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The culture of sycophancy is becoming a growing phenomenon in Nigeria of today. This is especially very noticeable among holders of public offices. Our public officers of today behave as if their lives depend entirely on the authority that appointed them. In order therefore to please the appointing authority, most of them engage in untoward acts. They do not just bootlick and kow tow before their superior officers, they flatter them in words and deeds with a view to gaining the favour of the public officers.

This is nauseating as it is demeaning. And if there is any area where this uncultured act has taken roots, it is in the penchant which public officers have for sending out congratulatory messages to their bosses most of whom occupy positions of authority and responsibility. When public officers are not congratulating people who have acquired one title or another, they will be praising others to high heavens on their birthdays. The motive, generally speaking, is to curry favour and be in the good books of those in authority.

In recent months, the nation has been inundated with a plethora of congratulatory messages that come in this guise. Many newspaper advertisements which focus attention on special occasions being observed or marked by people in authority have become commonplace. In most of the cases, the advertorials are sponsored by public officers whom those being congratulated are supposed to supervise. For instance, it is commonplace to see public officers of a parastatal congratulating the Minister who oversees its activities. Ministers, Governors and Directors-General also congratulate authorities above them. And what is really objectionable about all this is that the advertorials are sponsored by these public officers with public funds.

This act goes against the grain of the circular issued by the Head of Service early in the life of this administration that public officers should not use public funds to send congratulatory messages to anybody. To do so is therefore not only unethical and illegal, it is an abuse of office. This development is worrisome especially in a clime like ours where people can easily be unduly influenced. It is a well known fact that many people in authority have been arm-twisted, compromised or cajoled into acting in ways they ordinarily would not have acted if sycophants and praise singers had not laid siege on them through such make-beliefs called congratulatory messages. For us, this is sycophancy at its worst. It is unbecoming of public officers to do so.

Besides, those who are at the receiving end of these messages should take them with a pinch of salt. They should see through the lies contained in these messages and discountenance them for what they are-fraudulent pieces of information aimed at gaining favours.

In the light of the current abuses, we feel that the concerned authorities should speak up on this act of illegality. The Civil Service and other relevant government departments should issue fresh guidelines on this matter. Beyond issuing guidelines, there should be sanctions for those who violate the order. This is imperative in order to safeguard our polity from avoidable abuses.

In fact, people who occupy positions of public trust should learn to draw a line between their personal sympathies and the offices they occupy. Individuals who so wish can, on their own, send out such messages, but the office they occupy or tax payers' money should not be involved in this. Public office is a public trust. And it should not be subjected to the whims and idiosyncrasies of those who hold such offices in trust