Fellow Nigerians, please take this piece as a rhetorical
question that requires no answer. I've always said that an
average Nigerian is an expert in conspiracy theories and
there is never a limit or end to the thesis we conjure from
time to time. Please, flash back to just some months ago, at
the peak of the PDP gragra, General Muhammadu Buhari was
completely ruled out of the race for reasons ranging from the
sublime to the ridiculous. He was supposed to be suffering
from all sorts of terminal ailments and even described as
brain dead by some uncharitable souls. The doomsday
prophets did not appear to reckon with the great man's
personality, integrity and perseverance. They also seemingly
dismissed out of hand, the yearning of most Nigerians for
change from whatb they perceived to be a corrupt and inept
regime. But it would seem a miracle has occurred so soon and
a Lazarus has been raised from the dead.
Since winning the election, we have moved from those old
tales to new ones. Buhari is now said to be slow, even slower
than the snail or tortoise because of our penchant for being in
a hurry and rushing to nowhere. The same accusers would
have accused him of being too dictatorial if he was too fast
and decided to choose his team in a jiffy without making
wide consultations and investigations about those to be
chosen and those to be discarded. It should have been clear
to all that there would be many deserving and worthy
candidates for the post of cabinet ministers because Nigeria
is indeed a country blessed with abundant gifted and
talented human resources. Any selection process was bound
to be complicated if not long drawn out because of this fact
and not simply because of the President Buhari's quest to
find champions for his anti-corruption crusade who would
not themselves be smeared or tainted by allegations or whiffs
of the noxious odour of corruption. Besides there was also
the fact that the President had to cater for the various vested
interests and balance those interests in the overall interest of
the nation. No mean feat when dealing with a rich coalition
and amalgamation of strong political Parties and
personalities.
I have read all manner of comments since early this week
when the initial ministerial list was publicly disclosed by the
Senate President, Bukola Saraki. Some said President Buhari
had wasted four months to pick his cabinet since all he done
was to come up with the names of mostly people that had
initially been touted as potential ministers after the President
had been elected. The usual talebearers therefore saw nothing
good in the selection. They claimed there were no youths
and wrote off the much older nominees as being too geriatric
to govern a nation that requires all the energy it can muster.
There are cries from women's groups that women have been
marginalised and mistreated because only 3 of the 21
nominees are women.
Those who championed the cause of technocrats believe that
the President has failed them becasue there are no visible
technocrats amongst those nominated. The truth is that this is
only a partial list and some of these concerns, even if
genuine, may be subsequently dealt with when the final line-
up is published. Again what I can discern is that we are too
hasty in arriving at unjust accusations and conclusions. We
should exercise patience and restraint and wait for the
President to put his team together and explain why he has
chosen those people.
Furthermore, some of the nominees were accused of
unbridled corruption by fiat even if they've not been
prosecuted, tried or convicted. The armchair critics
lampooned President Buhari's anti-corruption stance as fake
or, at the very least, weak and ineffective. I'm sure they
wouldn't mind if Buhari unilaterally arrest supposed
criminals and flings them into jail or executes them without
trial. I have followed the raging debates on the ministerial
nominees with keen interest and my conclusion is that the
arguments and furore demonstrates that we do not really
know what we want most times as a people. It seems to me
that we are myopic in outloook and can only see the short
run, the smaller pictture.
We seem to lack the vision of a people committed to a
distant future of development and success in our collective
national endeavours, a commitment to long term goals and
aspirations that sees us cultivate and develop the present
crop of talents so that we can birth greater giants in the
future.
I reached the simple conclusion that many of the
commentators hardly knew or understood the issues at stake.
They are super human beings who know everything but have
forgotten the man on the hot seat is likely to know what most
of us don't. He has access to privileged and confidential
information that would have informed the choices that he
eventually made. I will continue to plead that we tarry awhile
before we begin to write off this President.
This is an unusual leadership at an unusual period of our
national existence. There is no gainsaying the fact that there
has been great rot and decay in our polity. Too many of our
worn-out institutions had virtually collapsed and a
reasonable, dedicated and meticulous leader would need to
study the situation a bit more before arriving at critical
decisions such as those that administer this country with him.
This is not to say governance should take eternity to kick-
start things but we have to wait a bit and see the direction
this government is headed. I confess that I have previously
had cause to call on the President to name his Ministers
quickly so that the business of government can continue in
earnest and the speculations and suspense engendered by the
failure to do so would be laid to rest.
More importantly the legal and constitutional implications
of not governing with Ministers was becoming an issue
which was an unnecessary distraction and was unfortunately
detracting from the patently obvious good work that this
adminstration has been doing and the remarkable progress
made in such a short time. The President decided to take his
time but thankfully we are now where we are and everything
is now a matter of history.
Now that President Buhari has picked about half of his men
and women, I'm one of those looking forward to some
blistering pace of action soon. I'm certain it will happen once
the Senate confirms the Ministers and President Buhari is
able to allocate and fill up key position.
The hues and cries about the Ministerial appointments are
diverse but I'm sure they would subside once we take time to
study the great individuals saddled with the task of restoring
hope, stamina and dignity to our nation. As I have said
clearly on social media, I'm reasonably impressed with the
list of Minsters released so far. Most of them are the people
that I have previously suggested are worthy material for the
noble assignment that the President seeks to entrust them
with. They have already proven themselves in previous
national asignemnts and in some cases stood firm and
supportive of the President in his leadership of the change
that Nigerians craved for. In essence, the nominees are
distinguished men and women of substance and intellect. It
is my hope and expectation that in alloting them portfolios
President Buhari will put round pegs in round holes and not
seek to assign them to positions where they are not best
suited.
I'm happy to see such big brands like Audu Ogbeh a former
Minister of yesteryears who handled both the
Communications and Steel Development portfolios at
different times betwen 1982 and 1983. He became a farmer
afterwards and was a great achiever and significant success in
that field until he became Chairman of the PDP in 2001. He
suspended his activities but returned to his first love when he
resigned from the Party chairmanship in 2005. He still has a
lot to contribute because his knowledge of the Agricultural
sector in Nigeria is astonishing.
I was privileged to watch him in action shortly before the
inauguration and I marvelled at the extent of his knowledge
as to what needed to be done to fix our agricultural sector
and return Nigeria to its enviable status as a foremost
agrarian nation and remove our dependency on the
monoproduct known as crude oil. There is the quintet of five
former governors led by Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, the first
Governor of Abia State from between 1992 and 1993. Other
Governors who are the product of this current Republic are
Dr Chris Ngige of Anambra State, Babatunde Fashola SAN of
Lagos State, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Kayode
Fayemi of Ekiti State.
Dr Ogbonnaya Onu made a first class degree in Chemical
Engineering from the University of Lagos and is an alumnus
of the renowned University of Claifornia, Berkeley, where he
obtained his Ph.D in Chemical Engineering. He lectured at
the University of Port Harcourt and is a Fellow of several
Enmgineering Societies in Nigeria. He is passionate about
using technology as a tool for national development and
during his tenure as a governor established a Technology
Village in his State and introduced free computers into
schools.
Dr Chris Ngige is a medical doctor who rose to become a
Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Health before
retiring to join politics. He distinguished himself as a
medical doctor and as a governor and naturally had a
predilection for medical projects during his tenure as
governor.
Babatunde Fashola SAN, needs no introduction to Nigerians.
A distinguisghed Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he has a cult
following because of the strides and advances he made whilst
he was a two term Governor of Lagos State. He continued the
work of his illustrious predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, in changing the face of Lagos State into a
cosmopolitan city that would rival any city in developing
countries of the world whilst at the same time also
continuing to increase the internally generated revenue of
the State.
The fire brand known as Rotimi Amaechi also needs no
introduction to Nigerians. He was one of the prime
arrowheads of the change movement and indeed it was his
resolute courage at the Nigeria's Governor's Forum which was
the major platforms for change. His reform agenda in Rivers
State and the progress made by that State in the areas of
infrastructural development and education cannot be
overemphasised. Last Sunday, his name went viral on Twitter
as Nigerians poured encomiums and paid special tribute to
his rare courage in the face of raw intimidation. He remains
the catalyst for change and a quintessential pride of APC
who must be protected from the PDP apparatchik who may
wish to take their pound of flesh when screening begins next
week.
Dr Kayode Fayemi is a graduate of History, Politics and
International Relations from the Universities of Lagos and Ife
respectively. He holds a Doctroate degree in war studies from
the world acclaimed Kings College of the University of
London. Dr Fayemi is a guru in foreign relations and
international community and was a successful Governor of
Ekiti State who brought much needed development to that
State with his distinct style of refinement.
Senator Hadi Sirika is a pilot who has a longstanding passion
for aviation. He was a member of the Senate Committee on
aviation and was known for his forthrightness in discussions
about Nigeria's almost comatose aviation sector and what is
needed to resucitate and revamp the sector. A credible person
he has long been a staunch supporter of President Buhari
who he regards as his mentor.
The three women nominated by President Buhari namely,
Senator Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, Amina Mohammed and
Kemi Adeosun are all distinguished women of integrity in
their own right.
Senator Aisha Al-Hassan, a lawyer by profession, was a
former Attorney – General of Taraba State and eventually
retired as Chief Registrar of the High Court of the Federal
Capital Territory. She became a Senator in 2011 and
contested for the post of Governor of taraba State in 2015 but
lost.
Amina Mohammed was until her nomination the United
Nation's Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Post-2015
Development Planning. She has been involved in the
management of more than US$1 billion debt relief funds in
Nigeria and has had the unique position of having served 3
Nigerian Presidents during the current political dispensation.
She has worked in projects involving reduction in pocverty
and gender and education in both Nigeria and at the United
Nations. She has also been involved in a multi-disciplinary
firm of engineers and quantity surveyors.
Mrs Kemi Adeosun was previously commissioner for Finance
in Ogun State under Governor Ibikunle amosun. Indeed she
had been nominated to retain her position until she was
nominated by President Buhari. Mrs Adeosun is an
Accountant who has worked at senior managerial level in the
United Kingdom and Nigeria. She has been routinely
involved in finance and financial mattrers for more than a
decade.
Space and time won't allow me to go on but there is always
another chance in the future. Even at this juncture, President
Buhari has shown the true stuff of a born again democrat with
his deft moves especially his latest working relationship with
the National Assembly. I'm sure he has more jokers in the
pack!
Sharing is Caring share this post
question that requires no answer. I've always said that an
average Nigerian is an expert in conspiracy theories and
there is never a limit or end to the thesis we conjure from
time to time. Please, flash back to just some months ago, at
the peak of the PDP gragra, General Muhammadu Buhari was
completely ruled out of the race for reasons ranging from the
sublime to the ridiculous. He was supposed to be suffering
from all sorts of terminal ailments and even described as
brain dead by some uncharitable souls. The doomsday
prophets did not appear to reckon with the great man's
personality, integrity and perseverance. They also seemingly
dismissed out of hand, the yearning of most Nigerians for
change from whatb they perceived to be a corrupt and inept
regime. But it would seem a miracle has occurred so soon and
a Lazarus has been raised from the dead.
Since winning the election, we have moved from those old
tales to new ones. Buhari is now said to be slow, even slower
than the snail or tortoise because of our penchant for being in
a hurry and rushing to nowhere. The same accusers would
have accused him of being too dictatorial if he was too fast
and decided to choose his team in a jiffy without making
wide consultations and investigations about those to be
chosen and those to be discarded. It should have been clear
to all that there would be many deserving and worthy
candidates for the post of cabinet ministers because Nigeria
is indeed a country blessed with abundant gifted and
talented human resources. Any selection process was bound
to be complicated if not long drawn out because of this fact
and not simply because of the President Buhari's quest to
find champions for his anti-corruption crusade who would
not themselves be smeared or tainted by allegations or whiffs
of the noxious odour of corruption. Besides there was also
the fact that the President had to cater for the various vested
interests and balance those interests in the overall interest of
the nation. No mean feat when dealing with a rich coalition
and amalgamation of strong political Parties and
personalities.
I have read all manner of comments since early this week
when the initial ministerial list was publicly disclosed by the
Senate President, Bukola Saraki. Some said President Buhari
had wasted four months to pick his cabinet since all he done
was to come up with the names of mostly people that had
initially been touted as potential ministers after the President
had been elected. The usual talebearers therefore saw nothing
good in the selection. They claimed there were no youths
and wrote off the much older nominees as being too geriatric
to govern a nation that requires all the energy it can muster.
There are cries from women's groups that women have been
marginalised and mistreated because only 3 of the 21
nominees are women.
Those who championed the cause of technocrats believe that
the President has failed them becasue there are no visible
technocrats amongst those nominated. The truth is that this is
only a partial list and some of these concerns, even if
genuine, may be subsequently dealt with when the final line-
up is published. Again what I can discern is that we are too
hasty in arriving at unjust accusations and conclusions. We
should exercise patience and restraint and wait for the
President to put his team together and explain why he has
chosen those people.
Furthermore, some of the nominees were accused of
unbridled corruption by fiat even if they've not been
prosecuted, tried or convicted. The armchair critics
lampooned President Buhari's anti-corruption stance as fake
or, at the very least, weak and ineffective. I'm sure they
wouldn't mind if Buhari unilaterally arrest supposed
criminals and flings them into jail or executes them without
trial. I have followed the raging debates on the ministerial
nominees with keen interest and my conclusion is that the
arguments and furore demonstrates that we do not really
know what we want most times as a people. It seems to me
that we are myopic in outloook and can only see the short
run, the smaller pictture.
We seem to lack the vision of a people committed to a
distant future of development and success in our collective
national endeavours, a commitment to long term goals and
aspirations that sees us cultivate and develop the present
crop of talents so that we can birth greater giants in the
future.
I reached the simple conclusion that many of the
commentators hardly knew or understood the issues at stake.
They are super human beings who know everything but have
forgotten the man on the hot seat is likely to know what most
of us don't. He has access to privileged and confidential
information that would have informed the choices that he
eventually made. I will continue to plead that we tarry awhile
before we begin to write off this President.
This is an unusual leadership at an unusual period of our
national existence. There is no gainsaying the fact that there
has been great rot and decay in our polity. Too many of our
worn-out institutions had virtually collapsed and a
reasonable, dedicated and meticulous leader would need to
study the situation a bit more before arriving at critical
decisions such as those that administer this country with him.
This is not to say governance should take eternity to kick-
start things but we have to wait a bit and see the direction
this government is headed. I confess that I have previously
had cause to call on the President to name his Ministers
quickly so that the business of government can continue in
earnest and the speculations and suspense engendered by the
failure to do so would be laid to rest.
More importantly the legal and constitutional implications
of not governing with Ministers was becoming an issue
which was an unnecessary distraction and was unfortunately
detracting from the patently obvious good work that this
adminstration has been doing and the remarkable progress
made in such a short time. The President decided to take his
time but thankfully we are now where we are and everything
is now a matter of history.
Now that President Buhari has picked about half of his men
and women, I'm one of those looking forward to some
blistering pace of action soon. I'm certain it will happen once
the Senate confirms the Ministers and President Buhari is
able to allocate and fill up key position.
The hues and cries about the Ministerial appointments are
diverse but I'm sure they would subside once we take time to
study the great individuals saddled with the task of restoring
hope, stamina and dignity to our nation. As I have said
clearly on social media, I'm reasonably impressed with the
list of Minsters released so far. Most of them are the people
that I have previously suggested are worthy material for the
noble assignment that the President seeks to entrust them
with. They have already proven themselves in previous
national asignemnts and in some cases stood firm and
supportive of the President in his leadership of the change
that Nigerians craved for. In essence, the nominees are
distinguished men and women of substance and intellect. It
is my hope and expectation that in alloting them portfolios
President Buhari will put round pegs in round holes and not
seek to assign them to positions where they are not best
suited.
I'm happy to see such big brands like Audu Ogbeh a former
Minister of yesteryears who handled both the
Communications and Steel Development portfolios at
different times betwen 1982 and 1983. He became a farmer
afterwards and was a great achiever and significant success in
that field until he became Chairman of the PDP in 2001. He
suspended his activities but returned to his first love when he
resigned from the Party chairmanship in 2005. He still has a
lot to contribute because his knowledge of the Agricultural
sector in Nigeria is astonishing.
I was privileged to watch him in action shortly before the
inauguration and I marvelled at the extent of his knowledge
as to what needed to be done to fix our agricultural sector
and return Nigeria to its enviable status as a foremost
agrarian nation and remove our dependency on the
monoproduct known as crude oil. There is the quintet of five
former governors led by Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, the first
Governor of Abia State from between 1992 and 1993. Other
Governors who are the product of this current Republic are
Dr Chris Ngige of Anambra State, Babatunde Fashola SAN of
Lagos State, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Kayode
Fayemi of Ekiti State.
Dr Ogbonnaya Onu made a first class degree in Chemical
Engineering from the University of Lagos and is an alumnus
of the renowned University of Claifornia, Berkeley, where he
obtained his Ph.D in Chemical Engineering. He lectured at
the University of Port Harcourt and is a Fellow of several
Enmgineering Societies in Nigeria. He is passionate about
using technology as a tool for national development and
during his tenure as a governor established a Technology
Village in his State and introduced free computers into
schools.
Dr Chris Ngige is a medical doctor who rose to become a
Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Health before
retiring to join politics. He distinguished himself as a
medical doctor and as a governor and naturally had a
predilection for medical projects during his tenure as
governor.
Babatunde Fashola SAN, needs no introduction to Nigerians.
A distinguisghed Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he has a cult
following because of the strides and advances he made whilst
he was a two term Governor of Lagos State. He continued the
work of his illustrious predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, in changing the face of Lagos State into a
cosmopolitan city that would rival any city in developing
countries of the world whilst at the same time also
continuing to increase the internally generated revenue of
the State.
The fire brand known as Rotimi Amaechi also needs no
introduction to Nigerians. He was one of the prime
arrowheads of the change movement and indeed it was his
resolute courage at the Nigeria's Governor's Forum which was
the major platforms for change. His reform agenda in Rivers
State and the progress made by that State in the areas of
infrastructural development and education cannot be
overemphasised. Last Sunday, his name went viral on Twitter
as Nigerians poured encomiums and paid special tribute to
his rare courage in the face of raw intimidation. He remains
the catalyst for change and a quintessential pride of APC
who must be protected from the PDP apparatchik who may
wish to take their pound of flesh when screening begins next
week.
Dr Kayode Fayemi is a graduate of History, Politics and
International Relations from the Universities of Lagos and Ife
respectively. He holds a Doctroate degree in war studies from
the world acclaimed Kings College of the University of
London. Dr Fayemi is a guru in foreign relations and
international community and was a successful Governor of
Ekiti State who brought much needed development to that
State with his distinct style of refinement.
Senator Hadi Sirika is a pilot who has a longstanding passion
for aviation. He was a member of the Senate Committee on
aviation and was known for his forthrightness in discussions
about Nigeria's almost comatose aviation sector and what is
needed to resucitate and revamp the sector. A credible person
he has long been a staunch supporter of President Buhari
who he regards as his mentor.
The three women nominated by President Buhari namely,
Senator Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, Amina Mohammed and
Kemi Adeosun are all distinguished women of integrity in
their own right.
Senator Aisha Al-Hassan, a lawyer by profession, was a
former Attorney – General of Taraba State and eventually
retired as Chief Registrar of the High Court of the Federal
Capital Territory. She became a Senator in 2011 and
contested for the post of Governor of taraba State in 2015 but
lost.
Amina Mohammed was until her nomination the United
Nation's Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Post-2015
Development Planning. She has been involved in the
management of more than US$1 billion debt relief funds in
Nigeria and has had the unique position of having served 3
Nigerian Presidents during the current political dispensation.
She has worked in projects involving reduction in pocverty
and gender and education in both Nigeria and at the United
Nations. She has also been involved in a multi-disciplinary
firm of engineers and quantity surveyors.
Mrs Kemi Adeosun was previously commissioner for Finance
in Ogun State under Governor Ibikunle amosun. Indeed she
had been nominated to retain her position until she was
nominated by President Buhari. Mrs Adeosun is an
Accountant who has worked at senior managerial level in the
United Kingdom and Nigeria. She has been routinely
involved in finance and financial mattrers for more than a
decade.
Space and time won't allow me to go on but there is always
another chance in the future. Even at this juncture, President
Buhari has shown the true stuff of a born again democrat with
his deft moves especially his latest working relationship with
the National Assembly. I'm sure he has more jokers in the
pack!
Sharing is Caring share this post
No comments:
Post a Comment