Let the ministers commence work
Wednesday on Channels Television. It was a beautiful scenario to watch how the man of the moment doled out the portfolios to the expectant but anxious ministers.
After the swearing in ceremony which took quite some time and drama to accomplish, Buhari speedily assigned port- folios to the 36 chosen men and women of integrity while at the same time pocketing the Minister of Petroleum portfolio for himself, like his friend and mentor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Such oddity of presidents taking charge of a ministry, especially oil ministry, can only happen in Nigeria’s nascent democracy. I do not know why it is only oil ministry they are interested in instead of agriculture. I say agriculture because both of them are reputable farmers.
Earlier on, I have advised Buhari to man the country and allow his ministers to run the ministries but the Wednesday episode has confirmed to me that he did not listen.
All the same, let us forget and forge ahead. That has been our culture in this country. We are all used to collective amnesia. That can explain why history repeats itself in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. Don’t be surprised if very soon, we forget about the war against corruption. Did I hear you shout God forbid! It has happened before. We are used to hearing Nigerians plead with government, “it is enough, it is enough” in sympathy with someone they think is being persecuted. It does not really matter if it is corruption matter or any other that the government is prosecuting. We are adept at overlooking matters as soon as time has elapsed.
Like everything Buhari, the North and the South-West, which bankrolled him into power, got the juicy and strategic ministries. The two power blocs are in charge of Petroleum (Buhari), Defence (Ali), Education (Adamu), Finance (Adeosun), Power, Works and Housing (Fashola), some critics say that Fashola’s portfolio is too much for one man.
The rest include Agriculture (Ogbeh), Justice (Malami), Interior (Dambazau), Water Resources (Suleiman Adamu), Information (Mohammed), Communication (Shittu) and others.
And what did the South-East, the whipping zone of Nigerian politics get? As usual, it got the crumbs and those others didn’t like to touch even with a long spoon and these are: Trade and Investment (Enelamah), Labour and Employment (Ngige), Minister of Science and Technology (Onu), Foreign Affairs (Onyema) and Minister of State, Education (Anwuka).
There is actually nothing to complain about. After all, the zone did not give plenty votes to Buhari. In fact, we got these ones simply because it was constitutionally guaranteed that Buhari must choose members of his cabinet from the 36 states.
I am yet to see the balancing act in appointments that Buhari handlers promised that will be done in respect of the South-East. When will that be? Is it a case of waiting for Godot? When will Godot come? When shall the Igbo salvation come in Nigeria?
I don’t want to be among those that argue that the raging cry over Biafra is because Buhari did not offer Igbo appointments as personal staff. They may also be right. But I think that more than that lame excuse, the extant combative Biafran chants stem more from the wicked political exclusion of the Igbo from Nigeria’s topmost post, the Presidency, 45 years after the hostility and the structural imbalance of restricting the South- East to five states while most had six and one zone had seven. Remedy these and the freedom chants will subside.
Unfortunately, the architects of that Igbophobic state policy are still around urging those in power that these Biafran irate chanters would not do anything and are incapable of doing nothing. I do not subscribe to this dumb notion because such underrating of a separatist group can be counter-productive.
After all, the old Biafra was highly underrated by the Nigerian establishment before the war of words led to a thirtymonth fratricidal warfare with heavy casualties on both sides. Let us not go through that ugly past again.
All things considered, what has truly added more fuel and impetus to the mounting battle cry over Biafra is the detention of Nnamdi Kanu of Radio Biafra fame by Buhari. By that single act, which ought to have been avoided, Buhari has not only made Kanu a hero but has lionized a hitherto unknown young man, who did not even witness the horrors of the Biafran war unlike numerous other Igbo, including my humble self.
It is my view that Buhari can still remedy the situation by setting the young man free and do something to restructure Nigeria. We have shared ministerial portfolios, every other geo-political zone in the country got six, only the South-East zone got five slots.
Yet somebody is busy telling me that the Ralph Uwazuruike and Kanu groups will not disrupt the peace of the land or if they do, it is because somebody lost an election. That theory being propounded by some politicians in Abuja and Owerri that the thunderous cry over Biafra is because former president Goodluck Jonathan lost the election is quite unfounded. They should remove Jonathan’s name out of such absurdity that has no basis in truth.
I hate the penchant of Nigerian politicians to simplify intricate matters that had been with us since independence or even before it. Such simplistic reductionism lacks logic and intellectual rigours.
What we pray for is for Buhari’s cabinet to succeed in delivering his numerous and lofty campaign promises including the payment of the N5,000 stipend to 25 mil- lion unemployed Nigerians.
I am not among those that say that fulfilling this promise will kill the economy. I want the economically deprived Nigerians to really benefit from their government. They are actually the ones that stood in the sun and rain to cast their votes.
All the same, I congratulate all the lucky Nigerians found worthy to be in charge of the 24 ministries. I charge them to hit the ground running because this administration has lost so much time.
They should work at high speed to be able to achieve some of the promises of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
They have no time to waste at all. But they must work like a team if the government will succeed. They should emulate our Golden Eaglets that recently defended their FIFA cadet World Cup in Chile.
Source: sunnewsonline.com
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