By Kayode Arikuyeri
“When things go wrong in your command, start searching for the reason in increasingly large circles around your own desk.”
This leadership quote by a one time US Army General, Bruce Clarke, justifies the growing calls on President Bola Tinubu to take a surgical look at his cabinet members, if he must deliver on his electoral mandate.
After a fiercely contested elections which herald the Tinubu’s administration, many Nigerians were full of expectations and hope of a better, qualitative governance.
From the first day, the administration took some bold decisions and reform policies which were generally believed were the right things to do in lifting the nation from its economic doldrum
About a year and half on, the administration has failed in all efforts to rejuvenate the nation’s faltering economy, owing largely to a weak cabinet that cannot help to deliver on the reforms.
According to a recent editorial by the Financial Times, President Tinubu’s efforts to reform Nigeria’s economy are being undermined by a cabinet filled with individuals lacking the necessary expertise.
The editorial criticises the administration for appointing individuals based on political connections, rather than professional competence, labelling the cabinet as “full of lightweights.”
It is also worthy of note that, with 48 ministers, Tinubu’s administration breaks the record of having the largest cabinet in the nation’s democratic history.
The unprecedented number of cabinet members, , rather than being of advantage to the nation, has depicted a bleak future, because majority of the appointees are not making meaningful impacts
To recover from the wobbling steps of the past 15 months, the President, therefore, needs to tinker with the bogus cabinet, bring in people with more energy and expertise to deliver on set outcomes
He must appoint people that are more patriotic, willing and prepare to work for Nigeria and turn things around.
In drawing the conclusion, it is imperative to assess the capacity and delivery of some of the cabinet members of Tinubu’s government to see how they have failed to deliver on the mandate of the administration.
1.Power
In his renewed hope agenda, President Tinubu promised to “generate, transmit and distribute sufficient and affordable electricity to give our people the requisite power to enlighten their lives, their homes and their very dreams”.
Nigerians have, however, expressed worries about the state of power in the country, and called for accountability from the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu.
They raised concerns about the failure of Adedayo to make time-bound commitments to fixing the perennial and embarrassing collapse of the power system.
According to them, this development has become a shame that, after billions of dollars have been invested in the sector, the whole electricity system of the country has collapsed several times and unabated.
Even with the unabated system collapse and epileptic power supply, Nigerians have been burdened with regular increases in the cost electricity meter, tariff and the challenge of estimated billings.
From the inception of the administration, not less than two times, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, under the watch of the Minister had approved increase in the price of prepaid meters.
The cost of a single face meter increased to over N130,000 from about N60,000 during the previous administration, while the three-phase meter rose to N210,000 from about N80,000.
The recently approved 300 per cent hike in electricity tariff to N225 per kilowatt-hour has further, put many Nigerians and businesses in jeopardy.
Many Nigerians have raised concerns about this, including the organised labour which called for its reversal, but to no avail.
Little wonder, a former Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, recently reiterated the need for the President to sack some ministers in his cabinet to serve as a deterrent to other non-performing cabinet members and government officials.
Usman who made the call in Abuja, at the Second Chronicle Roundtable, with the theme, “Tinubu Administration’s Economic and Social Agenda: How it Will Transform Nigeria,” was
particular about the inefficiency in the management of the power sector by Adelabu.
2. Marine and Blue Economy:
The creation of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy by the Tinubu’s administration was seeing as novel and innovative step in effective utilisation of the nation’s maritime resources, fostering maritime industries to unleash the potentials in the sector.
Sadly, more than one year of its creation, the ministry is still foot dragging in setting agenda for achieving these objectives.
Stakeholders in the sector were disappointed on May 28, when the minister overseeing the sector, Adegboyega Oyetola gave his scorecard and the tangible take home was that the ministry “will be implementing a 3-pronged strategy that will increase its revenue generation to N2 trillion per annum by 2027”
If it takes a whole year, to plan the so called 3-pronged approach, how long will it take the Minister to realize the tall dream for Nigerians to reap the untapped potentials in this sector?
They called on the President to rise above political and filial sentiment in appointing a competent professional to occupy this sensitive ministerial position that can safe the nation from monolithic economy.
3 Defence
In his 180-Page Agenda for Renewed Hope, the President assured that Nigerians constitute the most valuable treasure of his administration.
To that effect, he assured that the security of citizens and nation in general shall be topmost in his policies and programmes .
Specifically, he promised to “establish a bold and assertive policy that will create the strong, yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation”.
The performance of the Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru, and other heads of security apparatus are crucial to achieving the promise.
Unfortunately, Many Nigerians have condemned the lackluster performance of the minister in handling the security challenges in the country.
Groups including the National Youth Council of Nigeria and Arewa Youth Council recently staged protest in Abuja calling for the resignation of the minister.
They contended that with efforts of government in acquiring necessary platforms, Nigerians are being abducted, displaced and massacred at will by non state actors.
The group decried the alarming failure of security architecture adding that the security agents are so weak resulting in bandits occupying territories in the North-West and preventing farmers from accessing their farmlands.
Health professionals and stakeholders in the education sectors have at different times, called for the sack of the minister following serial mass abductions of children, students and health workers.
4. Finance and Economy
While seeking the mandate of. Nigerians, President Tinubu, pledged to train and give economic opportunities to the poorest and most vulnerable
“We seek a Nigeria where no parent is compelled to send a child to bed hungry, worried whether tomorrow shall bring food”” his words.
Many believed that the Tinubu’s economic policies in achieving the promises are laudable, but they are wrongly executed by his team led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for Economy, Mr Wale Edun.
The wrong execution of the policies, including, fuel subsidy removal, convergence of the foreign exchange platform, increase in electricity tariff have taken a toll on the living conditions of Nigerians.
Nigerians have been rendered more impoverished than they were, before the coming of the government, while the much-anticipated job creation drive has yet to produce the expected results.
Unemployment and underemployment continue to plague the country, with the youth disproportionately affected.
The employment initiatives, though well-intentioned, have yet to materialise into significant job opportunities.
With the development, many Nigerians have called for the rejig of the administration’s economic team with the sack of the Finance minister.
They contended that the minister’s approaches are theoretical and archaic, necessitating the urgent need for recruitment of a modern and savvy professional with technical expertise than can reposition the economy.
Edun was also faulted for his consistency in neo-liberal economic belief even with the obvious flaw of execution without human face.
They condemned his programmes making Nigerians poor and hungry for a future that they are not sure of, or able to live long enough to enjoy.
5. Budget and National Planning:
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Abubakar Bagudu is not left out among those mentioned to be eased out in the impeding overhaul of the Tinubu’s cabinet and economic team.
Bagudu was reproved for unprofessional and ill advise of the administration in the tardy running of multiple budgets, simultaneously.
His critics believed that running budgets for different years, in a year is not only unusual, but difficult to justify.
They contended that besides creating confusion, it limits transparency and narrow the execution bandwidth.
The development, according to them, exposed the government, that it was still struggling to get to grips with the basics of diligent planning and implementation.
6. Education
The education sector is bedeviled with numerous challenges ranging from poor infrastructure and funding, unrest on campuses, cultism, examination malpractices, corruption, maladministration, and certificate racketeering, among others.
These challenges have prevented the sector from achieving the critical objective of human capital development needed for national growth.
Following a damning investigative report on certificate milling from neighbouring countries – Niger, Benin, Ghana -, no fewer than 22,000 Nigerians were discovered parading fake certificates from these countries. This goes to tell the decay in the sector.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman and his counterpart Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Sununu have failed to address these challenges squarely.
To the contrary, the ministers are more concerned with regulating the university admission age, which has been widely condemned by stakeholders.
7. Information and National Orientation
The Ministry of Information and National Orientation is charged with the responsibilities to communicate government policies and programmes, build a positive image for the country locally and internationally and promote national consciousness.
In delivering the mandates, the National Orientation Agency is a critical sector. However, the organisation has gone comatose. None of the programmes and policies of the administration is being propagated by the agency.
The Minister, Mohammed Idris, has also not been visible, especially in the critical assignment of engaging the public on the programmes and policies of government, locally and internationally. There are no regular briefings and engagements with the media, locally and internationally.
The administration, no doubt need a visible and effective communicator and information manager who will play critical role in changing the narratives about the poor perception of the government, build trust and foster citizens understanding. All these are lacking in the incumbent Minister.
8. Youths
President Tinubu promised to build a Nigeria, especially for the youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages, create a better life.
He also promised to embolden and support the young people, by harnessing
sectors, such as the digital economy, entertainment, culture, to build Nigeria of tomorrow, today.
In achieving the agenda, Nigerians expected dynamic and active individuals, who would give their best in the Ministry of Youth Development
Unfortunately, the duo of Honourable Minister of Youth Development, Dr Jamila Ibrahim Bio, and the Honourable Minister of State, Ayodele Olawande are yet to show they have capacity to deliver on the mandate.
Little or nothing is known about them and their activities in the ministry. Leaving one to wonder, how they merited their appointments.
Many have observed that rather than having two inactive ministers, one vibrant bootstrapper ready to collaborate in
harnessing the immense potentials in the sports, creative, entertainment and digital economy sectors for the benefit of the youths should be considered.
9. Sports
Sports in Nigeria plays critical roles in youths development and national cohesion. This sector has not received much attention by the incumbent Minister, John Eno. Observers in the sector see the minister as novice in sports administration and not suitable for the sensitive position. With the disbursement of whopping N12 billion, the abysmal performance of Nigeria in the just concluded Paris Olympic is an affirmation of the pundit’s belief that a more capable hand needs to be deploy to the ministry.
10 . The Ministry of Women Affairs has the mandate of advancing women’s causes, addressing gender equity gaps and meeting the multi dimensional needs of women in the country and across the globe.
Rather than advancing these motives, pundits have berated the incumbent Minister, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye for “fishing in trouble waters and dabbling in matters outside her jurisdiction and competence”.
Many Nigerians have condemned Mrs Kennedy-Ohanenye for reducing the office of a Minister because of her pettiness and unnecessary interference on issues that would not promote the well being of women.
On two occasions, the minister had disrupted ongoing official events, which had guests and participants in attendance, on purported reasons that her ministry did not approve the gatherings.
She also became a laughing stock, when she told the world in a press conference that she was going to sue the United Nations if the body failed to provide reports on all the monies they sourced from donors in Nigeria’s name,
The minister was also berated for engaging in exchange of words with the House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, over alleged diversion of N1.5 billion meant for payment of contractors in her office.
The face-off occurred when the committee was probing the alleged unapproved disbursement of the fund by her office.
Her premature lawsuit against the speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, following his announcement to marry off 100 orphaned girls in his state, was also condemned as unnecessary interference on issues she lacked competence and knowledge about
Stakeholders contended that the minister is a novice on serious issues of women affairs, hence her recurrent gaffe, engaging on pettiness that would not advance well being of women. She should, therefore be replaced.
11. Tourism, Arts Culture and Creative Economy
The creation of Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy by the Tinubu administration was a welcomed development to some culture and tourism enthusiasts.
Recalled that three ministries were created from the Ministry of Information and Culture under the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, which Alhaji Lai Mohammed presided over.
They are; Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy.
Before Tinubu appointed his cabinet members, some stakeholders had appealed to him to split the then Ministry of Information and Culture in order to maximise the potentials in the tourism industry for the country.
They contended that that there were a lot the country could benefit from tourism industry, Arts and Cultural promotion in terms of revenue generation, if the Ministry of tourism could be independent.
The argument by the stakeholders was in tandem with the renewed hope agenda of President Tinubu which promised to bolster up the youths by exploiting the immense potentials in the entertainment, culture, tourism and arts sectors, particularly for jobs creation.
Nigeria creative sector is no doubt a vibrant one with low hanging fruits for economic revival as well as a potential future oil for the country.
However, the appointment of Ms Hannatu Musawa as Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy was considered by stakeholders, as a wrong footing for the take off, of the all important ministry because of her “baggage”.
In 2020, Buhari nominated Musawa for appointment as the national commissioner representing Nigeria’s northwest geopolitical zone on the board of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM).
Her appointment was rejected during confirmation hearing in the Senate because of her failure to provide evidence that she participated in the mandatory national youth service programme, after her graduation from the university.
When she was nominated as Minister by President Tinubu, she again resurfaced in the eye of the storm over the same scandal,before she was finally confirmed and sworn-in.
The “baggage”, according to stakeholders, has hindered the take off of any meaningful programmes and activities in the ministry, ever since she assumed office.
All that one can remember about her tenure so far is a lot of bluster to create 10 million jobs. Unfortunately, the only jobs she has created are the numerous Special Assistants and other aides that she brought to the office to supplant the relevant officials in the ministry. It is worth noting that these aides are mere upstarts who have nothing ro contribute to making the creative economy a pillar of the country’s overall economic landscape.
In a related development, some stakeholders have expressed the opinion that the creation of a separate ministry for tourism was unnecessary and a wastage.
According to an insider, when the former ministry of information and culture was calibrated, the new ministry of tourism has only two directors and two agencies under it.
The two agencies of the ministry of tourism are, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation and National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism.
It was considered an aberration for a full fledged ministry, with a Minister, a permanent secretary, and directors, enjoying all paraphernalia of offices to be supervising only two agencies.
Besides, not much have been heard of Minister of Tourism, Ms Lola Ade John, over a year she has assumed office.
Industry stakeholders have therefore called on President Tinubu to merge the two ministries and appoint an experienced culture and tourism expert to manage its affairs for efficient delivery of the abundant potentials in the sector.
Conclusion
Having assessed some of the ministers, it is important to state that, sorting the wheat from the chaff in the President Tinubu’s cabinet should not be a herculean task.
This is so, considering the fact that, the administration had put in place a policy coordination evaluation, monitoring and delivery centre for its appointees.
Headed by the President’s Senior Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Usman, the unit
had outlined the parameters for evaluation, ensuring that governance output improves in the living condition of the people.
There is no better time than now, for the President to put to use, the Key Performance Index (KPI) put in place by the unit in assessing the performances of the political appointees.
By doing so, the President will be walking his talk, when he assured Nigerians in his New Year speech that, there will be no excuse for poor performance from ministers and other appointees in his government.