Ministerial nominees: Are they giants among men?  

Nigeria’s attainment of political independence in 1960 brought joy and great expectations to Nigerians who were delighted that their own children were in various positions of authority to govern. Nigerians had hopes that the nature of politics witnessed and experienced during the colonial period would be replaced by debate, dialogue and freedom from oppression. They also expected policymakers and political elites to fashion out measures that would provide economic freedom and security for the entire society. They expected Nigeria’s economy to be put on the path of real growth and development. These were the aspirations of Nigerians at the time of independence and still are at this point in time. So shall these aspirations be forever.

Talking politics, it was Confucius who addressed the question of what makes a good ruler. His view is that “a good ruler is in essence a highly ethical individual whose example and loving concern for his people will ensure that the state functions well.” This Chinese philosopher and politician further affirms that if each member assiduously performs his duties such that a minister is a minister, a governor is a governor, a father is a father and not perpetrators of fraud in a given society, there will be peace and harmony. These utopian ideas are not in consonance with realities in the world of today. This is because only in nations with societal values, where many good rulers abound, that you are likely to find good followers. It is from the followers that leaders will ultimately emerge.

In a democracy, “the people get the government they deserve”. This assertion has been subjected to intellectual discourse in civilized climes. In civilized democracies, people who are victims of bad governance have argued heatedly against the maxim. The focus of their argument is that the maxim blames the people rather than the politicians that could not be easily voted out of office. They claim politicians remain almost perpetually in office not because they are the best the society have, but due to the fact that they have firmly rooted themselves into a network of political cabal brought about by absolute power. Absolute power, they say, corrupts absolutely.

Do Nigeria and Nigerians deserve the 21 names in the initial list of ministerial nominees authored by PMB on 29 Sep 2015? Your guess is as good as mine. It is my humble and candid opinion that the PMB-led government has not learnt from history. This nation has history. It is just that some people in power have deliberately feigned ignorance of our history. As usual, PMB has to provide “jobs for the boys” at a time when the expectations of the people of our nation are very high. With the “change” Nigerians demanded and got in 2015, one is compelled to ask if those who made the initial ministerial list are what the nation deserves to drive the change. Nigerians have expressed mixed feelings about some of the names on the list. Some they say are good, while petitions have been written against others to the National Assembly (NASS). There are rumours going round that petitions have been written against some ex-governors in the ministerial list. They may be those who did not pay salaries and pensions of workers and retirees in their states as well as those who have been accused of recklessly spending state funds on personal issues. They will all sort themselves out at the screening exercise to be conducted by NASS today, October 13. Nigerians are watching.

It is worthy to state that assessment of those ministerial nominees who will scale through the screening exercise will start immediately after they have been sworn into office. They are to think globally and act locally. This is because contemporary challenges of the nation are not a linear function of what happened yesterday. They cannot solve today’s problems with the same paradigms and archaic policies that created them. As long as they are members of PMB’s cabinet, they must be mega thinkers as well as thoughtful doers to deliver on campaign promises.

They are coming onboard when Nigeria, according to the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, scores below par in four critical categories, including sustainable economic opportunity and human development, and has thus returned 37th out of 52 countries in Africa. While they are to formulate policies that will improve Nigeria’s poverty profile in which 110 million people are reported to be impoverished, they are to work tirelessly to ensure that economic prosperity of Nigerians is guaranteed at a time when the nation’s competitiveness rating is 120th out of 144 countries. They are to diversify the nation’s economy and importantly overhaul the education sector. The education sector needs urgent attention as no Nigerian university emerged out of the 18 African universities ranked in the 2015/2016 world university rankings. South Africa had 9 institutions, Egypt had 6, while Ghana, Kenya and Uganda had one each. Additionally, health, manufacturing and power sectors of the economy need to be overhauled. Most of these sectors are not doing well because of poor policies of government coupled with mismanagement of funds in the past.

Some have argued that any minister whose ministry cannot turn the nation’s economy around for good in the next one year should be considering an option of voluntarily leaving the cabinet to enable other competent Nigerians do the job. If PMB had told the nation his vision, Nigerians could have been able to say categorically if those nominated as ministers are the right choices to achieve the vision. The lack of a vision has led to conjectures as to the competences of those nominated to be ministers.

These new ministers should not be envied. I do not know any of them to be a saint. In fact, saints do not govern in any nation. But the question is: are they giants among men? Some Nigerians believe that the new cabinet members are men and women who are coming onboard to support PMB right the wrongs perpetrated by the PDP misrule of 16 years.
With respect to corruption, I will strongly advise PMB’s ministers to be “careful sinners”. This is because of PMB’s seemingly zero tolerance for corruption. In spite of their strengths and weaknesses, the ministers need the support and encouragement of all Nigerians. However, this new team of ministers must hit the ground running by displaying that they are able, willing, committed and courageous to improve the economic well-being of the people. So help them God.

MA Johnson