Who actually scores for Buhari administration?

In a game of football, there is always a point man to whom every team member passes the ball for scoring attempts. These are referred to as go go-getters.

Analysts have continued to wonder why there is seemingly coldness on the part of members of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet.

Critics say that government’s presence is not being felt in all departments of governance. While some blame the President for the ugly state of affairs in this regard, some others believe that the President’s ministers are worthy of many stripes as some of them may have not been able to wake up from the euphoria of their appointment.

They point to instances where two or more ministers made conflicting comments on issues that had to do with their ministries. Sometimes, two ministers, who by virtue of the closeness of their ministries in terms of functionalities, give themselves away as no really having the understanding of what their core duties are.

“If you make statement that tends to create an impression that you do not know your beat, there’s no reason for your being there. We have seen some members of the cabinet commit howlers and no wonder there have been increasing calls these days for the President to purge the cabinet,” said an observer who asked not to be named.

Some critics had gone to the extent of insinuating that the body language of the President may have been the reason for the lull in government activities across the country, as none of the ministers, according to them, had the bile to move ahead of the President.

But from some observations within the seat of power in Abuja and discussions, it appears that Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, is now seen as the goal-getter in the eyes of many.

Kachikwu alongside other ministers were appointed in late October last year almost six months into the administration.

One year after, Nigerians fail to see the fruits from the works of the ministers as the country is in recession with other indices looking down.

Some of the ministers appointed last year include Abdulrahman Dambazau, Abubakar Malami, Suleiman Hussain Adamu, Hadi Sirika, Lai Mohammed, Solomon Dalong, Audu Ogbeh, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, Aisha Alhassan, Babatunde Fashola, Kayode Fayemi, Kemi Adeosun, Adebayo Shittu, Rotimi Amaechi, Udoma Udo Udoma, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, Osagie Ehanire, Ogbonaya Onu, Brigadier General Muhammadu Mansur Dan-Ali rtd, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, Aisha Abubakar, Abubakar Bawa, Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, and Mustapha Baba Shehuri.

Not much has been heard of most of them while the others try to do their bits which still haven’t translated to much. Some are strange faces as Nigerians still grope with what portfolios they occupy because of their seeming inactivity.

Nigerians have gone ahead to call for the sack of especially or outright reshuffle of the cabinet describing most of them as timid and unable to follow through with the President’s mandate. General perception is that members of the cabinet are confused and are not translating the visions of the administration to reality.

Those in frontline ministries like the Finance, Budget and National Planning, seem to working but their efforts are yet to translate to tangible results for the either the economy or the country.

One person that seems to be making a bit of difference at the moment is Kachikwu who has currently set the pace for the restoration of peace in the Niger Delta, a region largely responsible for the revenue of the country.

The Niger Delta also accounts for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s proven gas and oil reserves, and currently earns the Federal Government more than 90percent of its foreign exchange.

However renewed agitation in the region brought the country’s finances to a record low even as crude oil prices in the global market dipped.

Kachikwu who was the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (GMD NNPC) had made concerted efforts to broker peace in the region as militants attacked oil installations in the region.

His efforts may have paid off as a meeting was finally fixed and held with the President last week. Before the meeting held last Tuesday, November 1 between President Buhari and elders and representatives of the Niger Delta, the militants in the area had taken it upon themselves to down the nation’s economy through their incessant pounding of oil facilities in their domain. Their activities had resulted in the decrease in the barrels of oil produced from the region.

But, in a briefing after the meeting, Kachikwu said oil productions had picked up to 2.1million barrels per day. A major feat after production had dropped from 2million barrels per day to an abysmal 800,000 following the attacks on oil installations in the region.

Kachikwu like his other colleague ministers had penultimate week launched a roadmap for the oil and gas sector with some targets. When he said one of the seven BigWins was fixing the security in the region, it was obvious he was already on it. He sees zero militancy in the region by next year, which will be possible if the peace talks follow through.

Another minister who would have made much of an impact is the Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola who prior to this time was on the lips of Nigerians for the restored power supply. This has however, decreased as the power situation took a turn for the worse, draining the feeling of love that once existed. His works on the road and housing sector will however take some time to be noticed.

For now, Kachikwu is to be considered the major goal scorer in Buhari’s cabinet.