” she said.
“We must rejuvenate to renew the spirit, skills, and structure of the civil service. This means attracting young talent, building leadership pipelines, empowering women and marginalized groups, and rekindling public trust through values-based service.
“Bureaucracy must not mean stagnation. We must rethink how policies are made, how services are delivered, and how data and technology are harnessed to serve the people better.
“Time is no longer a luxury, citizens are waiting, climate is changing and resources are limited. We must move from plans to implementation from ideas to measurable change and do so with urgency,” she added.
Speaking to journalists by the sidelines of the Pan-African event, governance expert and Country Director at DAI, Dr. Joe Abah advised that even if civil servants fear that their jobs may be taken over by AI, they must embrace it.
“It’s inevitable. The civil service will embrace technology. They will embrace artificial intelligence, they will embrace blockchain for keeping documents secure. It’s inevitable. It’s just a matter of time,” Abah said.
Similarly, Olusegun Olulade, Executive Director, Customer Centricity and Marketing at Galaxy Backbone Limited, affirmed that Nigeria’s civil service is ready to go fully digital.
“We are the backbone that everybody is riding on. We have everything. We have the expertise. We have the infrastructure already in the country. And that is why we are also championing the issue of data protection. Nigeria is ready”. “The head of service has said that every ministry and agencies of government must be fully digitized by December. So that shows you that we’re ready. We have everything ready for the transition,” he added.
