Economy and the long wait for Buhari’s ministers

Jaws were dropped and eye brows raised following the discovery that contrary to the high expectations over the calibre of ministers that would serve in the current administration, the list eventually did not contain all saints and heroes after all.

More worrisome to many observers is the quality of screening on the floor of the Senate, resulting in the confirmation of the nominees without obtaining from them a commitment to be above board.  Nigerians therefore, appear to have adopted wait-and-see attitude over the calibre of individuals that made the list.

It would be recalled that hues and cries had trailed the release of the list, as critics observed that the quality of names they expected, they did not find.

Nigeria, a country that got independence from the British colonial masters 55 years ago has over the years been beset with multifarious socio-economic and religious crises which have held the nation down.

The current administration rode to power on the strength of the character of President Muhammadu Buhari who is perceived as a person of integrity, who would want to do things differently to move the country forward.

With the “change” mantra mounted by the All Progressives Congress 9APC), it was believed that anybody going to work in the current administration must be a person of impeccable character.

This was the reason given by President Buhari for the delay in drawing up the ministerial list.

He had told impatient compatriots that he was bidding his time to avoid recruiting people of questionable character who could become a burden on him in the long run.

Many Nigerians have not erased the negative perception of the ministerial list in light of the high expectations that had been built around it by the Presidency. This negative perception has been strengthened by the infantile handling of the screening by the Senate.

Critics have expressed disappointment that most of the nominees who have been screened so far had a free ride as no meaningful questions were asked them on their plan for a dying nation. Some of the screened nominees just sauntered into the chamber, carrying themselves as emperors, and intimidated the senators, so to speak.

Nigerians have expressed concerns that the calibre of people who have so far passed through the Senate may not be the ultimate carriers of the redemption power the country is anxiously waiting for.

Some analysts who spoke with BD SUNDAY said most of the nominees had occupied one public office or the other in the past, saying that such individuals may not have anything spectacular to offer. They therefore, wondered why such persons were brought back to government at this critical point in the nation’s life.

A public affairs commentator, who works with a parastatal in Lagos, said: “I must say straightaway that am highly disappointed with the way things are happening in the country. I voted for President Buhari with the hope that he would deviate from the norm. It appears to me that we are in for a deeper trouble. I ran through the names on the list of the nominees and I have read their profiles; some of them have been in government in the last 30 years; yet today, while the country is dying economy-wise, they are multi-millionaires.”

According to him, “Some of them are known to have contributed to the death of many agencies, parastatals; some ran their states’ economy aground when they served as governors. Many of them have not positively impacted the lives of people in their states or constituencies before now. Honestly, I don’t have hope in them.”

It would be recalled that condemnation had trailed the release of the ministerial list, with many people saying the content of the list did not justify the long wait.

“They don’t appear to be the best but whatever happens we must have the patience and spirit of tolerance because we will not ask people to go and riot. These people: their records are there but if Nigerians want to remain complacent and sweep things under carpet, it’s left for them, the hypocrisy about corruption continues,” she said.

Expressing his frustration, Balarabe Musa, a former governor of Kaduna State, said he was disappointed at the ministerial list, arguing that there is nothing spectacular about the names.

“Why did it take the President four months to come up with these names? I believe this is the question that many informed Nigerians should ask. These are the same old names, ordinary Nigerians who the President knows and he must have even met them several times. So, what is particular about them that he wasted so much time in appointing them ministers,” Musa said.

According to him, “there are about two or three who I can say are distinguished among them like, Audu Ogbeh who I have known for a very long time. We were together during the Second Republic. He was a minister while I was governor then. Audu Ogbeh has an outstanding public record that everybody knows.”

Constitutional lawyer and National Secretary, Labour Party, Kayode Ajulo, and Senator Peter Nwaboshi (PDP, Delta North), said it fell short of Nigerians’ expectations, adding that it would not lead the country anywhere.

Ajulo said: “My reaction is to ask about the angels President Buhari promised us initially. If you remember, he stated that he was going to bring a new set of people who are clean but as it is now, it has shown that Mr. President is playing on the intelligence of Nigerians. It is a mockery of Nigeria’s intelligence because after wasting our time, he has brought this list. These are those who have been with him and some of them have issues of corruption hanging around their necks. I wonder the reason it should still be the same set of people and that is why we need to ask ourselves some questions.”

For Senator Peter Nwaboshi, it was a kill-joy.

“I was a small boy when a particular nominee was minister about 36 years ago. You are bringing the person to be minister now. One would have expected that the younger generation would have been injected into the list. I wonder where we are going to in this country,” he said.

An analyst who craved anonymity said: “You see, it is often said that the major problem of Nigeria is leadership; if it is so, the question is, what are we expecting new from some of the nominees, some of them have already been confirmed, who have held leadership positions as governors and ministers, commissioners, etc? I can only see less than five people on that list that I can say assuredly they will not disappoint. If we are talking about change, the change must start with us. And so, anybody that has a baggage should not be there. This would have given an indication that it is no longer business as usual; but we are seeing now appear even worse than where we are coming from. I am highly disappointed.”